Ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of double-side cleaning type

An ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus is disclosed which is capable of efficiently cleaning both surfaces of an article and configured to have a reduced size enabling an installation space thereof to be decreased. A pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms each include a nozzle, a disc-shaped ultrasonic transducer arranged so as to face a backward end of the nozzle and an inlet port for a cleaning liquid formed opposite to a side surface of the nozzle. The ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms are integrally incorporated in one casing in such a manner that axes of the nozzles cross each other at a predetermined angle. The casing is provided with one inlet branch port connected to the inlet ports of the ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms. The casing may have a groove formed therein in which an edge of the article arranged between the two nozzles can be inserted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of a double-side cleaning type which is capable of simultaneously cleaning both sides or surfaces of an article to be cleaned such as a hard disc.

2. Description of the Related Art

The assignee of the present invention proposed an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface of an article to be cleaned, wherein a cleaning liquid is ejected, together with an ultrasonic wave, like shower as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,162, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Such an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus40has construction shown inFIG. 4. The ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus40includes a nozzle42attached to a forward end of a casing41, a disc-shaped ultrasonic transducer43arranged so as to be opposed to a backward end of the nozzle42, and an inlet port44for a cleaning liquid formed on a side surface of the casing41. The cleaning liquid supplied from the inlet port44and an ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer43are ejected from the nozzle42so as to clean an article to be cleaned which is disposed in front of the nozzle42. In such an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus, an outlet port42aof the nozzle42is formed to have a linear circular hole, and a backward end surface of the nozzle42is formed to have a conical shape so as to be tapered towards the outlet port42afrom its outer edge at a predetermined angle. A guide mechanism45composed of annular flanges45aand45ais formed on a side surface of the nozzle42.

In the ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus40, since the ultrasonic wave emitted from the nozzle42will not be focused on a fixed point, it is not necessary to precisely adjust a distance from an article to be cleaned to the forward end of the nozzle42at the time of cleaning, resulting in the working efficiency being improved. In addition, the cleaning liquid fed from the inlet port44is rectified by the guide mechanism45so as to be ejected as a uniform flow. At the same time, the emitted ultrasonic wave is repeatedly reflected between a bottom face43aof the ultrasonic transducer43and the backward end surface of the nozzle42so as to be emitted with increased intensity. As a result, an extremely excellent cleaning effect can be achieved.

The ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus proposed by the assignee of the present invention can achieve the high working efficiency and the excellent cleaning effect. The ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus is, however, developed solely in order to clean one side or one surface of an article to be cleaned, and thus cannot simultaneously clean both sides or surfaces of the article to be cleaned. Accordingly, in the case of an article to be cleaned, such as a hard disc, of which both sides are required to be cleaned, when one side thereof has been cleaned, the article is necessitated to be inverted so as to clean the other side thereof. There, therefore, arises a problem that such cleaning takes a lot of effort and time.

As the most simple approach to solving such a problem, as shown inFIG. 5, two ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatuses40are provided and arranged in an opposed manner so as to interpose an article to be cleaned C between them, so that both sides of the article C may be simultaneously cleaned with a cleaning liquid W from the two ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatuses40. In the case where the two ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatuses40are merely arranged in the opposed manner as shown inFIG. 5, however, an installation space for the entire cleaning apparatuses becomes large, and piping and pipe arrangement with respect to inlet ports of the cleaning apparatuses become complicated. As a result, the installation condition is greatly restricted.

As a double-side cleaning apparatus which uses only a normal cleaning liquid without using an ultrasonic wave, a high-pressure spray cleaning apparatus shown inFIG. 6is known in the art. The high-pressure spray cleaning apparatus60is provided with hook-shaped cleaning liquid guide cylinders61aand61bwhich have ejecting nozzles62aand62bformed on inner sides of distal ends thereof, respectively, and which have inlet ports63aand63bfor feeding a high-pressure cleaning liquid formed on proximal ends thereof, respectively. A high-pressure cleaning liquid W is ejected toward both sides or surfaces of an article to be cleaned C from the respective ejecting nozzles62aand62bwhile the article to be cleaned C is arranged between the ejecting nozzles62aand62b. In the case of the high-pressure spray cleaning apparatus60shown inFIG. 6, however, since only the cleaning liquid is used, the cleaning effect is not high, resulting in a problem that cleaning requires a lot of time and a large quantity of the cleaning liquid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of a double-side cleaning type which is capable of efficiently cleaning both surfaces of an article to be cleaned, such as a hard disc, and which is capable of being configured to have a reduced size enabling an installation space thereof to be decreased.

