JP2010162537A - Cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning apparatus that reduces consumption of a solvent by enhancing recovery efficiency of the solvent and that is comparatively inexpensive. <P>SOLUTION: During the drying operation of a workpiece, a fully hermetically sealed state is maintained in a fan sealing part 21, a cleaning/drying tank 6, a recovery device 12, and pipes 51-53 which are completely shut off from the outside air. Also, a moisture separator 14, a liquid returning tank 16, pipes 56, 61 and other pipes are all held in a fully hermetically sealed state completely shut off from the outside air. After the completion of the drying operation of a workpiece, the air in a cleaning basket 2 and in the workpiece is cooled, in a cooling tank 5 continuously installed to the cleaning/drying tank 6, so that the slight amount of remaining solvent vapor is further reduced. In addition, the air in the drying route flowed out into the cooling tank 5 is also cooled to further reduce the solvent vapor concentration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus used for manufacturing parts, for example, in an electronic, precision machine, or automobile-related factory.

In recent years, Specified CFC-113 etc. have been abolished due to global environmental problems. Therefore, in the cleaning equipment used for parts manufacturing, etc., it is going to be replaced with an alternative solvent. However, the alternative solvent has various problems, and in particular, the price is several to ten times.
As for alternatives other than fluorine-based ones, the number of solvents that are abandoned is increasing due to the fact that highly toxic substances and odors cannot be applied to the workplace environment. For this reason, there is a long-awaited cleaning device that minimizes the amount of solvent consumed, but at present, a fairly expensive device is available in Japan.

Measures for solvent saving are implemented by lowering the cooling temperature of the portion where the solvent vapor is exposed to the atmosphere. Moreover, although it is a common-sense and effective means to make the height of the cooling part deeper than the depth of the tank of the apparatus, the effect is limited only by these means.
The cooling temperature can be reduced easily from about 5 ° C. to about −15 ° C. by changing the cooling from an indirect cooling method using water to a direct cooling method using a fluorocarbon refrigerant. In addition, if the temperature is simply reduced, it is possible to use an ultra-low temperature refrigerator as much as possible, but it seems that it has not been put into practical use due to price and condensation problems.
Regarding the height of the cooling unit, the ratio of the depth to the depth is 0.8 to 1 in a normal device, whereas there is about 1.5 times, and up to about 3 times has been put into practical use. There is a possibility.
Although these technologies are generalized and the effect can be expected as such, the commercially available apparatus consumes about ten times as much solvent as the cleaning apparatus of the present invention. It seems even difficult to suppress to about three times the consumption of the device of the invention.

  Further, it is also common to change the structure so that the tank is completely sealed, and most of the solvent vapor is recovered by vacuum drying. This method can reduce the steam in the drying tank to the limit, but the recovery rate of the steam contained in the exhaust of the vacuum pump can only be about 99%, and the remaining 1% consumption is the amount of solvent consumption Pretty big. The solvent consumption of this type of apparatus on the market is more than 10 times that of the apparatus of the present invention.

  In recent years, in order to make up for the above-mentioned drawbacks by a vacuum drying method, an apparatus of a method for storing exhaust gas has been announced. However, since the structure of the device is complicated, the price is expensive and is about 3 to 6 times that of a similar device. In addition, since the basic is vacuum drying, it is difficult to dry a work in which a box-shaped liquid easily accumulates, and it is not possible to deal with only by extending the drying time, and a separate drying mechanism may be required. Theoretically, the amount of solvent consumption can be reduced to the utmost limit, but for that purpose, it is necessary to increase the vacuum degree of vacuum suction, and there is a problem of tact time due to the location and price of the exhaust reservoir and suction time, which is not practical. .

  An example of the structure of a general conventional open type cleaning apparatus is shown in FIG. This open type cleaning apparatus includes an ultrasonic cleaning tank (first tank), a cold bath cleaning tank (second tank), a steam cleaning tank (third tank), a cleaning basket 112, and a cooling unit (cooling coil). 121, a water separator 114, an ultrasonic vibrator 119, and a heater 120, and a solvent 151 is used for cleaning.

