DE29911482U1 - Device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium - Google Patents

Description

C & H Machine Tools GmbH

Industrial area Gänsäcker 38

78532 Tuttlingen - Moehringen

Device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium

The present invention relates to a device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium, in particular cooling lubricants, oils, vibratory grinding water, vehicle washing water and washing baths, which can be fed to at least one filter via at least one line, in particular a hose.

Working media, regardless of type, are used in many areas of industrial technology today. These working media must be cleaned continuously or discontinuously, as they are subject to considerable contamination during use. For example, cooling lubricants are subject to rapid aging processes due to foreign oils, metal abrasion, chips, dirt and bacteria. They become contaminated, start to smell and become a problem with regard to production quality and occupational hygiene.

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Further problems with these working media are described in particular in DE 197 18 217 Al. There, the medium is cleaned by air flotation in the cleaning device.
5

The present invention is based on the object of significantly improving the previously known cleaning by means of a filter through which the working medium flows.
10

One way to solve this problem is to assign a vacuum and/or pressure generating device to the filter.

Using the vacuum or pressure, the working medium to be cleaned can be easily guided through the filter, from and to a working machine, for example. For this purpose, it will prove advisable if a vacuum-generating device is used to arrange it downstream of the filter in the direction of flow of the working medium. A pressure-generating device, on the other hand, is arranged upstream of the filter. A coupling of both operating modes also seems conceivable.

A further advantage of this operating mode according to the invention is that the actual device can be used stationary for a number of processing machines, for example, as sources of working medium to be cleaned. For this purpose, a central tank is provided as a floor tank, which is under vacuum. The vacuum sucks the working medium to be cleaned from a corresponding storage container on the working machines. The working medium to be cleaned is sucked out of the central tank to the device according to the invention again via vacuum.

The device is then connected via a feed line to a central supply line, via which cleaned working fluid is fed back to the individual processing machines.

A further essential feature of the present invention is that the filter comprises a metal mesh, in particular a stainless steel mesh, stainless steel fleece or the like.

In practice, it has been shown that the use of stainless steel mesh or stainless steel fleece leads to a significant improvement in cleaning due to its robustness and the filter fineness that can be achieved. The working medium emerging from the filter is cleaned much better than with conventional filters.

In the preferred embodiment, the filter is made from individual filter pads connected to one another.

Several filter pads form a filter package. Each filter pad should be constructed in layers. The idea is to arrange the filter layer with the metal mesh between an outer and an inner filter wall. If necessary, a supporting mesh can also be provided between the individual filter layers.

A second feature of the present invention, which is also to be used in known filters but in particular in the present filters with stainless steel mesh or stainless steel fleece, is that a backwash device is assigned to the filter. This backwash device is intended to knock off the filter cake from time to time. For this purpose, the backwash is carried out abruptly, i.e. a

Backwash medium is placed under considerable air pressure and introduced into the filter.

The shape of the filter is of secondary importance. This can be a filter pack, pillow filter or similar.

The sludge accumulating in the filter housing is preferably emptied mechanically or automatically by opening a flap or a slide valve.

The working medium passes from the filter housing through a passage into a working container. Preferably, a second filter section can be assigned a pressure release/flotation, as described in DE 197 18 217 A1. This enriches the working medium with atmospheric oxygen, whereby anaerobic bacteria die and the working medium can therefore neither become contaminated nor smell. For example, the sucked-in working medium can be compressed and then expanded into the working chamber. The expansion after compression demulsifies the foreign oil and the air carried along is broken up into very small air bubbles. This leads to the well-known flotation, whereby the air bubbles attach themselves to the foreign oil and to contaminants floating in the cooling lubricants and take them to the surface of the working medium. The emulsion to be cleaned is flushed in countercurrent with its own liquid, which is, however, enriched with very fine air bubbles.

With the rising foam, all suspended particles and impurities in the cooling lubricant are carried to the surface and can be removed by a surface suction system. This

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Surface suction system preferentially pumps the dirt particles into its own dirt container, where the dirt particles can be removed.

Preferably, in the present invention, a third filtration of the working medium takes place. This is done by a fine filter wall, which divides a clean zone in the working containers and in the dirt container. Since the working medium is only removed from this clean zone below the fine filter wall and returned, this working medium is sucked in through this fine filter wall.

The bottom of the work container and dirt container should preferably be sloped so that any remaining contaminants can settle and be drained through a drain valve.

The present device has the significant advantage that the working medium is cleaned purely physically, without having to dispose of a filter. Cleaning takes place in up to three steps. In the first filter stage, sludge and chips are removed, depending on the application, to a filter fineness of less than 1 μπα. In the second cleaning stage, in the working containers, oil and bacteria are removed into an integrated dirt container. The working medium is automatically ventilated and circulated. In the third stage, the fine filter wall, light oil is removed.

