Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cleaning device for leather pieces and leather articles, which is used in the haberdashery-leather industry.

Background of the Invention

It is known that unwanted dye edging may occur on the front or back side of a leather piece during the process of dyeing edges of leather pieces and leather articles, which is unacceptable in terms of quality. In addition, during the process of dyeing, the operator hands become smudged with dye, which very often leads to smudging the leather pieces by the smudged hands.

It is known from the practice that defects, such as unwanted edging at the front or back side of a leather piece, are removed by manual cleaning. This operation is labour- intensive and reduces the quality of leather pieces, in particular those made of soft leather.

Disclosure of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a compact and easily portable cleaning device for high-quality cleaning of leather pieces and leather articles from dye.

According to the present invention, a cleaning device for leather pieces and leather articles comprises a base plate arranged vertically and accommodated in a water container; an endless working belt, driven by a rubberized wheel that is mounted on a drive shaft; a set of washing rollers mounted in the lower part of the base plate, and above the set of washing rollers, a squeezing mechanism is arranged, being composed of a driving-squeezing roller and a pressing roller; after said squeezing mechanism, a system of rollers for additional squeezing of the endless working belt, an upper guide roller and a lower guide roller are arranged sequentially; an end guide roller is arranged outside said container for taking a part of the working belt out of the container into a working area for cleaning leather pieces. The endless working belt is passed successively through a tension roller for adjusting the belt clearance

, the rubberized wheel of the drive shaft, the group of washing rollers, the squeezing mechanism, the system of rollers for additional squeezing of the endless working belt, the upper guide roller, the end guide roller, the lower guide roller and again the tension roller. The drive shaft with the rubberized wheel and the driving-squeezing roller are connected to a stepper motor through belt drives and a magnetic coupling having a first magnet holder and a second magnet holder, whereby said stepper motor and said second magnet holder connected to the stepper motor are arranged outside the water container.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pressing roller of the squeezing mechanism is equipped with a holder and a plate with a shaft, and a handle is provided for adjusting the degree of squeezing of the working belt, being attached to a spring-loaded screw enclosed by an outer tube resting on the holder of said pressing roller.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drive shaft is arranged on both sides of the base plate, and the belt drives for the drive shaft and for the driving- squeezing roller are located on the back side of the base plate.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the end guide roller is held by a plate arranged between the parts of the endless working belt that come in and out of the container, as well as by an axis, which is passed through a thinner part at the end of the plate, said end guide roller being composed of two rollers, which are mounted on both sides of the axis.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, for the part of the endless working belt located in the working area, a mechanism for adjusting the inclination of this part of the belt is provided.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a closing lid equipped with a handle and a locking mechanism is provided for the water container.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a level meter is mounted on one of the side walls of the water container for measuring the water level in the container.

The advantages of said cleaning unit according to the present invention are as follows: The cleaning unit is compact and readily transportable, and due to this, cleaning and filling the device with water is simple and convenient. Thanks to the use of a magnetic coupling for driving the endless working belt, there are no electrical parts in the container of the cleaning device, which greatly increases the safety and reliability thereof. The presence of a double-secured squeezing system ensures an almost dry belt in the working area for cleaning, which allows for high-quality and easy cleaning of leather pieces and leather articles. Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of a cleaning device for leather pieces and leather articles according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an axonometric front view of the base plate of the cleaning unit.

FIG. 3 is an axonometric rear view of the base plate of the cleaning unit.

FIG. 4 is a leather piece to be cleaned.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

Referring to FIG.l - FIG. 3, a cleaning device for leather pieces and leather articles is shown, the cleaning device comprises a base plate 8 arranged vertically and accommodated in a water container 12, and an endless working belt 10, driven by a rubberized wheel 14 that is mounted on a drive shaft (not shown in the figures) located on both sides of the base plate 8, said rubberized wheel 14 is provided with a pressing mechanism 5. A tension roller 9 for adjusting the belt clearance is provided and a set of washing rollers 2 is mounted in the lower part of said base plate 8, and above them, a squeezing mechanism 6 is arranged, comprising: a driving-squeezing roller 6.6; a pressing roller 6.4 with a holder 6.3, supported by a plate with a shaft 6.5; a handle 6.1 for adjusting the degree of squeezing of the working belt 10, being attached to a spring-loaded screw (not shown in the figures), enclosed by an outer tube 6.2 that is rested on the holder 6.3. After said squeezing mechanism (6), a system of rollers 15 for additional squeezing of the endless working belt 10, an upper guide roller 17.1 and a lower guide roller 17.2 are arranged sequentially in the upper part of the base plate 8. An end guide roller (16) is arranged outside said container (12) for taking a part of the working belt 10 out of the container (8) into a working area for cleaning leather pieces The end guide roller 16 is supported on a plate 16.3 attached at one end to the base plate 8 and arranged within the working area between an upper and lower part of the working belt 10, as well as on an axis (not shown in the figures), which passes through a thinner part formed at the other end of the plate 16.3. Said end guide roller 16 is composed of two rollers 16.1 and 16.2, which are mounted on both sides of the axis.

