FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a detachable pull-out slide for a contact cleaning apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a detachable pull-out slide capable of providing improved access for maintenance of adhesive and cleaning rollers in a contact cleaning apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Contact cleaning is used to clean substrate surfaces. Once cleaned the substrate surfaces may be used in a variety of sophisticated processes such as in the manufacturing of electronics, photovoltaics and flat panel displays. Usually, a rubber or elastomeric cleaning roller is used to remove contaminating particles from a substrate surface and an adhesive roller is then be used to remove the contaminating particles from the cleaning roller. This allows the cleaning roller to maximise its efficiency in removing contaminating particles from a substrate.

However, the maintenance of contact cleaning apparatus can be time consuming and there ca be inadequate access to easily maintain and/or replace adhesive and cleaning rollers. The inadequate access means that regular maintenance may not be conducted which means that the performance of the cleaning apparatus may be reduced. Damage to the contact cleaning apparatus may also accidentally be caused due to the poor access when repair or replacement of the adhesive and cleaning rollers is being performed.

It is an object of at least one aspect of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one or more of the aforementioned problems.

It is a further object of at least one aspect of the present invention to provide a detachable pull-out slide capable of providing improved access for maintenance of adhesive and cleaning rollers in a contact cleaning apparatus.

It is a further object of at least one aspect of the present invention to provide an improved method of maintaining and/or replacing adhesive and cleaning rollers in a contact cleaning apparatus by providing a detachable pull- out slide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a contact cleaning apparatus comprising a detachable pull-out slide mechanism capable of providing improved access for maintenance of the contact cleaning apparatus, said contact cleaning apparatus comprising:

at least one contact cleaning roller capable of removing contaminating debris from a substrate surface, the at least one contact cleaning roller being located within a first cleaning unit;

at least one adhesive roller capable of removing debris from the contact cleaning roller, the at least one adhesive roller also being located within the first cleaning unit; wherein the at least one contact cleaning roller and the at least one adhesive roller are mounted on a retractable pull-out slide mechanism which is capable of being slid in and out of the first cleaning unit.

The present invention therefore relates to a detachable pull-out slide mechanism capable of providing improved access, and in particular side access, for the maintenance and/or replacement of adhesive and contact cleaning rollers in a contact cleaning apparatus. The present invention therefore not only allows side access for the maintenance of the cleaning units and removal of the contact cleaning and adhesive rollers but also allows easy removal of the cleaning units for maintenance away from the contact cleaning apparatus.

In particular embodiments, the contact cleaning apparatus comprises a further set of contact cleaning and adhesive rollers to provide double-sided cleaning for substrates to be cleaned. This further set of contact cleaning and adhesive rollers may be located within a second cleaning unit. The contact cleaning and adhesive rollers may also be mounted on the retractable pull-out slide mechanism. Both the first and second cleaning units (e.g. an upper and lower cleaning unit) may therefore be mounted on the retractable pull-out slide mechanism with the first and second cleaning units capable of being slid in and out of the contact cleaning apparatus.

In preferred embodiments, the first and second cleaning units may be of the same configuration (e.g. a mirror image of each other) which facilitates the maintenance of the cleaning apparatus and its operation. Therefore, there may be two contact cleaning rollers and two adhesive rollers with the two contact cleaning rollers located adjacent to one another and able to provide double-sided cleaning to a substrate fed in-between the two contact cleaning rollers. Each of the adhesive rollers may then remove contaminating debris the contact cleaning rollers.

The retractable pull-out slide mechanism may comprise at least one channel (e.g. a 'U'-shaped channel) or at least one runner (e.g. a rail) along which sliding may occur. The first and second cleaning units may also comprise at least one channel (e.g. a 'U'-shaped channel) or at least one runner (e.g. a rail) along which sliding may occur.

The retractable pull-out slide mechanism may also comprise a rotatable shaft for the at least one contact cleaning roller and the at least one adhesive roller.

The adhesive and contact cleaning rollers may be attached to end wall assemblies which hold the rollers in place.

The first and second cleaning units may also comprise handles to assist in their sliding in and out.

The first and second cleaning units may be connected to one another with supporting bars.

