Abstract:
A centrifugal parts cleaner having a housing, a hub disposed within the housing rotatable about a vertical axis, a driver to rotate the hub, at least two radial arms extending from the hub and a cradle pivotally connected to the at least two radial arms configured to receive a porous container for retaining parts to be cleaned. As the hub is rotated, the cradle pivots away from the hub to retain the parts in the porous container while allowing fluid on the parts to be extracted by centrifugal force.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to a parts cleaning apparatus and more specifically, but not exclusively, to a centrifugal parts cleaning apparatus for cleaning parts covered with a fluid. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     During the process of machining, it is common to use fluids to lubricate parts in order to reduce wear on equipment and to facilitate the machining process. However, fluid residue left on parts after the machining process is generally unwanted and often removed. One common way to remove the fluid from parts is to wash the parts with a solvent capable of removing or dissolving the fluid. One drawback of such a process, however, is that the fluid removed from the parts cannot be reclaimed without an expensive secondary process. Moreover the solvent itself is often expensive. It is also known to remove fluid from parts using centrifugal force. Parts are placed in a centrifuge and spun until the fluid is removed from the parts. Such a process however, imparts a great deal of force on the parts and has the capability to dislodge parts, causing damage and lost parts. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect, the invention relates to a pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner having a housing, a hub disposed within the housing rotatable about a vertical axis, a driver to rotate the hub, at least two radial arms extending from the hub and a cradle pivotally connected to the at least two radial arms configured to receive a porous container for retaining parts to be cleaned. As the hub is rotated, the cradle pivots outward to retain the parts in the porous container while allowing fluid on the parts to be removed by centrifugal force. 
     In another aspect, the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner may include a hydraulically operated cover for selectively providing access to the housing and control system for operating the centrifugal parts cleaner according to a cycle of operation. The control system may be configured to spin the hub at a set speed for a set amount of time. 
     In yet another aspect, the housing may be configured to collect to the fluid removed from the parts so as to be reused in subsequent operations. The fluid removed from the parts may come into contact with the inside surfaces of the housing and drain into a sump disposed beneath the housing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning now to the drawings and to  FIG. 1  in particular, there is shown a perspective view of a pivoting centrifugal parts spinner or cleaner according to a an embodiment of the invention. The pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  10  comprises a housing  15 , a rotatable hub  20 , a driver  145  shown in  FIG. 2 , at least two radial arms  25 ,  25 ′, and at least one pivoting cradle  35 . The rotatable hub  20  is mounted in the housing  15  so as to rotate about an axis. Preferably the axis will be vertical or at least substantially vertical. The driver  145  ( FIG. 2 ) is connected to rotatable hub  20  to cause the rotatable hub  20  to rotate. The radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ connect to the rotatable hub  20  and project outwards away from the rotatable hub  20  forming pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′ at the end opposite the rotatable hub  20 . The four vertical sides and the bottom horizontal side of the pivoting cradle  35  form a rectangular box supporting structure and the top horizontal side forms an opening to receive a porous container  40 . The vertical sides and horizontal bottom of the pivoting cradle  35  are configured to secure the porous container  40  and to provide voids or open spaces to expose the porous container  40 . The pivoting cradle  35  further comprises two pivoting mounting locations located above the top horizontal side opening which correspond to the radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′ and the pivoting cradle  35  is pivotally mounted to the radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ at the pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′. The four vertical sides and the bottom horizontal side of the porous container  40  form a porous rectangular box supporting structure and the top horizontal side forms an opening to receive parts. 
     When the driver  145  ( FIG. 2 ) rotates the rotatable hub  20 , the radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ connected to the rotatable hub  20  also rotate. The pivoting cradle  35  pivotally connected to the radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ at pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′ also rotates along with the radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ and the rotatable hub  20 . In turn, the porous container  40  seated in the pivoting cradle  35  rotates as well. As the pivoting cradle  35  and porous container  40  rotate about a vertical axis at the center of the rotatable hub  20 , a centrifugal force which draws a rotating body away from the center of rotation, is imparted to the pivoting cradle  35  and to porous container  40 . Because the pivoting cradle  35  and porous container  40  are pivotally connected to the radial arms  25 ,  25 ′ at the pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′ which lie substantially above the rectangular box supporting structure of the pivoting cradle  35  and porous container  40 , the centrifugal force causes the pivoting cradle  35  and porous container  40  to pivot on the radial to the pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′ about the horizontal axis between the two pivoting mounting locations  30 ,  30 ′ away from the rotatable hub  120 . 
