RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of United Kingdom (GB) Patent Application No. 2008260.8, filed June 2, 2020, entitled “Cleaning Surface.” The entirety of United Kingdom (GB) Patent Application No. 2008260.8 is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The present invention relates to a contact cleaning surface for a contact cleaning apparatus, in particular, but not exclusively, to a contact cleaning surface including a substrate with a topographical feature, detachably mountable to the apparatus. The present invention also relates to a method of forming a contact cleaning surface.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Contact cleaning is used to clean a substrate surface or work piece. Once cleaned, the work piece 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 contact cleaning roller is used to remove contaminating particles from a substrate surface, and an adhesive roll can then be used to remove the contaminating particles or debris from the cleaning roller. This ensures the cleaning roller remains free from debris and allows the cleaning roller to maximise its efficiency in removing contaminating particles from the substrate surface or work piece.

[0004] The cleaning roller typically includes a shaft or core with an elastomeric coating applied to its outer surface. The elastomer is then cured on the core so that its outer surface forms the cleaning surface. Optionally, the cleaning surface may be microscopically roughened to increase and/or maximise surface area contact between the cleaning surface and the small particles causing the contamination.

[0005] Alternatively, known cleaning rollers are formed by attaching a polymer- coated flexible substrate cut from flexible sheet stock to the roller core. The polymer-coated flexible substrate is secured to the core using adhesive or laser welding. [0006] One of the drawbacks of the prior art is that applying elastomeric coatings directly to a roller core makes the coating difficult to remove at the end of its useful life. It is also difficult to apply microscopic roughening to the outer surface of an elastomeric coating formed around a core.

[0007] Systems that make use of flexible substrates cut from flexible sheet stock are formed as continuous lengths of sheet which provide no ability to customise or adapt the substrate for the apparatus onto which it is attached. Use of adhesives to attach substrates to a roller core also make them difficult to remove at the end of their useful life.

[0008] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a contact cleaning surface which may be easily adapted to the contact cleaning application for which it is intended. It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of forming a contact cleaning surface so that there is maximum flexibility in its form and functionality. Certain embodiments provide an advantage that the surface is adapted or customised so that portions of the contact cleaning surface are optimised or modified in different ways. In this way, a contact cleaning surface is adapted or tailored to aspects of the substrate surface, work piece or work pieces cleaned by the contact cleaning apparatus, such as the shape, orientation or surface properties of the substrate surface, work piece or work pieces.

Summary

[0009] In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cleaning surface for contact cleaning apparatus according to the appended claims.

[0010] In accordance with the present invention there is provided a contact cleaning roller according to the appended claims.

[0011] In accordance with the present invention there is provided a contact cleaning system according to the appended claims.

[0012] In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method of forming a cleaning surface for contact cleaning apparatus according to the appended claims.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a cleaning surface for contact cleaning apparatus, including: a substrate, detachably mountable to the contact cleaning apparatus, supporting a first polymer layer with a surface, wherein a first topographical feature or layer is applied to and / or formed in at least a portion of said first polymer layer, and wherein said first polymer layer is radiation cured.

[0014] In certain embodiments, a second topographical feature or layer is applied to and / or formed in at least one further portion of said polymer layer. In this way, the debris collecting efficiency of the surface is tailored to different extents within the first topographical feature, within the second topographical feature, and outside of both the first topographical feature and second topographical feature.

[0015] In certain embodiments, said second topographical feature is dimensionally different to said first topographical feature. In certain embodiments, said first topographical feature comprises a regular or irregular pattern. In these ways, when the cleaning surface is used to collect debris in a contact cleaning system, the part of the roller contacting the substrate surface or work piece to be cleaned has tailored regions along its length. The tailored regions in contact with the substrate surface or work piece to be cleaned may change as the cleaning roller rotates. The regions are thus tailored to correspond to different aspects of the substrate surface or work piece being cleaned.

[0016] In certain embodiments, said substrate provides dimensional stability to the cleaning surface. In certain embodiments, said substrate comprises plastic film or metal foil. In certain embodiments, said substrate comprises a mesh. The substrate and polymer layers supported thereon are flexible so that the cleaning surface may be mounted to a roller. Due to its nature, for example its composition and / or its thickness, the substrate is able to provide dimensional stability to the cleaning surface while not inhibiting mounting of the cleaning surface around the core of the cleaning roller. In this way, the substrate provides the cleaning surface with improved compatibility with a cleaning roller without affecting its resilience.

