Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Apparatus – Automatic controls
Patent
1995-07-11
1998-01-13
Stinson, Frankie L.
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Apparatus
Automatic controls
134 951, 134 981, 134 991, 134113, 134169C, 134 952, 1341031, 137637, B08B 304
Patent
active
057068410
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement for cleaning automatically heat-exchanging passageways, particularly tool-coolant passageways and more particularly coolant passageways of mould tools.
2. Description of the Related Art
In plastic injection molding processes, molten plastic material is injected into the cavity of a mold under high pressure and allowed to set in the mold. It is particularly important that the plastic material sets in the mold under well-controlled conditions, so as to avoid deviations from specified measurement tolerances or to prevent the occurrence of stresses in the plastic object produced. The setting process is controlled by cooling the tool with water which flows through coolant passageways in the tool. The water is brought to a temperature which corresponds to a given temperature program in a separate temperature control unit and is circulated through the tool-coolant passageways. After use, the tool-coolant passageways are blown clean with compressed air and the tool is placed in storage until it is needed for use in the manufacture of a new series of the plastic objects concerned.
Corrosion of the coolant passageways during storage is unavoidable. The coolant passageways also become dirty during the actual cooling process, due to the fact that the coolant used is normally conventional mains water. Thus, the coolant passageways of a tool taken from the tool store will be coated with rust and impurities thereby making it necessary to modify the aforesaid temperature program in order to take into account the resultant changes in the dimensions of the passageways. After being used for some time, the aforesaid coatings will become so thick as to make it impossible to carry out the temperature program intended, owing to the fact that the cooling effect achieved is no longer sufficient for the purpose intended. It is then necessary to dismantle the tool and to remove the coatings on the coolant passageways mechanically. This mechanical treatment of the passageways also results in passageway dimensions which differ from the original dimensions, meaning that the cooling process must be calibrated prior to using the tool in production.
The present invention is intended to provide an arrangement which will enable heat-exchanging passageways to be cleaned automatically, such that the passageways will always have the same dimensions after being cleaned.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, this is achieved with an arrangement of the aforedefined kind which is characterized in that the arrangement includes an outlet line and an inlet line; means for connecting the outlet line and the inlet line to a respective inlet and outlet of the passageway or passageways to be cleaned; means for filling a tank with cleaning liquid or with rinsing liquid; means for circulating liquid from the tank in a closed circuit through the passageway or passageways to be cleaned; and means for automatically effecting the operations of filling the tank with cleaning liquid, circulating the cleaning liquid through the heat-exchanging passageway or passageways, emptying the tank of cleaning liquid, filling the tank with rinsing liquid and circulating this liquid in the heat-exchanging passageway or passageways, and emptying the tank and the heat-exchanging passageway or passageways of rinsing liquid. Since the dimensions of the passageways are not changed by being cleaned, the same temperature program can be used repeatedly for one and the same mold tool in the manufacture of different series of a plastic object with produced objects having mutually the same quality. This results in a time saving in comparison with earlier methods and arrangements, since it is no longer necessary to adapt the temperature program due to deposits in the coolant passageways prior to manufacturing a series of plastic objects, and that a more uniform quality of manufactured objects will be achieved, because the setting process will be the same for the vario
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Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 9, No. 124, M-383, abstract of JP A 60-9711, Haruhisha Ikezoe, 18 Jan. 1985, Washing Method of Cooling Water Circuit of Mold or Molding Machine.
Adler Johan
Werre Lars
Mangels Alfred J.
Stinson Frankie L.
Werre Lars
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