In accordance with the present invention, an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of a double-side cleaning type is provided. The ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus comprises: a casing; and a pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms, each including a nozzle having an outlet port formed at a center portion thereof, a disc-shaped ultrasonic transducer arranged so as to face a backward end of the nozzle and an inlet port for a cleaning liquid formed opposite to a side surface of the nozzle; the pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms being integrally incorporated in the casing in such a manner that axes of the nozzles cross each other at a predetermined angle; the casing being provided with one inlet branch port connected to the inlet ports of the pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms; wherein a cleaning liquid is fed to the pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms via the inlet branch port while an article to be cleaned is arranged between the pair of nozzles, so that front and rear surfaces of the article can be cleaned simultaneously.

According to the ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of the present invention, a pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms are integrally incorporated in one casing, so that both of the front and rear surfaces of the article to be cleaned such as a hard disc can be simultaneously cleaned. Further, such construction can achieve a size reduction of the entire apparatus. Moreover, since only one supply pipeline is used for feeding a cleaning liquid, pipe arrangement and a space necessary for piping have enhanced flexibility, so that an installation space of the apparatus can be utilized effectively.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the casing has a groove of a predetermined depth formed therein in which an edge of the article arranged between the pair of nozzles can be inserted. Such construction permits the article to be moved backwards and forwards to a deep depth into the groove and to a shallow depth in the groove at the time of cleaning, so that the front and rear surfaces of the article can be cleaned widely and effectively.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the groove is formed in such a manner that the depth of the groove is shallowest at the center thereof in a longitudinal direction thereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the predetermined angle at which the axes of the nozzles cross each other is set within a range of 30° to 180°.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring first toFIGS. 1A and 1B,FIGS. 1A and 1Billustrate an ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of a double-side cleaning type according to one embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of a double-side cleaning type10according to the embodiment of the present invention is constructed so that a pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms12A and12B having a structure similar to that of the ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus40(seeFIG. 1) of U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,162 are integrally incorporated in one casing11. As a result, the ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus10can clean both of front and rear surfaces of an article to be cleaned C simultaneously and can be reduced in size.

The casing11incorporating the pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms12A and12B is formed to have such a symmetrical shape that both of the surfaces of the article C can be cleaned simultaneously. More specifically, as shown inFIG. 1B, one of the ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms12A is disposed in a right half portion of the casing11and the other12B is disposed in a left half portion of the casing11in such a manner that central axes Pa and Pb of nozzles13and13are tilted so as to cross each other at a predetermined angle θ, for example, of about 68° in the illustrated embodiment. The angle θ may be suitably determined or selected taking into consideration a size of the article to be cleaned C, cleaning performance of the apparatus, fabrication conditions and the like. Practically, the angle θ may be set within a range from about 30° to 180°.

The pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms12A and12B have the same construction in which corresponding parts thereof are reversely arranged on the sides. The pair of ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms12A and12B each include a corresponding one of the nozzles13which has an outlet port13aformed through a center portion thereof and which is disposed at a forward end of the mechanism. The nozzles13are mounted in respective bores formed in the casing11. A pair of disc-shaped ultrasonic transducers14and14are each arranged in the casing11so as to face a backward end of a respective one of the nozzles13in the casing11at a predetermined distance apart from the backward end of the nozzle13. A pair of inlet ports15for feeding a cleaning liquid are each formed in the casing11opposite to a side surface of a respective one of the nozzles13. The pair of inlet ports15are connected with a single inlet branch port16formed in an upper portion of the casing11.

Each of the nozzles13has two disc-shaped flanges17formed on the backward end thereof at a position where the inlet port15is opened, so that the two flanges17constitute a guide mechanism for feeding the cleaning liquid supplied via the inlet port15as a uniform flow into the outlet port13a.