Overall, it is a compact system for cleaning and maintaining working media that can operate fully automatically.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments and from the drawing, which shows in
5

Figure 1 shows a schematically illustrated, partially opened device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium;

Figure 2 shows a further embodiment of a device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium in the position of use near a processing machine;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the opened device according to the invention according to Figure 1;
15

Figure 4 shows a longitudinal section through a filter package according to the invention;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the longitudinal section according to Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a schematic representation of a system with an integrated device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium.

Figure 1 schematically shows a processing machine 1, to which a container 2 for holding a working medium 3, for example a cooling lubricant, is assigned in a bottom recess 31. The working medium 3 is taken from the container 2 by a suction nozzle 32 using a return pump 23 and fed to the processing machine 1 via a return line 33. Used working medium returns from the processing machine 1 to the container 2 via a line 34.

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The container 2 is equipped with a sloping bottom 35 so that both the working medium 3 and the contaminants that settle can reach a lower corner of the container 2. From there, heavily contaminated working medium, for example, is removed and discharged via a suction pump 36.

Working medium 3 to be cleaned is removed from the container 2 by a suction nozzle 5 and transferred to a filter housing 7 in which a filter 13 is located. It flows through the filter 13 and passes through a passage 12 into a vacuum column 37 on which a vacuum pump 10 is located. A filter 38 is provided in the vacuum column 37 in front of the vacuum pump 10. The filtrate itself passes from the vacuum column 37 directly into the container 2 in which partition walls 39.1 to 39.2, indicated by dashed lines, can be provided.

Filtered-out contaminants collect in the filter housing 7 at the bottom and can be released into a transport cart 16 after opening a slide valve 15.1. A valve of a backwash device is indicated at 14 for backwashing the filter 13.

Figure 2 again schematically shows the processing machine 1, to which the container 2 for the working medium 3 is assigned.

To maintain and clean this working medium 3, an operator 4 hangs the suction nozzle 5 into the working medium 3, which is pumped by means of a vacuum or pressure pump via a hose

6 is fed to the filter housing 7. On the filter housing

7 there is a swivel arm 8 with a hose holder 9.

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In order to generate the necessary vacuum for removing the working medium 3 from the container 2, a vacuum pump 10 is provided in a device 9 according to the invention for cleaning and maintaining this working medium 3, which sucks in air from a working chamber 11, the working chamber 11 being connected to the filter housing 7 via the overflow 12. An air filter is identified by 30.

The filter housing 7 contains the filter 13, which in the present embodiment consists of several filter packages. One of the filter packages 40 is shown in Figures 4 and 5. It has a filter pad 41 and a connecting piece 42 to the next filter package or to the transfer 12. The filter pad 41 has a multi-wall structure, as can be seen in Figure 5. The outermost layer is formed by an outer filter wall 43, which has passages 44 for the working medium. The outer filter wall 43 is followed by the actual filter layer 44, which consists of a metal fleece, preferably a stainless steel mesh. This is followed by a supporting fabric layer 45, which is more stable and coarser than the filter layer 44. To the inside there is an inner filter wall 46 with the corresponding passages.

The two opposing wall structures are kept at a distance by spacers 47.

The filter housing 7 is assigned the backwash device 14, which is only shown schematically and can be used to backwash the filter 13. This is preferably done suddenly, for which purpose the backwash device has an air tank which is under a pressure of approximately 1-6 bar.

With the help of this backwash device 14, a cake that accumulates on the filter 13 is suddenly knocked off.

The cake or sludge can be discharged from the filter housing 7 through an openable flap 15. In the present embodiment, it falls into a transport cart 16.

It is also within the scope of the invention that pressure relief takes place in the working chamber 11, as described, for example, in DE 197 18 217 A1. A more detailed description will therefore be omitted here.

According to Figure 3, the working space 11 is divided into various containers. In the present embodiment, two working containers 17.1 and 17.2 can be seen, to which a dirt container 18 is assigned. All three containers 17.1, 17.2 and 18 are further divided by a fine filter wall 19.
20

In the working container 17.1 it can be seen that a

.floating oil 20 or the like is removed by a float 21 of an oil extraction system. This float 21 is preferably designed as is also described in DE 197 18 217 A1.

For this purpose, the float 21 is connected to a pump 22, via which, for example, the extracted, contaminated working medium can be fed back into the filter housing 7 or into the dirt container 18.

A return pump 23 removes cleaned and maintained working medium from the working tanks 17.1 and 17.2 from below the fine filter wall 19 and feeds it

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Work smedi to return to the container 2 via a line 24. A corresponding removal pipe or the like, which projects into the area below the fine filter wall 19, is not shown.
5

The dirt container 18 is assigned a drain valve 25, via which contaminated working medium can be directed into an auxiliary container 26.

It can also be seen that a bottom 27 of the working container and the dirt container is slanted. At approximately the lowest point there is a drain valve 28 through which a sludge cake can be discharged.

The entire fill level in the working containers 17.1, 17.2 and in the dirt container 18 is monitored by corresponding level monitors 29.1 to 29.3.

