U.S. patent application number 15/084701 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-15 for device and method for polishing or abrading products.
The applicant listed for this patent is EUROSIDER S.A.S. di Milli Ottavio & C.. Invention is credited to Ottavio MILLI.
Application Number | 20170165807 15/084701 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55642606 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170165807 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MILLI; Ottavio |
June 15, 2017 |
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR POLISHING OR ABRADING PRODUCTS
Abstract
A device for polishing or abrading products (M), includes: a
polishing element (1) provided with an operating surface (4)
designed to perform a polishing or sanding movement, preferably a
circular or orbital movement; motor elements (13) operatively
connected to the polishing element (1) for impressing on the
operating surface (4) the polishing movement; one or more air ducts
(3) extending from an inlet opening (5), which communicates with a
source (7) of a flow of treated air, for example dried air, gaseous
nitrogen, or modified air rich in nitrogen, to one or more outlets
(6) of the flow distributed in an area corresponding to the
operating surface (4); and elements (8) for regulating the
temperature of the flow of treated air at a value comprised between
-5.degree. C. and +20.degree. C.
Inventors: |
MILLI; Ottavio; (GROSSETO,
IT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
EUROSIDER S.A.S. di Milli Ottavio & C. |
GROSSETO |
|
IT |
|
|
Family ID: |
55642606 |
Appl. No.: |
15/084701 |
Filed: |
March 30, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B 23/02 20130101;
B24B 23/04 20130101; B24B 37/015 20130101; B24B 53/095 20130101;
B24B 55/02 20130101; B24B 23/026 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B24B 55/02 20060101
B24B055/02; B24B 23/04 20060101 B24B023/04; B24B 23/02 20060101
B24B023/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 9, 2015 |
IT |
102015000081137 |
Claims
1. A device for polishing or abrading products (M), comprising: a
polishing element (1) provided with an operating surface (4)
designed to perform a polishing or sanding movement, preferably a
circular or orbital movement; and motor means (13) operatively
connected to said element (1) for impressing on the operating
surface (4) said polishing movement, wherein the device further
comprises: one or more air ducts (3) extending from an inlet
opening (5), which communicates with a source (7) of a flow of
treated air, for example dried air, gaseous nitrogen, or modified
air rich in nitrogen, to one or more outlets (6) of said flow
distributed in an area corresponding to said operating surface (4);
and means (8) for regulating the temperature of said flow of
treated air at a value comprised between -5.degree. C. and
+20.degree. C.
2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising means for
regulating the pressure of said flow of treated air at a value
comprised between 1 bar and 5 bar.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said polishing element
(1) comprises a disk provided with a polishing pad (12) permeable
to said flow of treated air that can be removably applied on said
operating surface (4).
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said means (13)
provided for impressing on the operating surface of said disk a
circular or orbital motion comprise an electric motor (13) housed
within a casing (14) provided with a manual grip (16).
5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said means (13)
provided for impressing on the operating surface of said disk a
circular or orbital motion comprise a pneumatic motor (21) housed
within a casing (14) provided with a manual grip (16), the movement
of which is supplied by a pressurized airflow.
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the movement of said
pneumatic motor (21) is supplied by a part of said flow of treated
air.
7. The device according to claim 6, wherein said air ducts (3) are
provided within said casing (14).
8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said operating surface
(4) is able to perform a circular motion, and said outlet (6) of
the flow of treated air comprises holes or outlets arranged
concentrically with respect to the axis of rotation.
9. A polishing apparatus comprising a device according to claim 1,
and a unit (9) for supply of a flow of nitrogen-rich modified air
produced by separation, preferably with hollow-fibre or
molecular-sieve separation membranes, wherein said source (7) and
said regulation means (8) are integrated in the unit (9).
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said unit (9)
comprises a second outlet (17) for a flow of nitrogen-rich modified
air, which communicates with an air painting device (10).
11. The apparatus according to claim 9, comprising an ionization
unit (11) provided for charging said flow of treated air with a
positive, negative, or neutral overall charge.
12. A method for polishing products by means of a device
comprising: a disk (1) provided with an operating surface (4)
designed to perform a polishing movement, for example a circular or
orbital movement; and means (13) operatively connected to said disk
for impressing on the operating surface (4) a polishing or sanding
motion, for example a circular or orbital motion, wherein the
method comprises the steps of: driving said operating surface (4)
in rotation; sending on said operating surface (4) a flow of
treated air, for example nitrogen or modified air rich in nitrogen
at a regulated temperature; and setting at least one portion of
said rotating operating surface (4) in contact with a painted
surface (15) of a product (M).
