JP2003028570A - Drying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drying apparatus wherein in a drying apparatus for drying in a vacuum parts cleaned with a cleaning solution such as water or a hydrogen carbon system, heat is applied to the parts to be dried to effectively dry the parts in safety with the low cost. SOLUTION: A basket 4 containing an article to be dried after cleaned is contained in a vacuum container 1, and a cover 2 is closed to start evacuation, an upper chamber 5b of a heating container 5 is reduced in pressure, and further a heater 7 in a lower chamber 5c is actuated to heat a solution 6 contained in the upper chamber 5b. Thereafter, when pressure in the vacuum container 1, pressure in the upper chamber 5b, and temperature of the solution 6 become predetermined values, once an air driven valve 10 on a communication piping 9 is opened, the solution 6 is rapidly sucked from a lower end 9b of the communication piping 9 to an upper end 9a of the same, and is injected upward in a boiled state to rapidly raise the temperature in the vacuum container 1 and provide heat to the article 3 for rapid heating of the same.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drying device for drying, in a vacuum state, electronic, mechanical, molding-related parts that have been cleaned with a cleaning liquid such as water or hydrocarbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cleaning liquid for cleaning parts, fluorine-based solutions such as CFCs and chlorine-based solutions such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane have been widely used. However,
It is said that these vaporized solutions have the property of depleting the ozone layer. In 1987, the "Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" was adopted under the "Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer". , Specified chlorofluorocarbons, etc. have been specified for gradual reduction of production volume and regulations. It has been reviewed several times since then, and revisions have been made such as the addition of controlled substances and the advancement of the regulatory schedule.

In Japan, the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol were ratified on September 30, 1998. In this protocol, CFC (chlorine, fluorine,
HCFC (hydrogen, which is a fluorine-based alternative to carbon compounds)
It has been decided that all chlorine, fluorine, and carbon compounds) will be abolished by 2020, and the timing of the total abolition is expected to be further advanced in the future. In relation to these, the regulations regarding water quality and air pollution are being reviewed for chlorine-based substances, and the regulations are being strengthened year by year.

On the other hand, activities related to the prevention of global warming are becoming active, and at the "Global Warming Prevention Kyoto Conference" in December 1997, Japan was obliged to reduce greenhouse gas by 6%. . The target of this greenhouse gas is
HFC (hydrogen / fluorine / carbon compound) as an alternative CFC
It also includes perfluorocarbons, and the emission regulations for alternative CFCs have been tightened. Therefore, in the future, it will be necessary to have a watch that is more than sufficient for regulatory trends, and there is a strong demand for urgent measures to be taken.

Against this background, in recent years, attention has been paid to cleaning parts using water or a non-chlorine-based solution, which is said to be less likely to cause ozone layer depletion, but the following points should be noted. There is a need to.

First, in the case of using water, firstly,
Water itself is cheap, but on the other hand, it requires a lot of incidental equipment related to the handling of water, and the installation of the incidental equipment is very expensive. Examples of incidental equipment include, in addition to the main body of the cleaning apparatus, water storage equipment, sedimentation / purification / sludge treatment equipment, drainage equipment, or pretreatment equipment when low-purity water is used. Installation space and auxiliary space for maintenance are also required. Needless to say, the operation, maintenance, drainage management, and the like of these incidental facilities inevitably involve initial investment and maintenance costs. In particular, in drainage management, it is necessary to give consideration so that the water quality standard value can be satisfied when draining water after use.

Secondly, there is a possibility that the expected cleaning effect may not be obtained due to the wettability of water. The surface tension of water is 68.74 ± 0.
05 dyn / cm, 72.75 ± 0.05 dyn / at 20 ° C.
cm and base value are quite high. On the other hand, in a fluorine-based or chlorine-based solution which has been frequently used, for example, Freon CFC1 is used.
13 is 17 dyn / cm at 20 ° C., and 1,1,1-trichloroethane is 25 dyn / cm, which is only 1/3 to 1/4 with respect to water. That is, it can be said that water has poor wettability as compared with a solution that has been frequently used. Therefore, when water is used for cleaning in the same way as the conventional method, water easily penetrates into the overlapping parts and the close contact parts of parts, or the small holes and corners formed in parts. However, it becomes impossible to enter, and it is impossible to clean dirt and the like adhering to these portions and existing, so that the cleaning effect becomes poor.