The operation of the present invention is as follows:

Working medium 3 is removed from the container 2 via the suction nozzle 5 by the vacuum pump 10 placing the working chamber 11 under vacuum. As a result, working medium 3 is sucked through the hose 6 into the filter housing 7, flows through the filter 13 and reaches the overflow 12 and thus into the working chamber 11.

Approximately 95 to 99.9% of sludge and foreign particles remain on the filter 13 and fall to the bottom or settle as a filter cake. From time to time, the filter 13 is therefore backwashed using the backwash device 14, whereby filter cake is knocked off the filter 13. This can also be removed from time to time manually or automatically by opening the flap 15 from the filter housing 7.

A second filtration stage takes place in the working chamber 11. Floating oil, etc., is automatically sucked off via the float 21 as part of an integrated surface suction system and discharged into the dirt container 18. An integrated pressure relief flotation process (not shown in detail) additionally enriches the working medium with the finest atmospheric oxygen bubbles. This prevents the formation of bacteria and fungi and prevents unpleasant odors.

Since the working medium is only removed below the fine filter wall 19, a third filtering takes place through this fine filter wall, whereby additional light oils and suspended matter are retained before the working medium is ready in the clean zone below the fine filter wall 19 for return to the container 2. This takes place via the return pump 23 and the line 24.

Figure 6 shows a stationary device 9 for maintaining and cleaning a working medium. This device 9 is connected to a floor tank 48 via a line or a hose 6. Working medium is sucked from this floor tank 48 via the suction line 6 by the device and via branch lines 4 9 and 50 by the respective processing machines 1.1 and 1.2.

The working medium cleaned in the device 9 passes via the line 24 into a central line 51, via which in turn the individual processing machines 1.1 and 1.2 are supplied with cleaned working medium.

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With such a system, a large number of working machines can be supplied with purified working medium via only a single device 9.

Claims (17)

1. Device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium ( 3 ), in particular cooling lubricants, oils, vibratory grinding water, vehicle washing water and washing baths, which can be fed to at least one filter ( 13 ) via at least one line, in particular a hose ( 6 ), characterized in that a vacuum and/or pressure-generating device ( 10 ) is assigned to the filter ( 13 ). 2. Device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium ( 3 ), in particular cooling lubricants, oils, vibratory grinding water, KFT washing water and washing baths, which can be fed to at least one filter ( 13 ) via at least one line, in particular a hose ( 6 ), characterized in that a backwash device ( 14 ) is assigned to the filter ( 13 ). 3. Device for maintaining and cleaning a working medium ( 3 ), in particular cooling lubricants, oils, vibratory grinding water, vehicle washing water and washing baths, which can be fed to at least one filter ( 13 ) via at least one line, in particular a hose ( 6 ), characterized in that the filter ( 13 ) has a metal mesh, in particular a stainless steel mesh, stainless steel fleece or the like. 4. Device according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that a vacuum-generating device ( 10 ) is arranged downstream of the filter ( 13 ) in the flow direction of the working medium ( 3 ) and/or a pressure-generating device is arranged upstream. 5. Device according to at least one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the filter consists of individual, interconnected filter packages or pads ( 41 ). 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that two inner, opposing filter walls ( 46 ) are separated from each other by spacers ( 47 ). 7. Device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that a filter cushion ( 40 ) is constructed from at least one outer and one inner filter wall ( 43 , 46 ), between which the filter layer ( 44 ) with the metal mesh is located. 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that a supporting fabric layer ( 45 ) is provided between the filter layer ( 44 ) and the inner filter wall ( 46 ). 9. Device according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the filter ( 13 ) is arranged in a housing ( 7 ) (chip decanter) with flap or slide emptying. 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that a transition ( 12 ) from the chip decanter ( 7 ) opens into a working space ( 2 , 11 , 17.1 , 17.2 , 37 ). 11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that a surface suction system ( 21 , 22 ) is associated with the working medium ( 3 ) in the working space ( 17.1 , 17.2 ). 12. Device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that a fine filter, in particular a fine filtering wall ( 19 ), is assigned to the working container ( 17.1 , 17.2 ). 13. Device according to one of claims 10-12, characterized in that a dirt container ( 18 ) is assigned to the working container ( 17.1 , 17.2 ). 14. Device according to at least one of claims 10-13, characterized in that the bottom ( 27 ) of the working container ( 2 , 17.1 , 17.2 ) and/or the dirt container ( 18 ) is bevelled. 15. Device according to claim 14, characterized in that a drain valve ( 28 ) is located at the lowest point of the working container ( 2 , 17.1 , 17.2 ) and/or the dirt container ( 18 ). 16. Device according to at least one of claims 10-15, characterized in that the working container ( 2 , 17.1 , 17.2 ) and/or dirt container ( 18 ) are assigned devices for level monitoring. 17. Plant with a device according to at least one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that a central tank ( 48 ) is connected via suction lines ( 6 , 49 , 50 ) to the device ( 9 ) and a plurality of sources ( 1.1 , 1.2 ) for a working medium ( 3 ), the supply of purified working medium taking place centrally from the device ( 9 ).