In this open type cleaning apparatus, the cleaning basket 2 is immersed in the order of the first tank, the second tank, and the third tank by manual work. In the final third tank, after being heated by the solvent vapor 150, it is taken out in a heated state and naturally dried. Therefore, the cleaning liquid adhering to the workpiece is released into the atmosphere as it is. In particular, the box-shaped resin part has a large amount of liquid consumption because the liquid is stored therein.
In addition, the height of the cooling part (cooling coil) 121 indicated by H in FIG. 7 cannot be so high due to the movement of the cleaning bowl 112, and the steam concentration at the top is not lowered and the amount of steam flowing out to the upper part is also low. This is a level that cannot be ignored.
Furthermore, in a general apparatus, cooling is generally performed with water. In this case, the liquid temperature is as high as about 5 to 10 ° C. in order to prevent freezing. Although an apparatus that directly cools with a refrigerant such as chlorofluorocarbon is possible, it is still not effective because it is limited to about −15 ° C. and has a short height H.

  An example of the structure of a general conventional hermetic cleaning apparatus is shown in FIG. This hermetic cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning basket 112, a cleaning tank 116, an open / close lid 113, a liquid storage tank 126, a solvent pump 117, a filter 118, an ultrasonic vibrator 119, a vacuum pump 162, A condenser 161, a cooling unit (cooling pipe) 121, and a recovery tank 122 are provided.

In this hermetic cleaning apparatus, the opening / closing lid 113 on the upper surface of the cleaning tank 116 is opened, and the cleaning rod 112 into which the workpiece is inserted is inserted into the cleaning tank 116. The opening / closing lid 113 is closed and the inside of the tank is sealed. The cleaning liquid in the liquid storage tank 126 is sent to the cleaning tank 116 via the filter 118 by the solvent pump 117, and cleaning is performed by means such as ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic vibrator 119. It is returned to the liquid storage tank 126. Thereafter, the work is sufficiently heated by heating means such as solvent vapor, and then vacuum drying is performed by the vacuum pump 162. At this time, since the vacuum drying itself is performed in a sealed tank, there is no leakage of steam. The exhaust gas containing the solvent vapor of the vacuum pump 162 is liquefied and recovered by the low-temperature condenser 161, and the exhaust gas whose vapor has become thinner is further inserted into the solvent of the recovery tank 122 having the cooling pipe 121. Part is recovered. In general, some manufacturers advertise this recovery efficiency as 95% or more and 99.5%.
However, the recovery leakage is at most 0.5%, but the amount of steam at the time of steam heating is so large that it cannot be ignored. The consumption is said to be 1 liter per hour for a hydrocarbon solvent washer and 5 to 7 times that for a chlorine solvent washer.

In order to improve the above-described hermetic cleaning apparatus and minimize solvent consumption, there is a cleaning apparatus provided with a container called a gas holder as shown in Patent Document 1.
An example of the cleaning apparatus provided with this gas holder is shown in FIG. In this apparatus, the exhaust from the vacuum pump 162 at the time of steam heating and drying is stored in a container called a gas holder 165 that can be expanded and contracted via a condenser 161, and is not discharged to the outside at all. Therefore, theoretically, the consumption amount of the solvent is only the vapor remaining in the vacuumed cleaning tank.
However, in practice, it is unreasonable to enlarge the size of the gas holder 165, so that the degree of vacuum of the cleaning tank cannot be increased much. Further, the use of the gas holder 165, the vacuum pump 162, and the like makes the device quite expensive, and is about four times as much as the device of the present invention.

Japanese Patent No. 3813277

As described above, the conventional hermetic cleaning apparatus has a problem that the consumption of the solvent becomes considerably large due to the recovery efficiency of the solvent vapor contained in the exhaust of the vacuum pump.
In addition, when a conventional cleaning device equipped with a gas holder is used to reduce the consumption of the solvent, there is a problem that the cost becomes high because the device becomes quite expensive.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive cleaning device while increasing the solvent recovery efficiency to reduce the consumption of the solvent.

In order to achieve the above object, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention comprises:
A cleaning / drying tank in which the object to be processed is washed with a solvent and the object to be processed is dried;
A hot air machine connected to the washing / drying tank and drying the workpiece;
Connected to the washing / drying tank and the hot air machine, and equipped with a collector for cooling, liquefying and recovering the solvent vapor,
The cleaning / drying tank into which the solvent vapor flows when the object to be processed flows, the hot air machine, and the recovery unit are cleaning apparatuses that are sealed off from outside air,
A cooling tank is provided continuously above the cleaning / drying tank, and cools the object to be processed which has been dried in the cleaning / drying tank to condense and vaporize the solvent vapor.