Thirdly, when the parts to be cleaned have a metal portion when the cleaning is performed in an atmosphere where air is mixed or in an environment where the atmospheric pressure is heated, rust is caused by the oxidizing power of water. Corrosion is apt to be induced, so rust prevention measures are essential. In particular, in such an environment, the drying time becomes long, water stains and the like are likely to occur, and the appearance will be impaired even when corner cleaning is performed.

On the other hand, when a non-chlorine-based solution such as a silicon-based solution, a hydrocarbon-based solution, or an alcohol-based solution is used, firstly, since the high boiling point thereof is about 200.degree. When the solution is vaporized and the parts are washed with steam, the steam temperature becomes extremely high, and problems such as thermal deformation and deterioration of the parts to be washed occur. Moreover, there is also a problem that the drying property is inferior as compared with the conventionally used fluorine-based or chlorine-based solutions. Second, since the hydrocarbon-based solution has a low flash point of 50 to 80 ° C., a fire,
It is strongly required to ensure safety against explosions.

As described above, there are various points to be noted when using water or a non-chlorine type solution, but in particular, in terms of improving the drying property and ensuring safety for hydrocarbon type, reduced pressure is used. A device that can be washed and dried in the environment is desirable.
Because the device that forms the depressurized environment is a so-called closed system in which the piping system including the vacuum vessel has a closed structure, so that the oxygen concentration inside the piping system is kept negative by maintaining a negative pressure inside the piping system. This is because it becomes extremely low and ignition can be suppressed, and even if there is a defective portion in the piping system, the negative pressure will not leak the internal solution or vapor to the outside, which will ensure safety. Moreover, since the saturated vapor pressure is reduced under reduced pressure, the boiling point of the solution is substantially lowered, and the solution can be easily evaporated as compared with the normal pressure atmosphere, which is advantageous for improving the drying property.

[0011]

There is a vacuum drying device as a device capable of drying under a reduced pressure environment. In this vacuum drying device, the material to be dried to which the cleaning liquid is attached is placed in a vacuum container and placed in a vacuum state, so that the cleaning liquid attached to the material to be dried has the heat (evaporation latent heat) necessary for vaporization. )
Is taken from the material to be dried, boiled and evaporated, and vacuum drying proceeds. On the other hand, the product temperature of the material to be dried gradually decreases as the drying progresses, and when this product temperature falls below the saturated vapor pressure temperature,
If the degree of vacuum in the vacuum container is the same, boiling and evaporation of the cleaning liquid will stop at that point, so in order to avoid this situation, in general, raise the vacuum capacity to raise the ultimate vacuum degree. It is necessary to take measures such as increasing the temperature of the material to be dried at the start of evacuation or supplying heat to the material to be dried during evacuation.

[0012] For example, as a simple method for raising the product temperature of the material to be dried at the start of evacuation, there is a hot air heating method in which hot air is blown into the vacuum container. However, when heating for a limited time, the temperature of the side wall of the vacuum container does not rise sufficiently and enters the dry state, so the gas of the evaporated cleaning liquid cools and condenses on the side wall, and the condensed state There is a problem in that it remains in the vacuum container as it is and impedes drying. Furthermore, when drying an object to be dried that has a complicated shape such as a thin tube or a complicated shape, a product temperature difference is likely to occur particularly between parts, and this product temperature difference causes a non-uniform drying state between parts, resulting in a ring stain. There is also a problem that it becomes a factor of rusting and rusts and remarkably impairs the appearance of the dried and washed object. Further, as another method, there is also a steam injection heating method for forcibly injecting steam toward the object to be dried, but it is necessary to provide equipment and a pump for injection accompanying vaporization, which results in cost increase. .

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a drying device for drying a component cleaned by a cleaning liquid such as water or a hydrocarbon system in a vacuum state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a drying device that can be dried efficiently and safely by applying heat to a certain component, and that can be obtained at low cost.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, a drying apparatus according to the present invention includes a vacuum container for containing a material to be dried and a vacuum state, a heating container for containing a heated solution, and a vacuum. A pipe that connects the container and the heating container is provided, one end of the pipe opens toward the object to be dried, the other end of the pipe is immersed in the solution, and the pipe is opened when the vacuum container is in a vacuum state. Then, the solution is sprayed in a boiling state from the one end of the pipe toward the material to be dried.

