Patent Application
20220203488
This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent No. 2020-216225 filed on Dec. 25, 2020. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a cutting machine.
A known cutting machine produces, for example, a dental shaped product by cutting a cutting object. In some cutting machines, holders for holding adaptors retaining cutting objects are provided in processing chambers, and the retained cutting objects are cut with the adaptors. JP2018-124862A, for example, discloses a cutting machine in which a holder to hold an adaptor retaining a cutting object is provided in a processing chamber and the retained cutting object is cut with the adaptor.
Cutting powder generated by cutting of a cutting object adheres to an adaptor as described above. Thus, the adaptor needs to be cleaned. JP2013-121466A, for example, discloses a cutting machine including an air blower for blowing air to a cutting portion of the cutting object. With this air blower, air is blown to an adaptor held in a processing chamber and a cutting object retained by the adaptor to thereby enable cleaning of the adaptor and the cutting object.
In the conventional cutting machines described above, a cleaning time for the adaptors is included in the time for a cutting process, and thus, the time for the cutting process is increased.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide cutting machines each capable of cleaning an adaptor of a cutting object and reducing the time for a cutting process.
A cutting machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a processing chamber provided with a cutting device to cut a cutting object retained by an adaptor, a cleaning chamber provided with a cleaning device to clean the adaptor, and a conveyor to convey the adaptor to the processing chamber and the cleaning chamber.
In a cutting machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning chamber to clean the adaptor is separate from the processing chamber, and the conveyor to convey the adaptor from the processing chamber to the cleaning chamber is provided. Thus, a next cutting object can be processed without waiting for the adaptor to be cleaned. Accordingly, the time for a cutting process of a cutting object can be reduced.
The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Cutting machines according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The preferred embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the present invention. Elements and features having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description for the same elements and features will not be repeated or will be simplified as appropriate.
The cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment is a cutting machine for cutting a disc-shaped cutting object retained by an adaptor.
The cutting object 1 is made of, for example, a resin such as PMMA, PEEK, a glass fiber reinforced resin, or a hybrid resin, a ceramic material such as glass ceramic or zirconia, a metal material such as a cobalt-chrome sintered metal, wax, gypsum, or the like. In the case of using zirconia as a material for the cutting object 1, semi-sintered zirconia is used, for example. The cutting object 1 has a disc (circular plate) shape in this preferred embodiment. The cutting object 1 may have any other shapes, such as a block shape (e.g., a cube or a rectangular parallelepiped).
The adaptor 5 retains the disc-shaped cutting object 1. The adaptor 5 herein is a flat-plate adaptor having an insertion hole 5a formed in a center portion of the adaptor 5. The insertion hole 5a has a circular or substantially circular shape corresponding to the cutting object 1. The cutting object 1 is inserted in the insertion hole 5a to be retained by the adaptor 5. The cutting object 1 is accommodated in the cutting machine 10 and processed while being retained by the adaptor 5.
As illustrated in
As the cutting device 12, various known cutting devices for cutting disc-shaped cutting objects can be preferably used. Although not specifically illustrated and described, the cutting device 12 may include, for example, a holder to hold the adaptor 5 retaining the cutting object 1, a rotation device to turn the orientation of the cutting object 1 by rotating the holder, a stocker for a cutting tool, a spindle to hold and rotate the cutting tool, and a moving device to move at least one of the rotation device or the spindle in the left-right directions, front-rear directions, and top-bottom directions. The cutting device 12 is not limited to a specific configuration.
As illustrated in
The accommodation chamber 13 is provided with the conveyor 15. The conveyor 15 is disposed at the left of the plurality of adaptor containers 14. The conveyor 15 includes a clamp 16, a clamp accommodation part 17, and a lifting mechanism 18. The clamp 16 has a claw shape and is capable of holding the adaptor 5. The clamp 16 extends horizontally. The clamp accommodation part 17 is disposed at the left of the adaptor containers 14, and is configured to move upward and downward by driving of the lifting mechanism 18. The clamp accommodation part 17 has a box shape capable of accommodating the clamp 16. While the clamp accommodation part 17 moves upward and downward, the clamp 16 is accommodated in the clamp accommodation part 17. When the clamp accommodation part 17 stops at a side of one of the adaptor containers 14 and transfers the adaptor 5 to or from this adaptor container 14, the clamp 16 moves rightward from the inside of the clamp accommodation part 17. Accordingly, the clamp 16 enters the adaptor container 14. The clamp accommodation part 17 includes an unillustrated driver for the clamp 16. The lifting mechanism 18 in this preferred embodiment includes a guide rail 18a extending upward and downward, an unillustrated ball screw, and an unillustrated motor for rotating the ball screw. The conveyor 15 is not limited to a specific configuration.