Further, a container storing the object to be processed is held downward so as to be detachable,
At least installed in the cooling tank so as to be movable in the vertical direction,
When cleaning and drying the object to be processed, there is provided an elevating frame capable of being crimped and sealed to the cleaning / drying tank opened at the top and capable of staying in the cooling tank when the object to be processed is cooled. You may do it.

  The elevating frame may include a rotation mechanism that rotates the container when the elevating frame stays in the cooling tank.

Moreover, you may make it provide the crimping | compression-bonding mechanism of the said raising / lowering frame whose crimping force is 1960 N or more and the pressure with respect to external air is 0.15 kg / cm < ² > or more.

  Moreover, you may make it use the low temperature apparatus of -20 degrees C or less for the said collection | recovery device and the said cooling tank.

Also, a solvent return tank for supplying the solvent to the cleaning / drying tank is provided,
The liquid return tank may have a mechanism capable of recovering the solvent overflow in the tank.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while improving the collection | recovery efficiency of a solvent and reducing the consumption of a solvent, a comparatively cheap cleaning apparatus can be provided.

It is an external view showing the schematic structure of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an external view showing a state in which the lifting frame is crimped to the upper end of the frame of the cleaning / drying tank in the cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1. (A) is a front view showing the schematic structure of the rotation mechanism of the cleaning bowl constituting the cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, (B) is a side view from one side of the rotation mechanism shown in (A), ( C) is a side view from the other side of the rotation mechanism shown in FIG. It is an external view showing the schematic structure of the liquid return tank which comprises the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is a top view of the normal state showing schematic structure of the crimping | compression-bonding mechanism in the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (B) is a top view at the time of the crimping | compression-bonding of the crimping | compression-bonding mechanism shown to (A). . It is sectional drawing showing schematic structure of the crimping | compression-bonding mechanism in the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an external view showing the schematic structure of an example of the conventional open type washing | cleaning apparatus. It is an external view showing the schematic structure of an example of the conventional hermetic cleaning apparatus. It is an external view showing the schematic structure of an example of the washing | cleaning apparatus provided with the conventional gas holder.

A cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The cleaning device according to the present embodiment is a device with a simple still that assumes a relatively small amount of oil to be cleaned, and a full-scale distillation device is added to a general device. In this cleaning apparatus, as the solvent, for example, a solvent having a low fluorocarbon boiling point and a low oil content is used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning apparatus includes an elevating frame 1, a cleaning basket 2, sliding lids 3 a and 3 b, a cooling tank 5, a cleaning / drying tank 6, a cooling tank frame 7, and a cleaning / drying process. Tank frame 8, cooling pipe 11, condenser (collector) 12, blower 13, moisture separator 14, liquid return tank 16, solvent pump 17, filter 18, and ultrasonic oscillator 19 And a heater 20 and a fan sealing portion 21.

The elevating frame 1 is a frame that can be moved up and down by a drive mechanism such as a motor, and is held on a gantry (not shown) of the main body so as to be movable in the vertical direction. In the state of 1b which is the lowered position, the elevating frame 1 is pressure-bonded to the upper end of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank to seal the cleaning / drying tank 6. An elastic body (not shown) such as an O-ring serving as a sealing seal is fixed to the lower surface of the elevating frame 1, and the cleaning / drying tank 6 is sealed by this function.
Further, the lifting frame 1 can be stopped even in the state of 1a which is an intermediate position, and at this position, cooling for lowering the solvent vapor pressure in the cleaning basket 2 is performed.
Further, when it is necessary to rotate the cleaning basket 2, as shown in FIG. 3, a driving gear motor 41 is fixed vertically to the upper side of the lifting frame 1, and this shaft is extended to the lower side of the lifting frame 1. The ring can be rotated while being sealed with a ring or the like. The lower end portion of this shaft is used as a worm gear 42 and fitted with a worm wheel 43 attached to the shaft 2X of the round basket of the cleaning basket 2. In the side views of FIGS. 3B and 3C, some members are omitted for easy understanding.