     Fluid covered parts held in the porous container  40  as it pivots away from the rotatable hub  20  are held in place by the centripetal force or the normal force created by the sides and bottom of the porous container  40 . However, the pores in the porous container  40  are large enough to allow fluid to pass through; therefore, the fluid on the fluid covered parts has no centripetal force or normal force to hold it in place or resist the centrifugal force acting to draw the fluid away from the center of rotation of the rotatable hub  20 . In this way, the centrifugal force acting on the fluid draws the fluid away from the rotatable hub  20 , through the porous container  40  and off the parts, thereby extracting the fluid from the parts. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic view of a pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100  according to the invention. Many parts of the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100  of  FIG. 2  are similar to the centrifugal parts cleaner  10  of  FIG. 1 . Thus, like parts will be identified with like numerals of  FIG. 1 , except the numerals will be increased by 100. 
     The centrifugal parts cleaner  100  is similar that of  FIG. 1  in that it comprises a housing  115 , a rotatable hub  120 , a driver  145  to rotate the rotatable hub  120 , at least two radial arms  125 ,  125 ′, and at least one pivoting cradle  135 . The radial arms  125 ,  125 ′ connect to the rotatable hub  20  and project outwards away from the rotatable hub  120  forming a pivoting mounting location  130 ,  130 ′ at the end opposite the rotatable hub  120 . The four vertical sides and the bottom horizontal side of the pivoting cradle  135  form a rectangular box supporting structure and the top horizontal side forms an opening to receive a porous container  140 . The vertical sides and horizontal bottom of the pivoting cradle  135  are configured to secure the porous container  140  and to provide voids to expose the porous container  140 . The pivoting cradle  135  further comprises two pivoting mounting locations located above the top horizontal side opening which correspond to the radial arms  125 ,  125 ′ pivoting mounting locations  130 ,  130 ′ and the pivoting cradle  135  is pivotally mounted to the radial arms  125 ,  125 ′ at the pivoting mounting locations  130 ,  130 ′. The four vertical sides and the bottom horizontal side of the porous container  140  form a porous rectangular box supporting structure and the top horizontal side forms an opening to receive parts. 
     A tether  170  connects the pivoting cradle  125  to the rotatable hub  120 . Preferably the tether  170  is adjustable so that a user can change its length and thus control the degree of pivot. Ideally, the tether  170  limits the degree of pivot of the pivoting cradle  120  to optimize the fluid removal from the parts held in the porous container  140  and prevent parts held in the porous container  140  from falling out as well as to secure the pivoting cradle  135  if the mounts at the pivoting mounting locations  130 ,  130 ′ were to fail. 
     The pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100  may further comprise different systems and components to enhance functionality and safety of the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100 . The different systems include an access system, a fluid collection system, a drive system, a braking system, a safety system and a control system. 
     The access system comprises a cover  150  to selectively provide access to the at least one pivoting cradle  135 . The cover  150  may be hydraulically operated by a hydraulic hinge  155  and a hydraulic power unit  160 . When access to the at least one pivoting cradle  135  is prevented, a seal  165  is created between the housing  115  and the cover  150 . 
     The fluid collection system comprises a bottom wall  175  of the housing  115  which is sloped from one side of the housing  115  to the other. It is preferred that the lowest point of the sloped bottom wall  175  is at the opposite side of the housing as the hydraulic hinge  155 . A fluid porous screen  180  is formed in the lowest side of the bottom wall. The other walls of the housing  115  may also be sloped towards the screen  180  and the lowest point of the sloped bottom wall  175 . A removable sump  185  is disposed beneath the screen  180  and the housing  115 . A fluid removal port  190  is disposed at the bottom of the sump  185 . The fluid removal port  190  allows fluid contained in the sump  185  to be drained or pumped from the sump  185 . 
     The drive system comprises the driver  145  which is connected to the rotatable hub  120  by a pulley system  147 . The pulley system  147  may consist of a flywheel mounted to a shaft in communication with the rotatable hub  120  and a belt in communication with the driver and the flywheel. The rotatable hub  120  extends through the bottom wall  175  wherein the bottom wall  175  may form a seal around the rotatable hub  120  or an inclined lip around the rotatable hub  120  to prevent fluid leakage between the rotatable hub  120  and the bottom wall  175 . In other embodiments, the driver  145  may be directly coupled to the rotatable hub  120  or use gears to connect to the rotatable hub  120 . 
     The braking system comprises an air brake  195  mounted within the rotatable hub  120  to stop rotation of the rotatable hub  120 . The air brake  195  is connected to a diaphragm  200  for controlling the air brake  195  which is mounted beneath the bottom wall  175  of the housing  115 . A compressed air line  205  may supply the diaphragm  200  and air brake  195  with compressed air. 
     The safety system comprises guarding  220  disposed around cover  150  and housing  115  to protect against injury from moving components of the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100 . The guarding may further include light curtains, emergency stops and other safety devices well known in the art. 