It is desirable that the solution jetted toward the material to be dried has a low latent heat of vaporization capable of evaporating even if the temperature of the material to be dried is not so high. For example, the solution is a hydrocarbon-based solution. Is.

Further, when the heat source such as a heater directly touches the solution when heating the solution, there is a risk of fire or explosion. For the purpose of avoiding this, the heating container is divided into two chambers by a partition wall. The solution is contained in one side and the heat source is provided in the other side, and the heat from the heat source is applied to the solution through the partition wall to heat the solution.

From the viewpoint of stabilizing the state of the solution in a boiling state sprayed toward the material to be dried and the product temperature state of the material to be dried, a drive valve is provided in the path of the pipe, and the inside of the vacuum container is provided. The opening / closing degree of the drive valve is adjusted based on the pressure of the above, the pressure in the heating container containing the solution, and the temperature of the solution.

Further, if the solution condensed by applying heat to the material to be dried is vaporized again to give heat to the material to be dried or the temperature in the vacuum container can be raised more rapidly, the efficiency is further improved. Therefore, the heating means is provided on at least one of the inner side surface and the bottom surface of the vacuum container.

Then, from the viewpoint of suppressing the running cost of the solution sprayed toward the material to be dried, in consideration of reusing the solution without impairing the property of the solution, the solution is sprayed toward the material to be dried and is injected into the vacuum container. The apparatus is provided with a solution condensing means for collecting and condensing the vaporized solution existing in 1) and a supplying means for supplying the solution condensed by the solution condensing means to the heating container.

Further, it is desirable that the solution jetted toward the material to be dried is always in a fresh liquid state that has been purified.
A solution discharge means is provided for collecting and discharging the solution that has been sprayed toward the material to be dried and accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the entire drying apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of a drying unit in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the drying device is roughly divided into a drying section and a distillation section. The distillation section
Although it is composed of a distiller, a reheater, a condenser, a cold heat source, a hot heat source, a moisture removing unit, etc., it is not directly related to the present invention, and therefore its detailed description is omitted.

The structure of the drying section will be described below with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 1 is a vacuum container, 2 is a lid of the vacuum container 1, 3 is an article to be dried such as electronic, mechanical, and molding-related parts that have been washed with a washing liquid, 4 is a basket for containing the article to be dried 3, 5 is a heating container, Hydrocarbon-based solution, 7 is a coiled heater, 8
Is a heating medium, 9 is a communication pipe that connects the vacuum container 1 and the heating container 5, and 10 is an air-driven valve that controls the opening and closing of the communication pipe 9.

The vacuum container 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape which forms an upper part of the drying part and has an open upper part, and the open upper part is provided with a lid 2 which rotates about a base shaft 2a.
That is, with the lid 2 rotated and opened, the net-like basket 4 containing the material to be dried 3 is put in and taken out of the vacuum container 1, while the vacuum container 1 is sealed in the closed state. Has become. A vacuum exhaust port 1a and an intake port 1b are formed on the side surface of the vacuum container 1, heaters 21 and 22 are provided on the bottom surface and the inner side surface of the vacuum container 1, respectively, and a pressure sensor 31 and a temperature sensor are provided. 32 and a liquid level sensor 33 are also provided.

The heating container 5 forms the lower part of the drying section and is divided into two chambers, an upper chamber and a lower chamber, by a partition wall 5a made of a metal having excellent thermal conductivity. A sensor 41, a temperature sensor 42, and a liquid level sensor 43 are provided. On the other hand, the lower chamber 5c has a heater 7 and a pressure sensor 4 in the lower chamber 5c.
4, a temperature sensor 45, and an excessive temperature rise prevention switch 46 are provided, and the heating medium 8 is accommodated therein. That is, the heating medium 8 is heated by the operation of the heater 7, and the heat of the heated heating medium 8 indirectly heats the solution 6 through the partition wall 5a. However, the temperature sensor 42 directly detects the temperature, and the temperature sensor 45 indirectly detects the temperature. If the temperature rises abnormally, the heater 7 is stopped by the excessive temperature rise prevention switch 46. Therefore, it can be said that the structure has extremely low risk of fire and explosion. In addition, in the upper chamber 5b,
An exhaust port 5d, a liquid supply port 5e, and a discharge port 5f are formed.