The cleaning bowl 2 is a square or rotatable round bowl, and is covered with, for example, a net or punching metal, and accommodates an object to be cleaned (hereinafter referred to as “work”) as an object to be processed. It is a container. The cleaning bowl 2 is detachably held on the lifting frame 1 by an appropriate mechanism. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, round rod-shaped shafts 2X protruding from both ends of the cleaning basket 2 are freely rotatable in hook-shaped grooves of a pair of installation / fixing frames 1X attached under the lifting frame 1. Hang on.
If the gear motor 41 is rotated in the T direction in a state where the washing basket 2 is fixed to the lifting frame 1 as shown in FIG. 3, the worm gear 42 is also rotated in the T direction. As a result, the fitted worm wheel 43 rotates in the S direction, so that the shaft 2X of the cleaning basket fixed also rotates, and the entire cleaning basket 2 also rotates.
The cleaning bowl 2 is rotated during the residence time in the cooling tank 5 before the workpiece is taken out from the washing bowl 2.
At the position 2b of the cleaning rod 2 when the elevating frame 1 is at the lowest position, the workpiece is immersed and washed and dried.

  The sliding lid 3a and the sliding lid 3b are attached to the cooling tank frame 7 so as to be movable in the directions of 3A and 3B, respectively, and serve to seal the cooling tank 5 in the closed state. However, the sealing of the sliding lids 3a and 3b is not a strict sealing, and a complete sealing is not necessary.

  The cooling tank 5 is a low temperature cooling tank, and shows the range covered with the cooling tank frame 7, the sliding lids 3a and 3b, and the elevating frame 1 in the lowered position 1b. Except for the upper sliding lids 3a and 3b, it has a completely sealed structure.

  The cleaning / drying tank 6 indicates a portion surrounded by the elevating frame 1 in the lowered position 1b and the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank, and is a place where the work is cleaned and dried. An ultrasonic oscillator 19 for cleaning and a heater 20 for distillation are attached to the bottom surface of the cleaning / drying tank 6. Various pipes are joined to the cleaning / drying tank 6, but these pipes are completely sealed and shut off from the outside air.

  The cooling tank frame 7 is fixed to the base of the main body, and the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank is connected to the hole in the lower part of the cooling tank frame 7 in a completely sealed state and fixed. Further, the bottom of the cooling tank frame 7 forms a groove 31 that goes around the cooling tank 5 together with the outside of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank.

  The frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank is a frame of the cleaning / drying tank 6 and is fixed to the frame of the main body via the frame of the cooling tank frame 7.

  The cooling pipe 11 is a pipe wound in order to cool the cooling tank 5, has a sufficient height in the vertical direction, and has a structure that can cope with ultra-low temperatures. A low temperature device of −20 ° C. or lower is used for the cooling pipe 11. A refrigerant liquid is directly circulated through the cooling pipe 11 from a refrigerator (not shown) attached to the main frame.

The condenser (collector) 12 is for cooling the solvent vapor sent from the pipe 52 and returning it to the liquid. The condenser 12 has a cooling coil similar to that of the cooling pipe 11 inside, and a low temperature device of −20 ° C. or lower is used.
The solvent vapor that has flowed into the condenser 12 through the pipe 52 is cooled at ultra-low temperature, returned to the liquid, sent to the pipe 56, and the air exiting the pipe 53 contains very little solvent vapor. The condenser 12 is fixed directly to the cooling bath frame 7 or is fixed to the cooling bath frame 7 via pipes 52, 53, and 56.

  The blower 13 is a hot air dryer for drying a workpiece, and a heater (not shown) for generating hot air is also incorporated therein. The blower 13 is completely sealed by the box of the fan sealing part 21 including the heater, and is shut off from the outside air.

  The moisture separator 14 is a mechanism for separating moisture contained in the solvent liquid, and is mechanically separated by the difference in specific gravity between water and the solvent. In principle, all the water is stored inside the water separator 14 and is discharged from the valve 86 in a timely manner without entering the pipe 61.

  The liquid return tank 16 is a tank for storing a cleaning solvent, and the solvent is always collected here in a normal time except during a cleaning operation. As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid return tank 16 includes a liquid replenishing port 101, a liquid amount visualizing window 102, an overflow liquid extraction pipe 103, and manual valves 95 and 96.