The conveyor 15 is configured to move the clamp accommodation part 17 to a position below the plurality of adaptor containers 14. The conveyor 15 transfers the adaptor 5 to and from the holder of the cutting device 12 located below the adaptor containers 14. The conveyor 15 is capable of moving the clamp accommodation part 17 to a position above the plurality of adaptor containers 14. The conveyor 15 transfers the adaptor 5 to and from a retainer 50A (see
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
An outlet 23 to which an exhaust device M1a (see
A first inlet 24 is formed in the upper wall 21U to face the outlet 23 when seen in the opening directions of the entrance 22 (in the left-right directions in this preferred embodiment). The first inlet 24 is open in the top-bottom directions. The first inlet 24 and second inlets 26 described later are openings for generating an air flow toward the outlet 23 in the internal space 21a of the housing 21. The first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26 are openings for preventing the internal space 21a of the housing 21 from being under a significantly negative pressure. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The upper wall 21U further has a work window 25. The work window 25 is open in the top-bottom directions. The work window 25 is an opening for allowing a user to perform a work in the housing 21 (e.g., a work of collecting the adaptor 5 dropped in the housing because of improper mounting). A gasket 25a to close the work window 25 is provided around the work window 25. Although not shown, an unillustrated lid is placed over the housing 21 in normal use. When the gasket 25a is crushed by the unillustrated lid so that the work window 25 is closed in normal use.
As illustrated in
The adaptor moving device 50 transfers the adaptor 5 to and from the conveyor 15, and changes the position of the adaptor 5 in the cleaning chamber 20 during cleaning of the adaptor 5. The adaptor moving device 50 in this preferred embodiment moves the adaptor 5 in the left-right directions inside and outside the cleaning chamber 20. In addition, the adaptor moving device 50 is also the driver to open and close the shutter 31 as described above.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The coupling member 58 couples the shutter 31 and the retainer 50A to each other to link movement of the shutter 31 and movement of the adaptor 5 to each other. In this preferred embodiment, the coupling member 58 couples the shutter 31 and the retainer 50A to each other through the slide block 55. As illustrated in
A limit switch 59 is provided at the right end of the moving path of the slide block 55. When the slide block 55 moves rightward, the slide block 55 is brought into contact with an arm 59a of the limit switch 59, and the limit switch 59 turns on. Accordingly, it is detected that the adaptor 5 has reached the right end.
The cleaning device 40 cleans the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A of the adaptor moving device 50 in the internal space 21a of the housing 21. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The second pivot arm 42 is located below the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A. The second pivot arm 42 is also fixed to the pivot shaft 43. The second nozzle 42N supported by the second pivot arm 42 is also disposed below the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A. The cleaning device 40 only needs to be configured such that the second nozzle 42N is located below the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A, and the position of the second pivot arm 42 in the top-bottom directions is not limited to a position below the adaptor 5. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 pivot about the pivot shaft 43.
As illustrated in
The cleaning device 40 includes an air circuit 60 connected to the air compressor M2. Although not shown, the cutting machine 10 may also include a nozzle to inject compressed air to a place except the cleaning chamber 20, such as the processing chamber 11, and may include an air circuit to supply compressed air to this place. As illustrated in
The channel switching member 62 is disposed in the air channel 61, and causes the air supply port 61d to selectively communicate with the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N. The channel switching member 62 in this preferred embodiment includes a first valve 62a provided in the first channel 61b, and a second valve 62b provided in the second channel 61c. The first valve 62a and the second valve 62b are electromagnetic valves in this preferred embodiment. The first valve 62a is opened during injection of compressed air from the first nozzle 41N. At this time, the second valve 62b is closed. During injection of compressed air from the second nozzle 42N, the second valve 62b is opened. At this time, the first valve 62a is closed. When no compressed air is injected from either of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N, both the first valve 62a and the second valve 62b are closed. The channel switching member 62 is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, the channel switching member 62 may be a valve disposed at a branch point among the inlet channel 61a, the first channel 61b, and the second channel 61c and capable of switching the position between a first position in which the inlet channel 61a and the first channel 61b communicate with each other and a second position in which the inlet channel 61a and the second channel 61c communicate with each other. In this case, an opening/closing valve may be provided in the inlet channel 61a, for example.