The endless working belt 10 is passed successively through the tension roller 9, the rubberized wheel 14 mounted on the drive shaft, the set of washing rollers 2, the squeezing mechanism 6, the system of rollers 15 for additional squeezing of said working belt 10, the upper guide roller 17.1, the end guide roller 16, the lower guide roller 17.2 and again the tension roller 9.

The drive shaft with the rubberized wheel (14) and the driving-squeezing roller (6.6) are connected to a stepper motor through belt drives and a magnetic coupling, as follows: A belt wheel 22 is mounted on the back end of the drive shaft located at the back side of the base plate 8 (see FIG. 3), said belt wheel 22 is connected by means of a drive belts 21 to a second belt wheel 20 mounted on a driving axle (not shown in the figures), which is connected to a magnet holder 1 arranged in the front part of the base plate 8 (see FIG 2), said magnet holder 1 having magnets incorporated therein and being a part of a magnetic coupling through which the drive shaft and the rubberized wheel 14 are connected to a stepper motor (not shown in the figures). The stepper motor and a second magnet holder of the magnet coupling are arranged outside the water container 12. A belt pulley 18 is mounted on the back side of the base plate 8 through a second driving axle (not shown in the figures) for transmitting the motion to the driving-squeezing roller 6.6, said belt pulley 18 is connected to the second belt wheel 20 using belts 19.

For the part of the working belt 10 located in the working area, a mechanism 7 for adjusting the inclination of this part of the belt 10 is provided.

A closing lid 4 equipped with a handle 13 and a locking mechanism 26 is provided for the water container 12. A level meter 11 is mounted on one of the side walls of the container 12 (see FIG. 1) for measuring the water level in the container 12.

Working principle of the washing unit: The stepper motor drives the magnetic coupling and, using the magnet holder 1 and the drive axis, rotates the drive shaft and the rubber wheel 14, which in turn drives the endless working belt 10 by means of the pressing mechanism 5. The endless working belt 10 moves continuously on the system of rollers described, while passing through the group of washing rollers 2, where the working belt 10 is washed, and subsequently passes through the squeezing mechanism 6, where it is squeezed by the rollers 6.4 and 6.6. The endless working belt 10 then passes through the system of rollers 15 for additional squeezing and drying. Drying is an important operation on which the high-quality operation of the washing unit depends. The working belt 10 dried then passes through the upper guide roller 17.1 and enters the working area located outside the water container 12, after which it enters for a new washing cycle. The normal water level in operating mode is such that it reaches the upper part of the tension roller 9. In FIG. 4, a leather piece 23 is shown, whereby the piece edge 25 is dyed, however, there is an unwanted edging of dye 24 on the face of the piece. Cleaning of the unwanted edging of dye 24 is executed as follows: The smudged face of the leather piece is touched the endless working belt 10 that is located outside the water container 12. Passing through the smudged face of the piece, the dye is removed from the leather piece, without affecting the dye applied on the piece edge. Thus, the unwanted edging or another foulness of the pieces dyed are removed. In addition, if the operator smudges their hands with dye, they may clean them using the method described.

The cleaning device is compact, and in this example, its weight is 6,200 kg, which makes it easily portable. The cleaning device is washed easily, since there are no electrical parts therein, due to the use of a magnetic coupling, which allows for mounting the drive motor outside the cleaning device. The base plate 8, together with the components mounted thereon, is taken out of the water container 12 using the handle 13 and gets washed. The container 12 is also washed and is filled-up with fresh water, after which the base plate 8 is placed back into the container 12.