In the liquid return tank 16, the valve 96 of the overflow liquid extraction pipe 103 is normally closed, and is not different from the normal tank.
When measuring the consumption amount of the solvent, the valve 96 is opened in advance at the time of measuring the liquid amount of the solvent, the liquid is replenished from the liquid replenishing port 101, and the liquid amount is aligned with the upper surface of the overflow liquid extraction pipe 103. In this state, the valve 96 is closed and measurement is started. After completion of the measurement, the liquid that has been reduced in weight is replenished through the liquid replenishment port 101 while confirming the liquid quantity in the liquid quantity visualizing window 102, which is a transparent window for confirming the liquid quantity, and the valve 96 is opened to take out the overflow liquid. The overflow is recovered from the pipe 103. The solvent consumption amount is simply calculated as a difference from the replenishment amount by measuring the recovered amount, so that precise measurement of the solvent consumption amount can be easily performed.

The solvent pump 17 is a pump for circulating, supplying, and discharging the solvent. The solvent pump 17 has a structure in which the above operations are all performed by the control of the valves 81 to 85 that are electromagnetic valves.
The filter 18 is for purifying the cleaning liquid, and always cleans the cleaning liquid circulated by the solvent pump 17 during the cleaning operation.

The ultrasonic oscillator 19 generates ultrasonic waves for cleaning, and is attached to the upper surface of the bottom of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank.
The heater 20 is a heater for distilling and simmering the solvent, and is attached to the bottom surface of the bottom of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank. It is not used during normal operation and is manually activated only when necessary (distillation). The
The fan sealing portion 21 is a box for sealing the blower 13 and completely seals the blower 13.

  The groove 31 for the recovered liquid is a groove surrounding the cleaning / drying tank 6 provided at the bottom of the cooling tank frame 7, and is a path through which the solvent vapor condensed and liquefied inside the cooling tank 5 enters the pipe 55. It has become.

The pipes 51 to 53 are air blowing pipes for drying, and the cleaning / drying tank 6, the condenser 12, and the blower 13 (fan sealing portion 21) are connected through the pipes 51 to 53. The pipes 55 and 56 are pipes for recovering the liquefied solvent, the pipe 61 is a pipe for recovering the solvent from the moisture separator 14, and the pipe 71 connects the cleaning / drying tank 6 and the liquid return tank 16. It is a pipe for air, and all other pipes are pipes for solvent.
The valves 81 to 85 are automatically controlled electromagnetic valves, and the valves 86 and 87 are manually operated valves.

Next, the structure of the crimping mechanism for crimping the lifting frame 1 to the upper end of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank will be described with reference to FIGS.
This crimping mechanism is mainly disposed on the lifting frame 1, and includes a rotary arm 23, rotary stoppers 24 and 25, a vertical positioning stopper 7 a, a block 7 b, a crimp ring 26 (26 a and 26 b), and a crimp holder 45. A lifting shaft 46, a bearing 47, a compression spring 48, a crimping gear 49, and a crimping shaft 50.
This crimping mechanism can achieve strong crimping with a crimping force of 1960 N or more and a pressure against the outside air of 0.15 kg / cm ² or more, so that the lifting frame 1 can be lifted by the vapor pressure of the solvent when the workpiece is dried. And can maintain a sealed state.

The rotating arms 23 are four arms that are rotatably held on the crimping ring 26 by inner peripheral screws, and all of the four arms have an integral structure.
The vertical positioning stopper 7 a is a stopper for the rotating arm 23 that is fixed to the four blocks 7 b fixed to the cooling tank frame 7 so as to be adjustable in the vertical direction.
The rotation stopper 24 is a rotation positioning stopper for the rotation arm 23 that is fixed to one of the four blocks 7 b that are fixed to the cooling tank frame 7.
The rotation stopper 25 is a rotation positioning stopper for the rotation arm 23 that is fixed on the elevating frame 1.
The pressure-bonding ring 26 is rotatably held by a pressure-bonding holder 45 via a bearing 47. The lower part 26a has a screw structure on the outer periphery, and the upper part 26b has a gear on the outer periphery.
The crimping holder 45 is a block fixed on the lifting frame 1 and is normally suspended by the lifting shaft 46.
The raising / lowering shaft 46 is an axis | shaft currently hold | maintained so that the vertical movement is possible on the mount (not shown) of a main body.
The bearing 47 is rotatably held by the crimping holder 45, and the outer periphery thereof is rotatably fitted to the crimping ring 26.
The compression spring 48 is incorporated in the crimping ring 26 and crimps the rotary arm 23 downward with an appropriate load.
The crimp gear 49 is fixed to the crimp shaft 50 and meshes with the outer periphery of the upper portion 26 b of the crimp ring 26.
The crimping shaft 50 is a shaft that is rotatably supported by a gantry (not shown) of the main body, and is connected to a drive source such as a motor via a gear or the like.