The controller 100 is not limited to a specific configuration. The controller 100 may include, for example, a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU), a ROM to store, for example, a program to be executed by the CPU, a RAM, and so forth. Each component of the controller 100 may be software or hardware. Each component may be a processor or a circuit. As illustrated in
The cutting controller 110 controls the cutting device 12 to cut the cutting object 1, and processes the cutting object 1 into a shape based on input cutting data. Although specifically described later, the cutting controller 110 is configured or programmed to enable cutting of another cutting object 1 during cleaning of the adaptor 5.
The conveyance controller 120 controls the conveyor 15 to convey the adaptor 5 to the processing chamber 11, the accommodation chamber 13, and the cleaning chamber 20. As illustrated in
The cleaning controller 130 includes a first cleaning controller 131 and a second cleaning controller 132. The first cleaning controller 131 controls the cleaning device 40 to clean the adaptor 5 in the cleaning chamber 20. Specifically, the first cleaning controller 131 controls the first valve 62a and the second valve 62b, and causes the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N to inject compressed air. The order of injecting compressed air from the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N is registered beforehand. In this preferred embodiment, the first cleaning controller 131 is set such that the second nozzle 42N injects compressed air and then the first nozzle 41N injects compressed air. In other words, the first cleaning controller 131 injects air upward to clean the adaptor 5 and then injects air downward to clean the adaptor 5. The first cleaning controller 131 controls the actuator 44 to cause the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 to pivot. During cleaning of the adaptor 5, the first cleaning controller 131 drives the exhaust device M1a.
The second cleaning controller 132 controls cleaning operation in the cleaning chamber 20 after cleaning of the adaptor 5 is finished and the adaptor 5 is conveyed from the cleaning chamber 20. After cleaning of the adaptor 5, the second cleaning controller 132 controls the cleaning device 40 and causes at least one of the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N to inject compressed air to clean the cleaning chamber 20. In cleaning in the cleaning chamber 20, the order of injecting compressed air from the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N is also registered beforehand. The order is not specifically limited, and may be similar to that during cleaning of the adaptor 5. The second cleaning controller 132 may be configured to drive the exhaust device M1a during cleaning in the cleaning chamber 20.
The movement controller 140 controls operation of the adaptor moving device 50. In transferring the adaptor 5 from the conveyor 15 to the adaptor moving device 50, the movement controller 140 moves the retainer 50A to the outside of the housing 21. The position of the retainer 50A at this time will be hereinafter referred to as a transfer position. The transfer position is the position of the retainer 50A illustrated in
It will now be described an example of a process from cutting of the cutting object 1 to returning of the adaptor 5 to the accommodation chamber 13 through cleaning of the adaptor 5 with reference to a flowchart.
In step S04, the adaptor moving device 50 moves the retainer 50A from the standby position to the transfer position. While the retainer 50A is at the standby position, the shutter 31 is fully closed as illustrated in
In step S05, the conveyor 15 is moved upward, and is located at the transfer position of the adaptor 5 to the adaptor moving device 50. In step S06, the adaptor 5 is transferred from the conveyor 15 to the adaptor moving device 50. The adaptor moving device 50 is configured such that the retainer 50A moves between the inside and outside of the cleaning chamber 20 through the entrance 22 of the adaptor 5 and transfers the adaptor 5 to and from the conveyor 15. After step S06, the cleaning device 40 and the adaptor moving device 50 operate separately from and simultaneously with the conveyor 15 and the cutting device 12. Thus, after step S06, steps concerning operation of the cleaning device 40 and the adaptor moving device 50 and steps concerning operation of the conveyor 15 and the cutting device 12 will be illustrated in different systems. The order of steps S02 through S06 may be changed if possible.
Steps concerning operation of the cleaning device 40 and the adaptor moving device 50 will be described first. In step S07, the exhaust device M1a is driven. Thus, air is discharged from the outlet 23. Accordingly, outside air starts flowing into the housing 21 from the first inlet 24 and the pair of second inlets 26. In subsequent step S08, the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A is moved to the depth of the housing 21, that is, to the right in this preferred embodiment. The movement of the retainer 50A causes the door 30 to be closed. The door 30 is opened when being pushed leftward by the retainer 50A moved by the driver 50B, and is closed by the self-weight in the absence of support by the retainer 50A. The controller 100 controls the cleaning device 40 to clean the adaptor 5, and during cleaning of the adaptor 5, controls the adaptor moving device 50 as the opening/closing device of the door 30 to close the door 30. The cutting machine 10 may include an opening/closing device of the door 30 independent of the adaptor moving device 50.