[0017] In certain embodiments, said first polymer layer comprises an antistatic agent. In certain embodiments, said first polymer layer is static dissipative. In these ways, the cleaning surface may be adapted to mitigate the effects of static build up on the cleaning roller or in the contact cleaning system, thereby preventing damage to the work piece or substrate surface to be cleaned.

[0018] In certain embodiments, said first polymer layer comprises an elastomer. [0019] In certain embodiments, said cleaning surface is formable into a cylinder or a cylindrical cover. In certain embodiments, said cleaning surface is provided as a belt or a sheet. In these ways, the cleaning surface is adaptable to different cleaning rollers as well as being adaptable to different contact cleaning systems. [0020] In certain embodiments, a second polymer layer is provided intermediate said substrate and said first polymer layer. In certain embodiments, said second polymer layer comprises a different polymer to said first polymer layer. In this way, the second polymer layer may improve compatibility between the substrate and the first polymer layer. The second polymer layer may provide additional properties to the cleaning surface for example antistatic or static dissipative properties. [0021] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a contact cleaning roller, including a core, and a contact cleaning surface detachably mounted to at least a portion of said core, the contract cleaning surface including: a substrate supporting a first polymer layer with a surface, wherein a first topographical feature or layer is applied to and / or formed in at least a portion of said first polymer layer, and wherein the first polymer layer is cured.

[0022] According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a contact cleaning apparatus, with a contact cleaning roller including a core, and a contact cleaning surface detachably mounted to at least a portion of said core, the contract cleaning surface including: a substrate supporting a first polymer layer with a surface, wherein a first topographical feature or layer is applied to and / or formed in at least a portion of said first polymer layer, and wherein the first polymer layer is cured.

[0023] In certain embodiments, said contact cleaning roller is adapted to operably movably engage with a work piece surface such that said contact cleaning surface collects debris from the work piece surface. In this way, when the cleaning surface is used to collect debris in a contact cleaning system, the part of the roller contacting the work piece has tailored region or regions along its length. The tailored region or regions in contact with the work piece may change as the cleaning roller rotates. The regions are thus tailored to correspond to different aspects of the work piece being cleaned.

[0024] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming a cleaning surface for a contact cleaning apparatus, including: providing a substrate, detachably mountable to the contact cleaning apparatus, applying a polymer layer to said substrate to form a cleaning surface, and providing at least a first topographical feature or layer on at least one portion of said polymer layer.

[0025] In certain embodiments, said method further includes curing said polymer layer with radiation, wherein providing said at least a first topographical feature occurs before, during or after said curing.

[0026] In certain embodiments, said method further includes mounting said substrate to the contact cleaning apparatus after curing said polymer layer.

[0027] In certain embodiments, said at least one topographical feature is provided by masking, printing or embossing said polymer layer. In this way, a topographical feature is applied to and / or formed in the surface of the polymer layer by know means.

[0028] In certain embodiments, said masking comprises a negative or positive photoresist.

[0029] In certain embodiments, said at least one topographical feature comprises multiple topographical features provided sequentially on said polymer layer. In this way, the cleaning surface may be adapted or tailored in stages, maximising flexibility in the manufacturing process and allowing highly specific tailoring of the cleaning surface for specific aspects of a work piece or particular cleaning applications.

[0030] In certain embodiments of all aspects of the invention, the curing radiation is ultraviolet radiation.

[0031] In certain embodiments of all aspects of the invention, the curing radiation is microwave radiation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0032] Embodiments of the invention are now described, by way of example only, hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] Figure 1 shows a) a cross-sectional view and b) a top view of a first example embodiment of a cleaning surface according to a first aspect of the invention; [0034] Figure 2 shows a) a cross-sectional view and b) a top view of a second example embodiment of a cleaning surface according to a first aspect of the invention; [0035] Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the cleaning surface of Figure 2 mounted to a contact cleaning roller;

[0036] Figure 4 shows a first method according to a further aspect of the invention; [0037] Figure 5 shows a second method according to a further aspect of the invention; and

[0038] Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a third example embodiment of a cleaning surface mounted to a contact cleaning roller.

[0039] In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts.

Detailed Description

[0040] Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made and are with respect to the described component when assembled, the particular meaning being readily apparent from the context of the description.

[0041] Further, as used herein, the terms ‘connected', ‘attached’, ‘coupled’, ‘mounted’ are intended to include direct connections between two members without any other members interposed therebetween, as well as indirect connections between members in which one or more other members are interposed therebetween. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.