The contact cleaning apparatus may also comprise an attachment unit capable of attaching the contact cleaning apparatus to a wall unit or another apparatus. The adhesive rollers may be substantially cylindrical in shape and may comprise at least one or more wound adhesive sheets or rolls. The adhesive sheets or rolls may be removed once the sheets or rolls become fully loaded with contaminants. The adhesive sheets may be made from any suitable adhesive type of sheeting or rolls but may have a higher surface energy towards the contaminating particles than the contact cleaning rollers. The contact cleaning rollers may be substantially cylindrical in shape and may be made from any suitable rubber or elastomeric type of material which is capable of removing debris and/or contaminants from a substrate surface to be cleaned. The contact cleaning rollers may have a lower surface energy towards the contaminating particles than the adhesive roller. This means that the contaminating particles may form a temporary bond with the surface of the contact cleaning rollers and may then be transferred to the adhesive rollers. The cleaned substrate surface may then be used in, for example, the manufacturing of electronics, photovoltaics and flat panel displays where the surfaces have to be extremely clean otherwise there can be high wastage in the processed and cleaned substrates.

The cleaning apparatus may also comprise a pneumatic system for pneumatically operating the contact cleaning operation.

In use, the upper and lower cleaning units may be slid in and out of the contact cleaning apparatus. The upper and lower cleaning units may also be fully pulled out of and therefore detached from the contact cleaning apparatus. The present invention therefore not only allows side access for the maintenance of the cleaning units and removal of the contact cleaning and adhesive rollers but also allows easy removal of the cleaning units for maintenance away from the contact cleaning apparatus. During a maintenance procedure and the full removal of the cleaning units from the contact cleaning apparatus, the cleaning units may be easily slid back into the contact cleaning apparatus using the sliding mechanism as previously described.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of providing improved access for maintenance of a contact cleaning apparatus, said method comprising providing:

at least one contact cleaning roller capable of removing contaminating debris from a substrate surface, the at least one contact cleaning roller capable of being located within a first cleaning unit;

at least one adhesive roller capable of removing debris from the contact cleaning roller, the at least one adhesive roller also capable of being located within the first cleaning unit;

wherein the at least one contact cleaning roller and the at least one adhesive roller are mounted on a retractable pull-out slide mechanism which is capable of being slid in and out of the first cleaning unit.

The contact cleaning apparatus may be as defined in the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a detachable pull-out slide in a contact cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the detachable pull-out slide and contact cleaning apparatus shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of an upper part of the detachable pull-out slide shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the upper part of the detachable pull-out slide shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front view of the detachable pull-out slide and contact cleaning apparatus as shown in Figures 1 to 4 in a closed position; and

Figure 6 is a front view of the detachable pull-out slide and contact cleaning apparatus shown in Figure 5 in an open position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Generally speaking, the present invention resides in the provision of a detachable pull-out slide capable of providing improved access for maintenance of adhesive and cleaning rollers in a contact cleaning apparatus.

Figure 1 is a representation of a contact cleaning apparatus according to the present invention generally designated 100. The contact cleaning apparatus 100 comprises an upper cleaning unit 1 10 and a lower cleaning unit 1 12. The upper cleaning unit 1 10 has a handle 1 14 and the lower cleaning unit has a handle 1 16. The handles 1 14, 1 16 can be used to operate the detachable pull- out slide operation of the cleaning units 1 10, 1 12 which will be described in more detail below. As shown in Figure 1 , the upper and lower cleaning units 1 10, 1 12 are connected to one another with supporting bars 1 18, 120. There is also shown an attachment unit 121 which is capable of attaching the contact cleaning apparatus 100 to a wall unit or another apparatus. The attachment unit 121 comprises two substantially horizontal supports 122, 124 onto which the cleaning apparatus 100 can be mounted. The attachment unit 121 also comprises two substantially vertical supports 126,128. There is also shown an anti-static insert located in the upper horizontal support 124 which helps to minimise the build-up of any static electricity formed during the cleaning process.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the contact cleaning apparatus 100. The lower cleaning unit 1 12 is shown to comprise two sides 132, 134 and a bottom surface 136. The lower cleaning unit 1 12 is made from folded sheet metal/alloy. On an end of the lower cleaning unit 1 12 there is shown an end cover 138 which can be removed from the end of the lower cleaning unit 1 12 when necessary such as for maintenance. Located on the end cover 138 there is the handle 1 16 and a label 139 for company branding. There are also shown end wall assemblies 146,148 which can be attached to other parts of the contact cleaning apparatus 100 using a variety of screws 140, 142, 144.

Figure 2 also shows that located on the upper regions of the end wall assemblies 146,148 there are runners 150, 152 (e.g. rails) along which the inner mechanism of the lower cleaning unit 1 12 may slide. Located between the end wall assemblies 146, 148 there is an adhesive roller 154 and a contact cleaning roller 156. The adhesive roller 154 is substantially cylindrical in shape and comprises at least one or more wound adhesive sheets or rolls. The adhesive sheets or rolls are removed once the sheets or rolls become fully loaded with contaminants. The adhesive sheet is made from any suitable adhesive type of sheeting or rolls but has a higher surface energy towards contaminating particles than the contact cleaning roller 156. The contact cleaning roller 156 is substantially cylindrical in shape and is made from any suitable rubber or elastomeric type of material which is capable of removing debris and/or contaminants from a substrate surface to be cleaned. The contact cleaning roller 156 has a lower surface energy towards the contaminating particles than the adhesive roller 154. This means that the contaminating particles form a temporary bond with the surface of the contact cleaning roller 156 and are then transferred to the adhesive roller 154.