When the door 30 is closed, the amount of outside air flowing from the entrance 22 decreases, and air flows into the cleaning chamber 20 mainly through the first inlet 24 and the pair of second inlets 26. As illustrated in
When the slide block 55 moves to contact the coupling member 58, the slide block 55 pushes the coupling member 58 so that the shutter 31 starts closing. Accordingly, the opening area of the first inlet 24 starts decreasing. The controller 100 controls the adaptor moving device 50 as the moving device of the adaptor 5 and the opening/closing device of the shutter 31 to open and close the shutter 31 and move the adaptor 5, while controlling the cleaning device 40 to clean the adaptor 5. When the opening area of the first inlet 24 gradually decreases by gradual closing of the shutter 31, the amount of air flowing from the first inlet 24 gradually decreases, and the amount of air flowing from the second inlets 26 gradually increases. When the shutter 31 is fully closed, the opening area of the first inlet 24 (except for a gap between the first inlet 24 and the shutter 31) becomes zero, and a major portion of the air flowing into the housing 21 is air flowing from the pair of second inlets 26. Advantages obtained by the change in intake air amount balance between the first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26 will be described later.
In step S09, the retainer 50A reaches the standby position at the right end of the movable range. The limit switch 59 detects that the retainer 50A has reached the standby position. In subsequent step S10, the second valve 62b is opened, and compressed air is injected from the second nozzle 42N. Accordingly, compressed air is injected upward. Compressed air injected upward from the second nozzle 42N is blown to the lower surface 5D of the adaptor 5. In step S11, pivot of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 starts. As shown in
In this preferred embodiment, each of the pivot of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 and the movement of the retainer 50A is intermittently performed. In steps S11 and S12, first, the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 pivot from the origin by a predetermined angle. The pivot direction at this time is counterclockwise when seen from above. When the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 finish pivoting by the predetermined angle and stop temporarily, the retainer 50A is moved leftward to a predetermined distance (e.g., about 1 mm to about 5 mm). Thereafter, the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 rotate in the opposite direction, and return to the origin. When the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 return to the origin, the retainer 50A moves leftward to the predetermined distance again. In this preferred embodiment, this intermittent operation is repeated so that the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 are caused to pivot while moving the adaptor 5 in the moving direction of the retainer 50A.
In steps S11 and S12, the second nozzle 42N moves in the pivot direction of the second pivot arm 42, and the adaptor 5 moves in a direction (leftward in this preferred embodiment) intersecting with the pivot direction of the second pivot arm 42 so that compressed air from the second nozzle 42N is sequentially blown to the entire lower surface 5D of the adaptor 5. Accordingly, the entire lower surface 5D of the adaptor 5 is sequentially cleaned. The operation of the cleaning device 40 and the adaptor moving device 50 described above is merely a preferred example, and operation of the cleaning device 40 and the adaptor moving device 50 in cleaning of the adaptor 5 is not limited. For example, in cleaning of the adaptor 5, the adaptor moving device 50 may continuously move the retainer 50A in the left-right directions.
In step S13, the retainer 50A reaches the cleaning end position. The driving motor 53 detects that the retainer 50A has reached the cleaning end position. When the retainer 50A reaches the cleaning end position, the moving direction of the retainer 50A and the nozzle that injects compressed air change. In step S14, the nozzle that injects compressed air is switched from the second nozzle 42N to the first nozzle 41N. Accordingly, the direction of compressed air changes to the downward direction. In step S15, the moving direction of the retainer 50A and the adaptor 5 changes to the right. The first nozzle 41N moves in the pivot direction of the first pivot arm 41 and the adaptor 5 moves in the direction (rightward in this preferred embodiment) intersecting with the pivot direction of the first pivot arm 41 so that compressed air from the first nozzle 41N is sequentially blown to the entire upper surface 5U of the adaptor 5. Accordingly, the entire upper surface 5U of the adaptor 5 is sequentially cleaned.
In step S16, the retainer 50A reaches the standby position. At this time, the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 are located at the origin. In subsequent step S17, the first valve 62a is closed, and injection of compressed air from the first nozzle 41N stops. The pivot of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 stops at this time. In this manner, cleaning of the adaptor 5 is finished.