The upper surface of an upper one of the two flanges17constituting the guide mechanism is formed to be such a conical surface which slopes down towards the outlet port13aat a predetermined angle (for example, of 0.5° to 15°) that an ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer14is repeatedly reflected between a bottom face of the ultrasonic transducer14and the upper surface of the upper flange17so as to be converged on a position of the outlet port13aand ejected, together with the cleaning liquid, from the outlet port13ato the outside. Further, the upper flange17desirably has a thickness of ¼ of an ultrasonic wavelength λ in order to allow the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer14to be reflected efficiently.

The casing11has an article insertion groove19of a predetermined depth, into which an edge of the article to be cleaned C can be inserted, formed in a center portion of the lower surface thereof so as to be positioned in a borderline between the ultrasonic shower cleaning mechanisms12A and12B arranged symmetrically. As will be described in detail later, the article insertion groove19allows the edge of the article to be cleaned C such as a hard disc to be inserted therethrough at the time of cleaning, whereby cleaning is executed so that the front and rear surfaces of the article C can be cleaned widely and effectively. The article insertion groove19, as shown inFIG. 1A, has a bottom which has a substantial V-shape as viewed from the side or as viewed in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the groove19so that the cleaning apparatus10can execute cleaning while being oscillated. That is, the article insertion groove11is formed in such a manner that the depth of the groove11is shallowest at the center thereof in a longitudinal direction thereof. In addition, such a configuration of the article insertion groove19can effectively drain the used cleaning liquid containing particles or the like from the groove19due to an inclination of the bottom of the groove19, to thereby prevent the used cleaning liquid from remaining in the groove19. Especially, when the cleaning apparatus10is disposed below an article to be cleaned C so as to eject a cleaning liquid along with an ultrasonic wave upwards, the inclined bottom of the article insertion groove19positively drains the used cleaning liquid from the groove19, to thereby prevent particles or the like from redepositing on the surfaces of the article C.

A set of leads or wires18for supplying a high-frequency electric current for generating an ultrasonic wave to the ultrasonic transducer14is drawn out from a corresponding one of power distribution ports20aand20bformed on the opposite sides of the upper surface of the casing11. The set of wires18is connected to an ultrasonic high-frequency generating apparatus (not shown) through a connecting cable21aor21b. The inlet branch port16for feeding a cleaning liquid in a branched manner is connected to a cleaning liquid source or a cleaning liquid supplying apparatus (not shown) through one supply pipeline22.

A manner of cleaning using the ultrasonic shower cleaning apparatus of a double-side cleaning type10thus constructed will be explained below.

At the time of cleaning, as shown by phantom line inFIGS. 1A and 1B, the article to be cleaned C such as a hard disc is inserted into the article insertion groove19, and the article to be cleaned C is rotated by a rotary mechanism (not shown) at a predetermined speed. Then, a cleaning liquid W is fed through the supply pipeline22at a predetermined pressure to the pair of nozzles13via the inlet branch port16and the inlet ports15, so that the cleaning liquid W is ejected to the front and rear surfaces of the rotating article to be cleaned C from both of the outlet ports13aformed on the center portions of the respective nozzles13. Further, a high-frequency electric current is supplied to the ultrasonic transducers14on both sides via the connecting cables21aand21b, so that an ultrasonic wave is emitted from each of the ultrasonic transducers14.

The ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer14is repeatedly reflected between the upper surface of the upper one of the two flanges17constituting the guide mechanism and the bottom face of the ultrasonic transducer14, to thereby converge on the outlet port13a.The ultrasonic wave, together with the cleaning liquid, is emitted from the forward end of the outlet port13aof each nozzle13to the article to be cleaned C. Thereby, particles and foreign matter which adhere to the front and rear surfaces of the article to be cleaned C can be peeled off by ultrasonic vibration and can be simultaneously rinsed off by the cleaning liquid. As a result, an extremely high cleaning effect can be achieved.

In the cleaning described above, only the article to be cleaned C is rotated. However, the article to be cleaned C may be cleaned while the article C is not only rotated but also vertically moved simultaneously as shown inFIG. 2. Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 3, the article to be cleaned C may be cleaned while only the article C is rotated, whereas the cleaning apparatus10is simultaneously oscillated laterally or moved vertically. As a result, the front and rear surfaces of the article to be cleaned C can be cleaned more effectively.