[0042] Further, unless otherwise specified, the use of ordinal adjectives, such as, ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’ etc. merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner.

[0043] Referring now to Figure 1 , there is shown a cleaning surface 100 according to a first aspect of the invention. The cleaning surface 100 includes a substrate 110 supporting a polymer layer 130 with a surface 132. A portion of the surface 132 of the polymer layer 130 is provided with a first topographical feature 140 and the polymer layer 130 is radiation cured in order to fix the topographical feature. In this way, the portion may be adapted so that the cleaning surface 100 is tailored to a specific cleaning task. [0044] The substrate 110 is formed from a plastic film to provide upper and lower faces extending substantially parallel to each other. The substrate 110 is rectangular, including a pair of mutually parallel long sides 112, 114 arranged perpendicular to a pair of mutually parallel short sides 116, 118.

[0045] The polymer layer 130 extends across substantially the whole of the substrate upper face. The polymer layer is 130 provided as a coating of the substrate 110, applied to substantially cover the substrate upper face. Once applied, the polymer layer 130 provides a surface 132 to the cleaning surface 100. The polymer layer 130 may be any polymer suitable for contact cleaning debris from a work piece, for example an elastomer. Non-limiting example materials for the polymer layer include silicone rubber, polyurethane and polyether.

[0046] A first topographical feature 140 is provided on the polymer layer surface 132. The first topographical feature 140 extends with uniform width between the long sides 112, 114 in a direction parallel to the short sides 116, 118. In this way the first topographical feature 140 forms a region extending across the surface 132.

[0047] The first topographical feature 140 is provided as a series of recesses 142 formed on the surface 132. Each of the recesses 142 are substantially the same as one another, arranged so that, collectively, they provide a regular pattern. In other words, the first topographical feature 140 forms a consistently textured surface. The series of recesses 142 substantially increase the surface area of the surface 132 in the region of the first topographical feature 140, thereby tailoring the debris collection efficiency in the region of the first topographical feature 140. [0048] Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of cleaning surface 200. Where the features are the same as the previous embodiment, the reference numbers are the same, other than the initial digit is a “2”. The embodiment shown in Figure 2 is similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , such that the cleaning surface 200 includes a substrate 210 on which is supported a polymer layer 230 with a first topographical feature 240 provided on its surface 232. A second topographical feature 250 is also provided on its surface 232.

[0049] The second topographical feature 250 extends with uniform width between the long sides 212, 214 in a direction parallel to the short sides 216, 218 and parallel to the first topographical feature 240. In this way the second topographical feature 250 forms a region extending across the surface 232. The width of the second topographical feature 250 across the surface 232 is narrower than the width of the first topographical feature 240.

[0050] The first topographical feature 240 is provided as a series of first recesses 242 on the surface 232. As with the example describe in Figure 1 , the series of first recesses 242 increase the surface area of the surface 232 in the region of the first topographical feature 240 to tailor debris collection efficiency in that region.

[0051] The second topographical feature 250 is provided as a series of second recesses 252 on the surface 232. The second recesses 252 have profile shapes and opening shapes different to the first recesses 242. The series of second recesses 252 increase the surface area of the surface 232 in the region of the second topographical feature 250 to a different extent to region of the first topographical feature 240. The debris collecting efficiency of surface 232 is thereby tailored to different extents within the first topographical feature 240, within the second topographical feature 250, and outside of both the first topographical feature 240 and second topographical feature 250.

[0052] Figure 3 shows the cleaning surface 200 described above, including first topographical feature 240 and second topographical feature 250 provided on the surface 232 of a polymer layer 230. The whole cleaning surface 200 is mounted to a cleaning roller 300. The cleaning roller 300 includes a core 360 provided with an axial length and a cylindrical outer surface. The cleaning surface 200 is mounted to the core 360 so that the cleaning surface wraps around and covers the cylindrical outer surface.

[0053] When forming the cleaning surface 200, the length of the long sides 212, 214 of the cleaning surface 200 was chosen to correspond to the axial length of the core 360. The length of the short sides 216, 218 of the cleaning surface 200 was also chosen to correspond to the circumference of the core 360. In this way, when the cleaning surface 200 is mounted to the cleaning roller 300 it forms a single layer or sleeve around the core 360.

