Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – For fruit – vegetables – meat or eggs
Patent
1997-12-02
1999-08-31
Edwards, Laura
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
For fruit, vegetables, meat or eggs
15104002, 492 27, B08B 1300
Patent
active
059437227
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to surface treatment, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to the surface treatment of articles moving in an arcuate path.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is known to undertake the multi-stage processing of a workpiece or other article in an indexing turret machine, wherein the article is temporarily secured to a holder which is mounted on a rotatable arm or platform to be indexable through a series of workstations arranged in a circular path. For certain processes, it is essential that the article does not alter its alignment with respect to a reference direction, which may be the holder or its mounting arm. For example, in the multi-colour printing of a CD ("compact disc") wherein a single one of the colours is printed at each workstation on the indexing turret machine, the CD must not rotate about its own axis between workstations because such rotation would put the colours out of register. On the other hand, it may be required that the CD has its surface (the surface being printed) subjected to a cleaning treatment between workstations, eg to remove airborne particulates that have settled on the surface. Such cleaning treatment may be applied by indexing the CD under and in contact with a roller having a tacky surface. A conventional cleaning roller has a cylindrical surface which would not tend to rotate a CD passing under it in a straight-line path, but which undesirably would tend to rotate a CD about its own axis when the CD passes under the roller along the arcuate path inherent in use of an indexing turret machine. Since it may be difficult or impossible to prevent the CD rotating about it own axis while avoiding distortion or other unacceptable damage to the CD, the cleaning roller has to be re-designed to obviate or mitigate any tendency to rotate the CD about its own axis during the period of contact between the CD and the cleaning roller.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a roller for the surface treatment of an article moving relative to the roller in a path which is substantially tangential to a circumference of the roller at the region of contact between the article and the roller, said path being arcuate in a plane which is substantially tangential to the roller at said region of contact, said roller having a longitudinal axis about which the roller rotates in use, the diameter of the roller about said longitudinal axis varying as a function of distance along said longitudinal axis from one longitudinal end of the roller to the other longitudinal end of the roller. The roller is preferably conical about said longitudinal axis.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a roller set for the surface treatment of an article moving relative to a predetermined one of the rollers of the set of rollers in a path which is substantially tangential to a circumference of the predetermined roller at the region of contact between the article and the predetermined roller, said path being arcuate in a plane which is substantially tangential to the predetermined roller at said region of contact, each roller in the roller set being in rolling contact with at least one other roller of the set, said predetermined roller having a longitudinal axis about which the predetermined roller rotates in use of the roller set, the diameter of the predetermined roller about said longitudinal axis varying as a function of distance along said longitudinal axis from one longitudinal end of the predetermined roller to the other longitudinal end of the predetermined roller.
The predetermined roller is preferably conical about said longitudinal axis, and each other roller of the roller set is preferably also conical with notional extensions in the respective convergent direction of the longitudinal axis of the predetermined roller and of a respective longitudinal axis of each other roller preferably intersecting substantially at a common point.
According to a third as
REFERENCES:
patent: 4107830 (1978-08-01), Thomson
patent: 5456169 (1995-10-01), Rohwetter et al.
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 010, No. 059 (M-459), Mar. 8, 1986, JP,A,60 204543, Matsushita Oct. 16, 1985.
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 018, No. 276 (C-1204), May 26, 1994, JP,A,06 046987, Sekisui Chem Feb. 22, 1994.
Crookston William
Hamilton Sheila
Kennett Jonathan
Edwards Laura
Teknek Electronics Limited
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