     The control system comprises a control panel  215  that is mounted to the guarding  220  or the housing  115  to control the operation of the cover  150 , driver  145 , air brake  195  and other components as well as the electrical power supply  210  supplied to those components. The control panel  215  may have a processor to permit or restrict operations of different components and systems based on certain criteria. For example, the processor may not allow the driver  145  to rotate if the cover  150  is not in sealing contact with the housing  115 . The processor may also be programmed to control the speed of rotation of the rotatable hub  120  and the duration of rotation. The control panel  120  may further comprise a user interface to display information about a cycle of operation and to control the different components and operations of the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100 . 
     The operation of the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner  100  of  FIG. 2  will now be explained. Using the control panel  215 , the cover  150  may be automatically opened to gain access to the at least one pivoting cradle  135 . Opening the cover  150  via the control panel  215  activates the hydraulic power unit  160  which pumps hydraulic fluid into the hydraulic hinge  155  causing the cover  150  to open. Each pivoting cradle  135  may then receive a porous container  140  containing fluid covered parts. After the porous containers  140  are placed in the pivoting cradles  135 , the cover  150  may be shut to form a seal  165  with the housing  115  using the control panel  215 . When shutting, the hydraulic fluid is removed from the hydraulic hinge  155  and returned to the hydraulic power unit  160 . It is also possible to manually open the shut the cover  150  in case of a hydraulic failure. 
     A cycle of operation may then be initiated using the control panel  215 . According to one cycle of operation, the driver  145  is rotated at a predetermined speed. The speed may be dependent on the type of fluid, the type of parts and/or the amount of parts and may vary at predetermined times during the cycle of operation. The rotating driver  145  rotates the rotatable hub  120  using the pulley system  147 . 
     As the rotating hub  120  rotates, a centrifugal force is generated causing the pivoting cradle  135  to pivot on the radial to the pivoting mounting locations  130 ,  130 ′ about the horizontal axis between the two pivoting mounting locations  130 ,  130 ′ away from the rotatable hub  120 . The degree of the pivot is limited by the tether  170  in order to optimize the fluid removal and ensure the parts remain in the porous container  140 . 
     The porous container  140  secured by the pivoting cradle  135  creates a centripetal force or normal force on the parts held in the porous container  140  but not on the fluid covering the parts which acts to hold the parts in the porous container  140 . The centrifugal forces generated acting on the fluid draw it away from the center of rotation of the rotating hub  120 , off the parts and through the pours in the porous container  140  thereby extracting the fluid from the parts. 
     The fluid is then decelerated by housing  115 , and cover  150 . The forces of gravity acting on the fluid cause it to flow off the cover  150  and side walls of the housing  115  onto the bottom wall  175  of the housing  115 . The downward slope of the bottom wall  175  directs the fluid to the screen  180  where debris and contaminants are removed from the fluid as the fluid passes through the screen  180  and into the sump  185 . If the sump  185  becomes full of fluid, the fluid may be drained or pumped out of the sump  185  through the fluid removal port  190 . 
     After a predetermined time optimized for the fluid, parts and/or amount of parts, the rotation of the driver  145  is stopped and the air brake  195  is activated. The diaphragm  200  releases the compressed air held in the diaphragm  200  causing the airbrake  195  to provide resistance to the rotation of the rotatable hub  120  until all rotation of the rotatable hub  120  is halted. 
     Once rotation of the rotatable hub  120  is stopped, the cover  150  may opened to once again gain access to the at least one pivoting cradle  135  as described above. The porous containers  140  containing parts may be removed. The cover  150  may then be automatically shut using the control panel  215  as described above at which point the process may be repeated. 
     In one embodiment, a pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner containing six pivoting cradles effectively removes the fluid from parts held in porous containers seated in the pivoting cradles when the rotatable hub is rotated at between 50 and 200 revolutions per minute for between 3 to 10 minutes, however, it will be understood that the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner according to this invention may be configured to rotated at any speed for any amount of time. 
     It will further be understood the different components of the pivoting centrifugal parts cleaner may be made from any material well known in the art of those individual components. 
     The embodiments described above provide for a variety of benefits including an effective means to remove fluid from parts and recollect the fluid removed from the parts. The pivoting cradle  135  and porous container  140  provide the benefit of being able to hold a multitude of parts of different shapes. The pivoting action of the pivoting cradle  135  prevents the parts from being removed from the porous container  140  due to the centrifugal force generated during rotation of the rotatable hub  140  making is less likely to loose or damage parts during the cleaning operation. 
     To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various embodiments may be used in combination with each other as desired. That one feature may not be illustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed that it may not be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of the different embodiments may be mixed and matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described. All combinations or permutations of features described herein are covered by this disclosure. 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.