In next step S18, the retainer 50A is moved leftward again. The leftward movement causes the retainer 50A to reach the transfer position in step S19. In the process in which the retainer 50A reaches the transfer position, the door 30 is opened. In step S20, the adaptor 5 subjected to cleaning is transferred to the conveyor 15. After transferring the adaptor 5 subjected to cleaning, the exhaust device M1a is turned off in step S21. In step S22, the retainer 50A moves rightward to the standby position again. In step S23, when it is detected that the retainer 50A has reached the standby position, the steps concerning operation of the cleaning device 40 and the adaptor moving device 50 are finished.
Thereafter, based on control of the second cleaning controller 132, cleaning of the cleaning chamber 20 may be started (not shown). In cleaning of the cleaning chamber 20, for example, compressed air may be injected sequentially from at least one of the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N or from the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N, and the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 may pivot back and forth. During this operation, the exhaust device M1a may be driven.
Operation of the conveyor 15 and the cutting device 12 after step S06 will now be described. As shown in
In step S27, the conveyor 15 moves to the transfer position of the adaptor 5 to the adaptor moving device 50. Step S27 is followed by step S20, and the adaptor 5 after cleaning is transferred to the conveyor 15. As shown in
Advantages of the cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment will be described hereinafter.
The cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment includes the processing chamber 11 provided with the cutting device 12 to cut the cutting object 1 retained by the adaptor 5, the cleaning chamber 20 provided with the cleaning device 40 to clean the adaptor 5, and the conveyor 15 to convey the adaptor 5 to the processing chamber 11 and the cleaning chamber 20. In a conventional cutting machine, cleaning of an adaptor and a cutting object after a cutting process is performed in a processing chamber or manually performed outside the cutting machine. In the former case, the time for the cutting process includes the cleaning time of the adaptor 5, and thus, the time for the cutting process is long. In the latter case, a user is under a load of cleaning the adaptor. On the other hand, in this preferred embodiment, the cutting machine 10 includes the cleaning chamber 20 to clean the adaptor 5 provided as a separate structure from the processing chamber 11, and the conveyor 15 to convey the adaptor 5 to the processing chamber 11 and the cleaning chamber 20. Thus, the adaptor 5 retaining the cutting object 1 after the cutting process is conveyed to the cleaning chamber 20 so that the next cutting object 1 can be processed without waiting for cleaning of the adaptor 5. Accordingly, the time for a cutting process on the cutting object 1 can be reduced. In addition, since cleaning of the adaptor 5 is performed by the cleaning device 40 provided in the cleaning chamber 20, a load on a user can be reduced, unlike manual cleaning of the adaptor.
The cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment includes the accommodation chamber 13 capable of accommodating the plurality of adaptors 5, and the controller 100 to control automatic cleaning of the adaptor 5 retaining the cutting object 1 after cutting. After cutting of the cutting object 1 is finished, the cutting machine 10 controls the conveyor 15 to convey the adaptor 5 in the processing chamber 11 to the cleaning chamber 20. The cutting machine 10 further controls the cleaning device 40 to clean the adaptor 5 in the cleaning chamber 20. After cleaning of the adaptor 5 is finished, the cutting machine 10 controls the conveyor 15 to convey the adaptor 5 in the cleaning chamber 20 to the accommodation chamber 13. With this configuration, the adaptor 5 and the cutting object 1 to which cutting powder generated by a cutting process adheres are automatically conveyed to the cleaning chamber 20 by the conveyor 15, and subjected to cleaning by the cleaning device 40. Thus, a load by conveyance and cleaning on a user can be reduced. The adaptor 5 is automatically returned to the accommodation chamber 13 after cleaning.
The cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment is capable of cutting another cutting object 1 during cleaning of the adaptor 5. With this configuration, another cutting object 1 can be processed without waiting for the end of cleaning of the adaptor 5. Thus, a throughput of a cutting process can be increased.
In this preferred embodiment, the cleaning device 40 includes the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N that inject compressed air toward the adaptor 5. With this configuration, cleaning of the adaptor 5 can be easily performed by blowing compressed air.
In addition, in this preferred embodiment, the cleaning device 40 has a configuration to shift the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N. The structure to shift the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N includes the first pivot arm 41, the second pivot arm 42, the pivot shaft 43, and the actuator 44 in this preferred embodiment. With this configuration, since the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N that inject compressed air are shifted, compressed air can be blown to various portions of the adaptor 5. Thus, cleaning can be more favorably performed on the adaptor 5. The structure to shift the positions of the nozzles is not specifically limited, and the advantages described above can be obtained by other configurations.
The cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment further includes the adaptor moving device 50 to change the position of the adaptor 5 in the cleaning chamber 20. With this configuration, by changing the position of the adaptor 5 in the cleaning chamber 20, compressed air can be blown to various portions of the adaptor 5. Thus, with this configuration, the adaptor 5 can also be cleaned more favorably.
In this preferred embodiment, the direction in which the adaptor moving device 50 moves the adaptor 5 and the direction in which the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N move intersect with each other. In this preferred embodiment, the pivot direction of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 intersects with the direction in which the adaptor moving device 50 moves the adaptor 5. With this configuration, since the adaptor 5 and the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N relatively move in two dimensions, compressed air can be more efficiently blown to a wider range of the adaptor 5.
In this preferred embodiment, the first nozzle 41N is disposed above the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A, and injects compressed air to the upper surface 5U of the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A. The second nozzle 42N is disposed below the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A, and injects compressed air to the lower surface 5D of the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A. With this configuration, both surfaces of the flat-plate adaptor 5 retaining the disc-shaped cutting object 1 can be cleaned.
In this preferred embodiment, the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N are shifted from each other in plan view. To clean both surfaces of the flat-plate adaptor 5, the first nozzle 41N is preferably disposed above the adaptor 5 and open downward, and the second nozzle 42N is preferably disposed below the adaptor 5 and open upward. However, the inventor of the present application discovered that if the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N face each other, dust blown by compressed air from one of the nozzles might enter the other nozzle to cause damage to, for example, an air circuit to which dust has entered. In view of this, in this preferred embodiment, the position of the first nozzle 41N and the position of the second nozzle 42N are shifted or spaced from each other in plan view. With this configuration, the possibility of entering of dust blown by compressed air from one of the nozzles into the other nozzle can be reduced. Thus, the possibility of damage of, for example, the air circuit described above can be reduced or eliminated.
More specifically, in this preferred embodiment, the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N are shifted or spaced from each other in the moving direction of the adaptor 5. Since compressed air is blown to various portions of the adaptor 5, the adaptor 5 is preferably moved inside the cleaning chamber 20. Accordingly the length of the cleaning chamber 20 in the moving direction of the adaptor 5 increases. In this preferred embodiment, the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N are different in the moving direction of the adaptor 5 that is the longitudinal direction of the cleaning chamber 20. Thus, the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N can be easily shifted or spaced from each other. In addition, the length of the cleaning device 40 in the direction intersecting with the moving direction of the adaptor 5 is less likely to increase.
In the configuration in which the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N are shifted or spaced from each other in the moving direction of the adaptor 5, when the adaptor 5 is moved, an influence of the positional shift between the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N (e.g., a difference in cleanliness between the upper surface 5U and the lower surface 5D caused by a difference in location on the adaptor 5 to which compressed air is blown) can be reduced.
In this preferred embodiment, the first nozzle 41N is provided to the first pivot arm 41, and the position of the first nozzle 41N is changed by pivot of the first pivot arm 41. The second nozzle 42N is provided to the second pivot arm 42 that pivots about the pivot shaft 43 shared by the first pivot arm 41, and the position of the second nozzle 42N is changed by pivot of the second pivot arm 42. With this configuration, by adjusting the position of the first nozzle 41N in the first pivot arm 41 and the position of the second nozzle 42N in the second pivot arm 42, the positions of the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N are easily shifted or spaced from each other, and the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N can be moved together.
In addition, in this preferred embodiment, the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 overlap each other in plan view and pivot in synchronization. Thus, the width of the cleaning device 40 in the pivot direction of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 can be reduced. In this preferred embodiment, the pivot direction of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 is a direction intersecting with the moving direction of the adaptor 5. Accordingly, the length of the cleaning device 40 in the direction intersecting with the moving direction of the adaptor 5 can be reduced.
In this preferred embodiment, the cleaning device 40 includes the channel switching member 62 that causes the air supply port 61d to selectively communicate with the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N. With this configuration, compressed air is injected from only one of the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N. In a configuration in which compressed air is injected from a large number of nozzles at the same time, the pressure of compressed air needs to be high in order to obtain a sufficient flow rate of compressed air injected from the nozzles. If the pressure of the compressed air is not high, the flow rate of compressed air injected from the nozzles are low disadvantageously. On the other hand, in this preferred embodiment, since compressed air is not injected from the first nozzle 41N and the second nozzle 42N at the same time, the pressure of compressed air does not need to be significantly high.