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said products (M) are
painted products.
14. The apparatus according to claim 10, comprising an ionization
unit (11) provided for charging said flow of treated air with a
positive, negative, or neutral overall charge.
Description
SECTOR OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to the sector of polishing and/or
sanding of products, and in particular of polishing of metal
substrates, for example made of steel or brass, or else of painted
products.
[0002] More in particular, the invention regards the sector of
polishing of painted substrates using pads, whether with rotary or
orbital motion, for example of the type used in vehicle-body repair
or in the motor-vehicle industry in general or again in the
industry of wood and plastic.
STATE OF THE ART
[0003] There have been known and marketed for some time polishing
devices, rotary and random-orbital polishers actuated by electric
motors or pneumatic turbines, which use a pad that is set in
rotation by a tool and that is passed over the product possibly in
combination with abrasive polishing pastes or creams.
[0004] However, known systems are not satisfactory since their use
entails progressive and/or violent rise in temperature, which is
dangerous for the surface being treated, on account of the
operating friction between the polishing pad chosen and the surface
of the product to be polished.
[0005] Moreover, in the case of polishing of wooden surfaces, the
air tends to cause clogging with the moisture present therein,
whereas nitrogen is anhydrous and dries the surface during
polishing, thus preventing this drawback.
[0006] A further drawback is represented by the considerable
interference that is caused by the relative humidity present in the
operating environment and by the high temperatures of the
environment, for example in summer periods or in given localities,
in addition to the dust in suspension in the polishing
environments.
[0007] In the case of painted products, the rise in temperature of
the materials (plastic material, aluminium, ferrous materials,
products made of glossy lacquered wood, etc.) inevitably leads, in
fact, to serious problems of loss of elasticity of the underlying
film of paint causing pattern formation, lesions and cracking, but
also phenomena of halos and so-called holograms, i.e., marks left
by traditional random-orbital polishers on the polished
products.
PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A first purpose of the present invention is hence to propose
a polishing device and a polishing method that will be free from
the drawbacks referred to above and will enable improvement of the
polishing quality, at the time same reducing power consumption and
the processing time necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The above and further purposes have been achieved with a
device and a method according to one or more of the annexed claims,
which envisage the use of treated air, preferably cold dry air
obtained, for example, with a dryer with cooling cycle or by
absorption (indicatively with dew point comprised between
-20.degree. C. and +10.degree. C.), or even more preferably
nitrogen or else modified air rich in nitrogen, heat-conditioned at
a temperature indicatively comprised between -5.degree. C. and
+20.degree. C.
[0010] A first advantage is represented by the fact that the
treated air is heat-conditioned at various temperatures that can be
selected according to the environment of use and/or to the type of
the substrates to be polished, and is injected between the fibres
of wool or other materials (for example, sponge) commonly used in
polishing pads. In this way, in fact, the surface of contact
between the pad and the product remains cold even at high speeds,
and the risk of damage to the polished surface, and in particular
to the film of paint, is extremely reduced.
[0011] A further advantage is represented by the fact that a
considerable saving of time is obtained, owing to a higher rate of
execution of the polishing process, and hence marked reduction
above all for long jobs that involve several hours of application
and expenditure of a great amount of physical energy.
[0012] Yet a further advantage is represented by the fact that
nitrogen is an inert gas, free from humidity and any type of
impurity, which sensibly reduces the risk of damage to the polished
surface, and in particular to the film of paint.
[0013] Yet a further advantage is represented by the fact that use
of nitrogen enables a saving in energy, roughly up to 40% less, as
compared to the use of traditional systems.
[0014] A further advantage is represented by the fact that it is
possible to respect safety values as regards the temperature of the
surface treated, since the random-orbital movements with cooling
obtained with treated air prevent said values from being exceeded,
without the risk of "burning" the transparency and jeopardizing the
brilliancy defined in the quality specifications of the paints.
[0015] A further advantage is represented by the fact that the use
of heat-conditioned treated air enables complete exploitation of
the surface of contact of the pad, whereas in traditional systems,
on account of the high temperatures that are dangerous for the
surface being treated, it is necessary to keep the pad inclined
with respect to the working surface, and the operator necessarily
uses on average just 40% of the potential useful surface of
contact.