Further, the communication pipe 9 connects the vacuum container 1 and the heating container 5, the upper end 9a is opened to the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1, and the lower end 9b is immersed in the solution 6, and the path is driven by air. A valve 10 is provided.

The vacuum exhaust port 1a of the vacuum container 1 and the exhaust port 5d of the upper chamber 5a of the heating container 5 are connected to each of the two ends branched from the vacuum exhaust pipe 50, and the branched vacuum exhaust pipe 50 is connected. Air driven valves 51 and 52 are provided in the respective paths, while the other end of the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 is connected to a vacuum pump 53. Further, a separator 54 is provided downstream of the vacuum pump 53. That is,
By opening and closing the air driven valve 51 or 52, the vacuum container 1
Alternatively, the upper chamber 5a of the heating container 5 is depressurized.

The intake port 1b of the vacuum container 1 is utilized when returning the vacuum state of the vacuum container 1 to the normal pressure (venting) after completion of drying, which will be described in detail later, and is connected to one end of the vent gas pipe 61. Has been done. The other end of the gas pipe 61 for venting is branched into two, one of which is an air driven valve 62.
And a regulator 63 or the like to connect to a gas cylinder 64 that seals an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, and the other side, via a check valve 65 and an air drive valve 66, compresses air or air 67 such as open air. It is connected to the. That is, the present embodiment is a mode in which the gas in the gas cylinder 64 and the air 67 can be selected as the vent gas, but of course, it is sufficient if only one of them is provided. From the viewpoint of preventive safety, it is preferable to use an inert gas as the vent gas.

The operation of the drying apparatus having such a structure, and
The state during the operation will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the basket 4 containing the material to be dried 3 is housed in the vacuum container 1, the lid 2 is closed, the vacuum pump 53 is operated, and the air drive valves 51, 52 are opened. Then, the air in the vacuum container 1 is sucked from the vacuum exhaust port 1a through the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 to the vacuum pump 53 to start vacuuming, and the air in the upper chamber 5b of the heating container 5 is exhausted from the exhaust port 5d. The vacuum pump 53 is sucked through the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 to start depressurization. Also, the lower chamber 5c of the heating container 5
The heater 7 is operated to heat the solution 6 contained in the upper chamber 5b.

Thereafter, the pressure in the vacuum container 1 and the heating container 5
When the pressure in the upper chamber 5b and the temperature of the solution 6 reach a predetermined value, the air drive valve 10 of the communication pipe 9 is opened. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the solution 6 is rapidly sucked up from the lower end 9b to the upper end 9a of the communication pipe 9 and is jetted upward in the boiling state to rapidly raise the temperature in the vacuum container 1 and to cause the basket 4 to rise. The object 3 to be dried is heated to rapidly heat the object 3 to be dried. Here, the material to be dried 3
The solution 6 that has been heated to loses the enthalpy and drops, and accumulates on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1, but the upper end 9 of the communication pipe 9
For the solution 6 injected from a, the injection having an active bubbling effect is maintained and does not become a substantial obstacle. However, when the amount exceeds a certain amount, an adverse effect occurs, so that the liquid level sensor 33 detects this amount.

Next, the temperature of the material to be dried 3 is 80 to 100.
After a predetermined time such that the temperature reaches about ℃, the dried material 3
After heating is completed, the process proceeds to drying. Here, since the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 has an adverse effect on the drying, it is necessary to discharge the solution 6 from the vacuum container 1 when shifting to the drying. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the air drive valve 52 provided in the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 is further opened to reduce the pressure in the upper chamber 5b of the heating container 5. Then, the injection of the solution 6 from the upper end 9a of the communication pipe 9 gradually decreases, and when the pressure in the upper chamber 5b of the heating container 5 becomes equal to the pressure in the vacuum container 1, the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 The accumulated solution 6 is drawn back into the upper chamber 5b of the heating container 5 by its own weight,
The vacuum container 1 is discharged. In order to shorten the discharging time, it is effective to stop the evacuation of the vacuum container 1, and the air drive valve 51 may be temporarily closed.

After the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 is discharged, the air driving valve 10 of the communication pipe 9 is closed and the vacuuming of the vacuum container 1 is continued. The cleaning liquid and the solution 6 attached to the object 3 are evaporated while removing latent heat of evaporation from the object to be dried 3 to be dried. Needless to say, the upper chamber 5b of the heating container 5 is always in a negative pressure environment.