Next, the operation of the cleaning device of the present embodiment will be described.

<Washing action>
The cleaning rod 2 into which the workpiece is inserted is attached to the lifting frame 1 via the installation / fixing frame 1X (FIG. 3) or the like. An operator presses a cleaning start button installed in a control unit (not shown) of the apparatus to start automatic cleaning.

The sliding lids 3a and 3b open in the directions 3A and 3B, respectively. In this state, the elevating frame 1 is lowered and reaches the position 1b as shown in FIG. In the state 1b, which is the lowering position of the elevating frame 1, the elevating frame 1 is pressed against the upper end of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank, and the cleaning / drying tank 6 is sealed.
At the same time, the solvent pump 17 starts operation, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the liquid return tank 16 to the cleaning / drying tank 6 through the valve 84, the filter 18, the solvent pump 17, and the valve 82. At this time, all the liquid passes through the filter 18 and is cleaned. Further, the valve 85 is opened, and the air in the cleaning / drying tank 6 is released to the liquid return tank 16.
The operation in which the elevating frame 1 is crimped to the upper end of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank will be described later.

  The liquid level sensor (not shown) installed in the cleaning / drying tank 6 terminates the supply of the cleaning liquid in an appropriate liquid amount state, and thereafter circulates by valve operation. That is, by opening the valve 81 and closing the valve 84, the liquid is supplied from the cleaning / drying tank 6 and is circulated and filtered back to the cleaning / drying tank 6 via the filter 18. This state continues until the end of cleaning. In this state, the work of the cleaning bowl 2 (position 2b) is completely immersed in the liquid as shown in FIG.

  Next, cleaning is started, and ultrasonic cleaning is started by activation of the ultrasonic oscillator 19. The cleaning liquid is kept clean in a circulating filtration state. This state is maintained for a predetermined time by a timer or the like to end the cleaning process, and then the process proceeds to the draining process.

  Immediately after the cleaning, the operation of draining is started by valve operation. That is, by opening the valve 83 and closing the valve 82, the liquid is supplied from the cleaning / drying tank 6 and returns to the liquid return tank 16 via the filter 18. At this time, all the liquid passes through the filter 18 and is cleaned. Further, the valve 85 is opened to let the air in the liquid return tank 16 escape to the cleaning / drying tank 6. After a predetermined period of time by the timer, the solvent pump 17 is stopped and all the valves are closed.

Hot air drying is started in the latter half of the above drainage operation. The blower 13 is preheated by a built-in heater from the start of the drainage operation. The blower 13 is activated and warm air is sent to the cleaning / drying tank 6.
Warm air is blown to the cleaning bowl 2 at the position 2b through the pipe 51, and the solvent is evaporated from the work in the cleaning bowl 2 and sent to the collector 12 through the pipe 52. The warm air containing the solvent vapor condensed at an ultra-low temperature by the recovery device 12 becomes cold air that is almost completely dried and returns to the blower 13 via the pipe 53 and circulates.
Further, the solvent vapor condensed and liquefied at this time is sent to the water separator 14 via the pipe 56, and returns to the liquid return tank 16 via the pipe 61 only by the specific gravity separation.
The above drying operation is completed by setting a solvent concentration sensor (not shown) installed in the pipe 52 or a timer. At this time, the solvent is completely dried to the inside of the cleaning tub 2, the cleaning / drying tank 6, and the pipes 51 to 53 as well as the work.
During this operation, the fan sealing part 21, the cleaning / drying tank 6, the collector 12 and the pipes 51 to 53 (hereinafter referred to as "drying path") are completely blocked from the outside air. The fully sealed state is maintained. Further, the water separator 14, the liquid return tank 16, the pipes 56 and 61, and other pipes are all completely sealed off from the outside air, and no solvent vapor flows out during this period.
At the end of drying, the work and the cleaning bowl 2 are warmed by warm air, but the air in the drying path is kept in a dry state by the collector 12 so that the solvent vapor is very little. Further, before the drying is completed, the heater of the blower 13 is turned off by the timer, and cool air is blown onto the work by the action of the collecting device 12 to cool to an appropriate temperature. The temperature can be adjusted, but cooling is performed at about 25 ° C., for example.