[0016] A further advantage is represented by the fact that there is
obtained a painted surface without holograms, i.e., without the
marks left by traditional random-orbital polishers. The use of
heat-conditioned treated air in a random-orbital polisher does not,
in fact, create holograms and guarantees a high quality of the
finished surface, even in a single pass, removing completely
scratches, halos, streaks, and oxidation.
LIST OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The above and further advantages will be better understood
by any person skilled in the branch from the ensuing description
and from the annexed drawings, which are provided by way of
non-limiting example and in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a manual polishing device according to the
invention;
[0019] FIG. 1a shows a front view of the disk of the device of FIG.
1;
[0020] FIG. 2 shows a polishing apparatus according to the
invention; and
[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a device and an
apparatus according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] With reference to the attached drawings, there now follows a
description of a device for polishing and/or sanding products M, in
particular but in a non-limiting way, painted products.
[0023] The device comprises a disk 1 provided with an operating
surface 4, which, in use, assumes a circular or orbital movement
obtained with appropriate means 13, for example an electric or
pneumatic motor, capable of impressing the polishing motion on the
operating surface 4.
[0024] Preferably, removably applied on the surface 4 of the disk
is a polishing pad 12 permeable to a flow of gas.
[0025] According to the invention, the device comprises a source 7
of a flow of treated air, for example cooled dry air, or nitrogen,
or nitrogen-rich modified air, and one or more air ducts 3
extending from an inlet opening 5, which communicates with the
source 7 by means of ducts 22, to one or more outlets 6 for the
flow of treated air, located on the operating polishing surface 4,
for example in areas corresponding to holes and/or a gap created
between the pad and a suction hood 20.
[0026] Advantageously, the invention envisages means 8 for
regulating the temperature and/or pressure of said flow of treated
air.
[0027] Preferably, the regulation means are provided for regulating
the temperature at a value comprised between -5.degree. C. and
+20.degree. C. and the pressure of the flow of treated air at a
value comprised between 1 bar and 5 bar.
[0028] In the embodiment illustrated, the source 7 and the
regulation means 8 are integrated in a unit 9 for delivering a flow
of treated air, for example nitrogen-rich modified air produced by
means of hollow-fibre separation membranes or by means of a system
with PSA (Pressure-Swing Absorption) molecular sieves.
[0029] Advantageously, the unit 9 comprises a second outlet 17 for
a flow of a pressurized carrier fluid suitable for painting, for
example a flow of treated air as described above, which is in turn
possibly regulated in pressure and/or temperature, said outlet
communicating via ducts 23 with an air-painting device 10. With
this solution, one and the same supply unit 9 can be used both for
polishing and for painting the product M.
[0030] In order to improve the efficiency of the polishing and/or
painting operation, there may moreover be provided an ionization
unit 11 provided for charging said flow of treated air with an
overall positive, negative, or neutral charge, which is for example
integrated in the unit 9.
[0031] Preferably, the means 13 for impressing the motion on the
disk 1 comprise an electric motor 13 housed within a casing 14
provided with manual grip 16, extending inside which are the air
ducts 3 that communicate with the source of treated air.
[0032] In a different embodiment, the means 13 comprise a pneumatic
motor 21, the movement of which is supplied by a pressurized
airflow.
[0033] Advantageously, the pressurized flow that supplies the
pneumatic motor 21 may be formed by a part of a flow of treated air
used for the polishing operation.
[0034] In use, to carry out polishing of a painted product M, the
operator simply has to start the motor drive of the polishing
element 1, enable delivery of a flow of treated air to the outlet
holes 7, and bring the operating surface 4 up to the product M
possibly after application of a layer of abrasive cream or paste of
the type commonly used for polishing.
[0035] Thanks to the invention, the flow of treated air that exits
from the holes 6 carries out a continuous cleaning of the surface
being polished with a gas free from humidity and impurities and at
the time same improves the treatment of the paint and prevents the
heat generated by contact between the operating surface 4 and the
product M from inducing deformation.
[0036] The effect of compensation of the heat generated by the
friction is further improved by the use of heat-conditioning of the
flow of treated air, which may be regulated both on the basis of
the type of polished material and on the basis of the ambient
conditions.
[0037] The present invention has been described according to
preferred embodiments, but equivalent variants may be conceived,
without thereby departing from the sphere of protection of the
invention.
* * * * *