When the drying is completed, the air drive valve 51 of the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 is closed. Next, vent gas pipe 6
1. Open the air driven valve 62 or 66 of No. 1 and open the gas cylinder 64.
The gas or air 67 inside is introduced from the intake port 1b of the vacuum container 1, and the pressure in the vacuum container 1 is returned to normal pressure. And the lid 2
Is opened, the basket 4 containing the dried material 3 is taken out from the vacuum container 1, and the process is completed.

During heating or drying of the material 3 to be dried, the vaporized cleaning liquid or solution 6 present in the vacuum container 1 is sucked from the vacuum exhaust port 1a to the vacuum pump 53 via the vacuum exhaust pipe 50, and the separator 54 or After being purified through the distillation section, a filter 56 and an air drive valve 57 are introduced into the upper chamber 5b of the heating container 5 from the liquid supply port 5e through a liquid supply pipe 55 provided in the path. Since this injection uses the negative pressure of the vacuum pump 53, it can be performed only by opening and closing the air drive valve 57 without providing a dedicated pump. Further, the air drive valve 57 is operated by the output from the liquid level sensor 43. It is supposed to do.

Here, the vacuum pump 53 may be a reciprocating type, a liquid ring type, a rotary type vacuum pump or the like. In the present embodiment, a liquid ring type vacuum pump is adopted for the following reason. There is. Cleaning solution or solution 6 vaporized in the vacuum container 1
Even if inhaled, it separates the liquid and comes into contact with the rotating part of the pump, so unlike the normal seal type vacuum pump, there is little generation of sparks or heat due to friction on the metal sliding surface, and it is highly safe. , Because there is no problem.

Further, in order to utilize the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 for heating the material 3 to be dried again, the heater 21 is provided on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 in this embodiment. The solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 is heated and vaporized by the heater 21, diffuses toward the inside of the vacuum container 1, and heats the material to be dried 3 again. In the experiments by the inventors, the drying time can be shortened by 20 to 25%,
This effect is extremely effective. Further, in order to increase the temperature inside the vacuum container 1 more rapidly, a heater 22 is provided on the inner surface of the vacuum container 1. In general, the side surface of the vacuum container 1 has a large heat capacity, and thus it is difficult to raise the temperature, and if the vaporized solution 6 existing in the vacuum container 1 contacts with this side surface and condenses and remains, there is a possibility that drying may be hindered. The installation of the heater 22 is expected to improve, and in the experiments conducted by the inventors, the drying time was reduced by about 5%.

Further, the air drive valve 10 provided in the communication pipe 9 has an opening / closing degree based on the values output from the pressure sensor 31 of the vacuum container 1, the pressure sensor 41 of the heating container 5 and the temperature sensor 42. It is adjusted automatically. Therefore, it is possible to always stabilize the state of the boiling solution 6 sprayed toward the article to be dried 3 and the product temperature state of the article to be dried 3 to an appropriate state. Of course, it is also possible to maintain the air-driven valve 10 in an open state and constantly inject the solution 6 without providing such an opening / closing degree adjusting mechanism. If
For example, if an adjusting mechanism for intermittently jetting the solution 6 is provided, the effective region where the solution 6 is jetted is expanded due to the action of the jetting rapidly rising or falling, and it is difficult to reach the area by constant jetting. It can be said that this adjusting mechanism is extremely effective because it can be easily reached.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of a main part of the drying unit of the second embodiment. In the drawings, parts having the same names and the same functions as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, duplicate description will be omitted, and different points will be described.

First, the purpose of this embodiment will be described. In general, the dried material that has been washed does not mean that foreign matters such as dirt and adhered matter are completely removed. Depending on the shape and size of the part to be dried, or the degree of contamination, if we express it as an index with the adhered weight of dirt and foreign matter as 100, then about 70 to 80 dirt and foreign matter will be washed. It suffices if it can be removed, and the remaining dirt or foreign matter of about 20 to 30 remains on the material to be dried and is brought into the drying device. In other words, even if a small amount of dirt or foreign matter is brought in to one material to be dried,
It cannot be neglected for a number of materials to be dried, and as it is repeatedly dried, it is mixed especially in the solution that heats the material to be dried and accumulated, and finally remains on the surface of the material to be dried. However, this will lead to deterioration in appearance quality. Therefore, in this embodiment, such a problem is solved.