The lower cleaning unit 1 12 is attached to the upper cleaning unit 1 10 using vertical supporting bars 1 17, 1 18, 1 19, 120. The attachment unit 121 is also shown to comprise a back plate 166 to assist its attachment to a wall or another apparatus.

The upper cleaning unit 1 12 can be seen to be a mirror image of the lower cleaning unit 1 10 which facilitates the maintenance of the cleaning apparatus 100 and its operation.

All parts of the upper cleaning unit 1 10 will now be described. Figure 2 shows that for the upper cleaning unit 1 12 there is an end cover 170. Located on the end cover 170 there is the handle 1 14 and a label 168 for company branding. There is also shown end wall assemblies 176,178 which can be attached to other parts of the contact cleaning apparatus 100 using a variety of screws 172, 174.

There is also a cleaning engine tab 177 which contains relevant information about the cleaning apparatus 100.

Located on the lower regions of the end wall assemblies 176,178 there are runners 188, 190 (e.g. rails) along which the inner mechanism of the upper cleaning unit 1 10 may slide. Located between the end wall assemblies 176,178 there is an adhesive roller 186 and a contact cleaning roller 184 similar to that in the lower cleaning unit 1 12.

The upper cleaning unit 1 10 is also shown to comprise two sides 192, 194 and a bottom surface 196. The upper cleaning unit 1 10 is made from folded sheet metal/alloy. The upper cleaning unit 1 10 is attached to the end wall assemblies 176,178 using a variety of screws 180 and washers 182. The upper cleaning unit 1 10 also comprises a laser label 198 which may be used to monitor the operation of associated apparatus.

Figure 3 is a view of the upper cleaning unit 1 10 which shows the two sides 192, 194 and the bottom surface 196. There is also shown a substantially

'U'-shaped channel 202 which is shown more clearly in Figure 4.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the upper cleaning unit 1 10. There is shown pull-out slide units 200, 201 along which the inner working mechanism of the upper cleaning unit 1 10 may be slid. This is one of the advantages of the present invention as this allows side access to the cleaning and adhesive rollers which greatly facilitates their maintenance and their removal and replacement.

This is not possible with existing contact cleaning machines. There is also shown the 'U'-shaped channel 202 which is also capable of being pulled out. Cylinders 212, 214 which contain working strokes are located on either end of the 'U'- shaped channel 202. Cylinder 212 has a pneumatic inlet 208 and a pneumatic outlet 210. Cylinder 214 is shown with a tube 21 1 attached. There is also shown Ύ'-shaped connectors 216, 218. Although not fully shown there will be a full pneumatic connection using pneumatic lines between the end wall assemblies 176,178. Figure 4 also shows that the pull-out slide unit 201 is capable of fitting into a runner 220 allowing the sliding function to occur. There is also shown a variety of screws 222, 224, 226 used to fit the apparatus together.

Figures 5 and 6 show the operation of the detachable pull-out slide mechanism. Figure 5 shows the upper and lower cleaning units 1 10, 1 12 in a closed position. There is also shown supporting bars 1 18, 120 connecting the upper and lower cleaning units 1 10, 1 12. Handles 1 14, 1 16 are also shown which can be used to pull out the detachable pull-out slide assembly. Figure 6 shows the inner working mechanism of the cleaning apparatus 100 pulled out to expose the adhesive roller 154 and the contact cleaning roller 156 from the lower cleaning unit 1 12 and the adhesive roller 186 and the contact cleaning roller 184 from the upper cleaning unit 1 10. This therefore allows side access for maintenance and easy replacement of the rollers 154, 156, 184, 186. The pull- out slide mechanism containing the rollers 154, 156, 184, 186 is also fully detachable therefore allowing the inner working mechanism of the cleaning apparatus 100 to be fully removed. This greatly facilitates maintenance and allows maintenance to occur away from the cleaning apparatus 100. Once the maintenance and/or removal and replacement of the rollers 154, 156, 184, 186 has occurred the inner working mechanism of the contact cleaning apparatus 100 can simply be slid back into the cleaning apparatus 100 using the sliding mechanism.

Whilst specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that departures from the described embodiments may still fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, any suitable type of sliding mechanism may be used to slide the inner working mechanism of the contact cleaning apparatus in and out of the contact cleaning apparatus.