With respect to the timing of injecting compressed air from the first nozzle 41N or the second nozzle 42N, in the cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment, compressed air is injected from the second nozzle 42N located below the adaptor 5, and then compressed air is injected from the first nozzle 41N located above the adaptor 5. In other words, after cleaning of the adaptor 5 has been performed by injecting compressed air upward, cleaning of the adaptor 5 is performed by injecting compressed air downward. With this configuration, dust accumulated on the adaptor 5 after being blown up by compressed air injected upward can be removed by compressed air injected downward. Accordingly, cleaning of the adaptor 5 can be performed move favorably.
In this preferred embodiment, the cleaning chamber 20 includes the outlet 23 to which the exhaust device M1a is connected. With this configuration, cleaning by the cleaning device 40 can release dust accumulated in the cleaning chamber 20 out of the cleaning chamber 20.
In addition, in this preferred embodiment, the cleaning chamber 20 includes the box-shaped housing 21 accommodating the cleaning device 40, and the housing 21 includes the first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26. The first inlet 24 is provided with the shutter 31. The adaptor moving device 50 as the shutter opening/closing device is configured to open and close the shutter 31, and change the opening area of the first inlet 24 by opening and closing the shutter 31. With this configuration, by opening and closing the shutter 31, the balance of intake air amount between the first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26 can be changed. When the amount of intake air from the second inlets 26 is increased and the amount of wind from the second inlets 26 toward the outlet 23 is increased, dust that is difficult to guide with a flow of wind from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 can be guided to the outlet 23. If the flow of wind from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 is strong, dust in the middle of the wind flow can be guided to the outlet 23. Accordingly, the amount of dust remaining in the housing 21 without being released can be reduced.
In this preferred embodiment, the adaptor moving device 50 as the shutter opening/closing device includes the coupling member 58 coupling the shutter 31 to the retainer 50A. The adaptor moving device 50 is configured to perform both opening and closing of the shutter 31 and movement of the adaptor 5 retained by the retainer 50A. With this configuration, the opening/closing device of the shutter 31 and the adaptor moving device 50 are shared so that the configuration of the cutting machine 10 can be simplified.
In this preferred embodiment, the second inlets 26 are disposed forward of one end (right end in this preferred embodiment) of the moving path of the adaptor 5, and the adaptor moving device 50 is configured to gradually close the shutter 31 as the adaptor 5 approaches this end (right end in this preferred embodiment). With this configuration, as the adaptor 5 approaches one end, the intake air amount of the second inlets 26 increases. In other words, as the adaptor 5 to which dust adheres approaches the second inlets 26, the intake air amount of the second inlets 26 gradually increases. Thus, dust release efficiency is high.
In this preferred embodiment, the outlet 23 is disposed between the first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26. With this configuration, the direction of wind from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 is different from the direction of wind from the second inlets 26 toward the outlet 23. Thus, the advantage of changing the balance in intake air amount between the first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26 by opening and closing the shutter 31 is more effective. For example, if the direction of wind from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 is substantially the same as the direction of wind from the second inlets 26 toward the outlet 23, it is basically preferable that the amount of intake air at location farther from the outlet 23 is large. In view of this, in this case, advantages obtained by changing the balance in intake air amount between the first inlet 24 and the second inlets 26 are small, as compared to this preferred embodiment.
In this preferred embodiment, the outlet 23 is open in the lower wall 21D to intersect with the opening directions (left-right directions in this preferred embodiment) of the entrance 22 of the adaptor 5. The first inlet 24 is open in the upper wall 21U to face the outlet 23 when seen in the opening directions of the entrance 22. In addition, the first inlet 24 is located closer to the entrance 22 than the cleaning device 40 in the opening directions of the entrance 22. With this configuration, the flow of wind from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 is generated to close the entrance 22 at a location closer to the entrance 22 than the cleaning device 40 (see arrow W1 in
In addition, in this preferred embodiment, the outlet 23 is disposed farther from the entrance 22 than the first inlet 24 in the opening directions of the entrance 22. With this configuration, the wind flow from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 travels toward the depth of the housing 21 (to the opposite side to the entrance 22 with respect to the first inlet 24, i.e., rightward in this preferred embodiment). Thus, the reduction or prevention of the release of dust to the outside through the entrance 22 can be more effective.