[0054] The cleaning surface 200 is mounted to the cleaning roller 300 so that the first topographical feature 240 and second topographical feature 250 provide circumferential bands around the cleaning roller. In this way, when the cleaning roller is installed in a contact cleaning apparatus and put to use collecting debris, the part of the cleaning roller 300 contacting the work piece has tailored regions along its contact area. Thus, as a work piece travels in a machine direction within the contact cleaning apparatus, the cleaning roller 300 rotates to consistently apply tailored cleaning across the width of the work piece.

[0055] Referring now to Figure 6, there is shows an alternative embodiment of cleaning roller 600. Where the features are the same as the previous embodiments, the reference numbers are the same, other than the initial digit is a “6”. Thus, a cleaning surface is mounted to a cleaning roller 600 with its substrate 610 wrapped around the cleaning roller core 660 so that the surface 632 faces outward.

[0056] The surface 632 is provided with one topographical feature 640 across the whole outer surface 632. The one topographical feature 640 extends continuously across the whole outer surface 632 of the cleaning surface. Thus, the one topographical feature 640 is configured to provide a consistently textured surface to the roller 600.

[0057] Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a method 400 of forming a cleaning surface according to a fourth aspect of the invention. The method 400 starts by providing 410 a substrate, such as the substrates 110, 210 described in reference to Figures 1 to 3. A polymer layer is then applied 420 to the substrate to form a cleaning substrate. At least a first topographical feature or layer is then provided 430 on at least a portion of the polymer layer.

[0058] Figure 5 shows an alternative method 500 of forming a cleaning surface according to a fourth aspect of the invention. Where the features are the same as the method of Figure 4, the reference numbers are the same other than the initial digit is a “5” instead of a “4”. The embodiment shown in Figure 5 is similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 4, such that a substrate is provided 520, onto which a polymer layer is applied 520, and a first topographical feature or layer is provided 530 on a first portion of the polymer layer. The method includes the further steps of providing 535 a second topographical feature or layer on a second portion of the polymer layer. Thus, the cleaning surface is provided sequentially with multiple topographical features. The polymer layer is then cured 540 with radiation.

[0059] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Various modifications to the detailed examples described above are possible, for example, variations may exist in the number, shape, size, arrangement, assembly or the like of contact cleaning surfaces, contact cleaning rollers or adhesive rolls. In particular, the cross-sectional profile of each topographical feature may assume any appropriate footprint, shape or size.

[0060] In certain embodiments, the topographical feature comprise a series of uniform recesses arranged in a regular pattern. However, any regular or irregular pattern may be provided. The pattern may include recesses, openings or protrusion or roughened zones, or any appropriate combination thereof.

[0061] In certain examples, the first topographical feature, or the first topographical feature and any additional topographical feature, is arranged in any suitable orientation on the cleaning surface. In this way, when the cleaning surface is mounted to a roller core, the topographical feature may be provided in numerous configurations such that they form for example bands, helices, or regularly or irregularly shaped patches. The form of a topographical feature may be a single unbroken shape or composed of a broken pattern of smaller forms.

[0062] In certain embodiments, the substrate is a plastic film. Alternatively, the substrate may be a mesh such as a woven or non-woven textile, or moulded grid or lattice. The film or mesh may be formed from polymer such as polyethylene or nylon. Alternatively, the substrate may be a metal foil such as aluminium, steel or copper.

[0063] In certain embodiments, the antistatic agent may include electrically- conductive fibres dispersed within the polymer layer such as nanowires made from, for example, silver, or carbon nanotubes. The static dissipative agent may be, for example, cyclic siloxanes or metal salts.

[0064] In certain embodiments, the polymer layer is provided as relatively thin film, for example with an average thickness in the range about 1 mm to about 6mm. The substrate may be provided with a thickness in range about 25 microns to about 3mm.

[0065] In certain embodiments, the polymer layer may include adjacent sections of different polymers. Optionally, a different topographical feature may be applied to each polymer of the polymer layer, thereby providing topographical features tailored by both the physical form of the surface as well as the polymer material of which they are formed. [0066] In certain example methods, radiation curing of the polymer layer may be carried out as a single step, after formation of all topographical features. Or, each topographical feature may be formed and then cured locally in turn. Alternatively, one or more topographical features may be formed and cured simultaneously. [0067] In certain example methods, radiation curing may use UV or microwave radiation. Alternatively, other radiation curing may be used, for example infra-red or visible light.

[0068] The polymer layer may be radiation cured prior to the cleaning surface being mounted to the cleaning roller, or the polymer layer may be radiation cured after being mounted.