In this embodiment, a condenser coil 71 is provided on the inner surface of the vacuum container 1, and a cylindrical partition wall 72 is provided inside the condenser coil 71. A gutter-shaped portion 72a is formed in the lower portion of the partition wall 72, and a vacuum exhaust port 1a is formed in the vicinity of the gutter-shaped portion 72a. Also, the heating container 5
Is divided into a right chamber 5h and a left chamber 5i by a partition wall 5g,
A heater 7 is provided in the right chamber 5h, and the solution 6 directly heated by the heater 7 is stored in the right chamber 5h. Of course, you may make it heat indirectly via a heating medium. The right chamber 5h has an exhaust port 5d, a liquid supply port 5e,
Further, the discharge port 5f is formed, and the temperature sensor 42, the excessive temperature rise prevention switch 46, and the liquid level sensor 43 are provided. In the communication pipe 9 that connects the vacuum chamber 1 and the right chamber 5h of the heating container 5, the upper end 9a penetrates the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 and opens inside the vacuum container 1, and the lower end 9b is immersed in the solution 6. .

On the other hand, the left chamber 5i plays a role of a recovery tank for recovering the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 which will be described later, and communicates with the vacuum container 1 through a recovery pipe 11, and the recovery pipe 11 The upper end 11a of the above is opened to the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1, and the lower end 11b is opened to the upper surface of the left chamber 5i. An exhaust port 5j and an exhaust port 5k are formed in the left chamber 5i, and a liquid level sensor 47 is provided.

The notable operation of the drying device having such a configuration will be described below. First, during heating or drying of the material 3 to be dried, the vaporized cleaning liquid or solution 6 present in the vacuum container 1 causes a gap between the side wall of the vacuum container 1 and the partition wall 72 due to the suction force from the vacuum exhaust port 1a. It passes from above and is cooled and liquefied by the condenser coil 71. The liquefied solution 6 collects in the gutter-shaped portion 72a, is sucked from the vacuum exhaust port 1a through the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 to the vacuum pump 53 through the ejector 57 and the like, is purified via the separator 54, and is then filtered by the filter 56. An air-driven valve 57 or an air-driven valve 57 is introduced into the right chamber 5h of the heating container 5 from the liquid supply port 5e through a liquid supply pipe 55 provided in the path.

Secondly, the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 is not drawn back through the communication pipe 9 as in the first embodiment, but is collected in the left chamber 5i which is a collection tank through the collection pipe 11. To be done. This can be achieved by opening the air drive valves 56 and 58 provided in the vacuum exhaust pipe 50 leading from the exhaust port 5j to the vacuum pump 53, and reducing the pressure in the left chamber 5i. Therefore, the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 contains dirt, foreign matter, oil and fat remaining in the material to be dried 3 after cleaning, but is collected in a separate collection tank (left chamber 5i). As a result, the solution 6 in the right chamber 5h is always maintained in a purified new liquid state that is not contaminated, and even if it is repeatedly dried, it does not impair the appearance quality of the dried material. Not at all.

The present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, as the solution 6,
Although non-flammable water may be applied instead of the hydrocarbon-based solution, the latent heat of vaporization is 1 with respect to water considering the drying property.
It is preferable to apply a hydrocarbon-based solution having a remarkably low level of about / 10. Further, the drying device may include a cleaning step, and in this case, it is desirable that the cleaning liquid used for cleaning before drying and the solution 6 used in the drying step are of the same type. Further, the heater 21 provided on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1
May be a jacket type heater that covers the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 as long as the solution 6 accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 1 can be heated and vaporized.

[0044]

As described above, according to the drying apparatus of the present invention, there are provided a vacuum container for containing a material to be dried and a vacuum state, a heating container for containing a heated solution, a vacuum container and a heating container. And a pipe that communicates with each other, one end of the pipe opens toward the material to be dried, and the other end of the pipe is immersed in the solution.When the vacuum container is in a vacuum state, the pipe is opened and the solution boils. In this state, since the one end of the pipe is sprayed toward the material to be dried, heat can be efficiently applied to the component that is the material to be dried, and the drying time can be shortened. Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide a pump or the like for injecting the solution, and the structure is simple, it can be obtained at low cost.