In this preferred embodiment, the outlet 23 is disposed farther from the entrance 22 than the end of the cleaning device 40 toward the entrance 22, in the opening directions of the entrance 22. The end of the cleaning device 40 toward the entrance 22 is the front ends (left ends) of the first pivot arm 41 and the second pivot arm 42 in this preferred embodiment. In addition, a gap is provided between the cleaning device 40 and the outlet 23. In other words, the cleaning device 40 is spaced away from the lower wall 21D. With this configuration, wind W1 from the first inlet 24 toward the outlet 23 passes between the cleaning device 40 and the lower wall 21D (see
In this preferred embodiment, the door 30 is provided at the entrance 22 of the adaptor 5. The door 30 can further reduce or prevent release of dust to the outside through the entrance 22.
The cutting machine 10 according to this preferred embodiment is set such that the door 30 is closed during cleaning of the adaptor 5. Accordingly, the cutting machine 10 suppresses release of dust to the outside through the entrance 22 during cleaning in which a large amount of dust flies from the adaptor 5.
The adaptor moving device 50 is configured such that the retainer 50A reciprocates between the inside and outside of the cleaning chamber 20 through the entrance 22 and transfers the adaptor 5 to and from the conveyor 15. In this preferred embodiment, the door 30 is opened and closed by pivoting in the moving directions of the adaptor 5 (in the left-right directions in this preferred embodiment). The door 30 is opened when being pushed by the reciprocating retainer 50A in the moving direction of the adaptor 5, that is, leftward in this preferred embodiment, and is closed by the self-weight. With this configuration, the door 30 can be opened and closed by using transfer of the adaptor 5 between the conveyor 15 and the adaptor moving device 50 so that no dedicated opening/closing device for opening and closing the door 30 is needed.
Cutting machines according to preferred embodiments have been described above. Preferred embodiments of the present invention, however, are not limited to the types described above.
For example, in the preferred embodiments described above, the cleaning device 40 is disposed in the cleaning chamber 20 separated from the processing chamber 11. Alternatively, the cleaning device 40 may be disposed in, for example, a processing chamber or an accommodation chamber. In the case of disposing the cleaning device in the processing chamber, the cleaning device may be an air blower to blow compressed air to the holder of the adaptor, for example. The cutting machine may include a plurality of cleaning chambers and a plurality of cleaning devices.
In the preferred embodiments described above, the conveyor 15 transfers the adaptor 5 to and from the adaptor moving device 50, but may bring the adaptor 5 into the cleaning chamber 20. The conveyor is not limited to a specific configuration.
The cleaning device is not limited to a specific configuration. For example, the cleaning device does not need to include nozzles above and below the adaptor retainer, and may include a nozzle only at one side of the adaptor retainer. The nozzles may not need to move, and the adaptor may not move during cleaning. Compressed air may be injected from a plurality of nozzles at the same time. In addition, the cleaning method of the cleaning device may not be the method of blowing compressed air to the adaptor.
Whether the cleaning chamber includes the outlet, the inlet, the shutter of the inlet, the door of the adaptor entrance, and of forth is optional. If these components are provided, arrangement of these components is not specifically limited, either.
Control of the cutting device, the conveyor, the cleaning device, the adaptor moving device, and so forth is not limited to the control described above. For example, the conveyor and the cleaning device may be driven by a user at any timing. The adaptor to be cleaned is not limited to an adaptor retaining a cutting object after cutting. Preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention unless otherwise noted. For example, the cutting machine may not be a dental cutting machine for producing dental shaped products.
The terms and expressions used herein are for description only and are not to be interpreted in a limited sense. These terms and expressions should be recognized as not excluding any equivalents to the elements shown and described herein and as allowing any modifications encompassed in the scope of the claims. The present invention may be embodied in many various forms. This disclosure should be regarded as providing preferred embodiments of the principles of the present invention. These preferred embodiments are provided with the understanding that they are not intended to limit the present invention to the preferred embodiments described in the specification and/or shown in the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments and modifications thereof described herein. The present invention encompasses any of preferred embodiments including equivalent elements, modifications, deletions, combinations, improvements and/or alterations which can be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the disclosure. The elements of each claim should be interpreted broadly based on the terms used in the claim, and should not be limited to any of the preferred embodiments described in this specification or referred to during the prosecution of the present application.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-216225 | Dec 2020 | JP | national |