For example, when the solution is a hydrocarbon type solution, since the latent heat of vaporization is low, the material to be dried can be vaporized even if the product temperature is not so high, and the drying time is not adversely affected.

Further, the heating container is divided into two chambers by a partition wall, one of which contains a solution and the other of which is provided with a heat source.
If the heat from the heat source is applied to the solution through the partition wall and the solution is heated, the heat source such as a heater does not touch the solution directly when heating the solution, which may cause a fire or explosion. Very few.

Further, a drive valve is provided in the path of the pipe, and the opening / closing degree of the drive valve is determined based on the pressure in the vacuum container, the pressure in the heating container containing the solution, and the temperature of the solution. If it is adjusted, it is possible to stabilize the state of the solution in a boiling state sprayed toward the material to be dried and the temperature state of the material to be dried, so that the efficiency of the drying time is increased. Also, the appearance quality of the dried object becomes excellent.

Further, of the inner surface and the bottom surface of the vacuum container,
When at least one heating means is provided, heat is applied to the material to be dried and the condensed solution is vaporized again to heat the material to be dried, or the temperature in the vacuum container is raised more rapidly. It is possible to improve efficiency.

Then, the apparatus is provided with a solution condensing means for collecting and condensing the vaporized solution which is sprayed toward the material to be dried and is present in the vacuum vessel, and a supply means for supplying the solution condensed by the solution condensing means to the heating vessel. In this case, the solution can be reused without impairing the properties of the solution, and the running cost can be suppressed.

Further, since a solution discharging means for collecting and discharging the solution sprayed toward the material to be dried and accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container is provided, the solution sprayed toward the material to be dried is always purified. Even if it is maintained in a new liquid state and is repeatedly dried, it does not impair the appearance quality of the dried material.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a drying device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a drying unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a drying unit according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 vacuum container 2 lid 3 Items to be dried 4 baskets 5 heating vessels 6 solution 7 heater 8 heating medium 9 communication piping 10 Air driven valve 50 Vacuum exhaust pipe 53 Vacuum pump

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kiyoshi Mito             4-133, Atobe Honmachi, Yao City, Osaka Prefecture             Share Manufacturing Systems Co., Ltd.             In the company (72) Inventor Katsuhisa Ota             4-133, Atobe Honmachi, Yao City, Osaka Prefecture             Share Manufacturing Systems Co., Ltd.             In the company (72) Inventor Shinji Masuoka             4-133, Atobe Honmachi, Yao City, Osaka Prefecture             Share Manufacturing Systems Co., Ltd.             In the company (72) Inventor Yutaka Asada             4-133, Atobe Honmachi, Yao City, Osaka Prefecture             Share Manufacturing Systems Co., Ltd.             In the company F term (reference) 3L113 AA01 AB01 AC08 AC21 AC24                       AC48 AC57 AC63 AC67 BA01                       BA34 CA08 CA10 CB05 CB13                       CB16 CB28 CB34 DA06 DA10                       DA13 DA21 DA24

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum container for accommodating a material to be dried and capable of being in a vacuum state, a heating container for accommodating a heated solution, and a pipe for connecting the vacuum container and the heating container to each other. One end opens toward the material to be dried, the other end of the pipe is immersed in the solution, the pipe is opened when the vacuum container is in a vacuum state, and the pipe is in a boiling state of the solution. The drying device is sprayed from the one end toward the object to be dried. 2. The drying device according to claim 1, wherein the solution is a hydrocarbon-based solution. 3. The heating container is divided into two chambers by a partition wall, one of which contains the solution and the other of which is provided with a heat source, and heat from the heat source is applied to the solution through the partition wall. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solution is heated. 4. A drive valve is provided in the path of the pipe, and based on the pressure in the vacuum container, the pressure in the heating container containing the solution, and the temperature of the solution, The drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the degree of opening and closing of the drive valve is adjusted. 5. Of the inner surface and the bottom surface of the vacuum container,
The drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one of them is provided with a heating means. 6. A solution condensing means for collecting and condensing the vaporized solution present in the vacuum vessel by being jetted toward the object to be dried, and the solution condensed by the solution condensing means in the heating vessel. The supply device for supplying is provided, The drying apparatus in any one of Claim 1 to 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. 7. The solution discharge means for collecting and discharging the solution sprayed toward the object to be dried and accumulated on the bottom surface of the vacuum container, according to claim 6. Drying device.