After the drying operation is completed, the operation shifts to the work discharging operation. At this time, the inside of the cooling tank 5 is in an ultra-low temperature state by the cooling pipe 11. The elevating frame 1 moves up with the cleaning bowl 2 and moves from the position 1b to the position 1a, and the washing basket 2 also moves from the position 2b to 2a, where it stays for a predetermined time and is cooled. The up and down movement is performed slowly by controlling so that the slightly remaining solvent vapor in the drying path including the cleaning / drying tank 6 is not transported to the upper surface as much as possible.
The elevating frame 1 is stopped at a position 1a for a predetermined time to cool the cleaning basket 2 and the air in the work, and further reduce the remaining solvent vapor. Further, the air in the drying path that has flowed into the cooling tank 5 is also cooled, and the solvent vapor concentration is further reduced.
At this time, by rotating the cleaning bowl 2, the cleaning bowl 2 and the air in the work are efficiently cooled, and the solvent vapor can be further reduced.
By replacing the air in the cleaning bowl 2 with low-temperature air and reducing the amount of steam accompanying the work, adjusting the residence time in the cooling bath 5, the work temperature at the time of taking out is adjusted to a state where condensation does not occur. .
The solvent vapor condensed and liquefied by the cooling pipe 11 is guided to the pipe 55 communicating with the groove 31 provided at the bottom of the cooling tank 5 and sent to the moisture separator 14. Of the recovered solvent sent to the water separator 14, only the solvent returns to the liquid return tank 16 via the pipe 61 by specific gravity separation.

  After a predetermined time, the sliding lids 3a and 3b move in the directions 3A and 3B, respectively, and the cooling tank 5 is opened. In this state, the elevating frame 1 moves to the top with the cleaning basket 2 so that the cleaning basket 2 can be detached. The sliding lids 3a and 3b return in the opposite direction, the cooling tank 5 is closed, and one cycle of cleaning operation is completed.

<Distillation operation>
The distillation operation is performed by boiling the liquid in the liquid return tank 16 in the washing / drying tank 6.
All the liquid in the liquid return tank 16 is moved to the cleaning / drying tank 6 by manual operation. In this state, the cooking operation is started by pressing the cooking button. The heater 20 is turned on to heat the liquid, the blower 13 is activated to be in a drying operation state, and the solvent vapor is sent to the collector 12.
The solvent vapor is condensed and liquefied by the recovery unit 12, and after the water is removed by the water separator 14, it is recovered in the liquid return tank 16.
The boiling operation is completed when the liquid level in the cleaning / drying tank 6 is lowered to a predetermined position, and the drained liquid is taken out from the valve 87. The remaining effluent can be further separated into oil and solvent recovery liquid by another distiller (another apparatus).

  Next, the operation of the crimping mechanism for crimping the lifting frame 1 to the upper end of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank will be described.

<Normal state>
When the lifting frame 1 is not in a crimped state including when the lifting frame 1 is lifted, the rotating arm 23 maintains a state of contacting the rotation stopper 25 in the lifting frame 1 as shown in FIG.
The lift frame 1 is suspended by the protrusion 46a of the lift shaft 46 via the small diameter portion 45a inside the crimping holder 45, and the lower surface of the small diameter portion 45a and the upper surface of the protrusion 46a are in contact with each other without a gap. Yes.

<Descent state of lifting frame 1>
The elevating shaft 46 is lowered by a driving mechanism (not shown) such as a motor, and the elevating frame 1 is also lowered integrally. When the elevating frame 1 reaches the upper surface of the cleaning / drying tank 6, the elevating frame 1 stops, but the elevating shaft 46 is further lowered to a predetermined position, and the small diameter portion 45a of the crimping holder 45 and the protruding portion 46a of the elevating shaft 46 are A gap is generated in the vertical direction, and the vertical position shown in FIG.
Further, in this state, the vertical positional relationship between the crimp stopper 7a and the rotary arm 23 is such that a gap is generated as shown in FIG.

<Crimping operation>
When the rotation mechanism is activated and the crimping shaft 50 is rotated, the crimping ring 49 is rotated by the rotation of the crimping gear 49, and the rotating arm 23 is rotated in the direction P of FIG. 5B by the frictional force of the compression spring 48. It is crimped to 24 and stops in the state shown in FIG.
The crimping shaft 50 continues to rotate thereafter, and the crimping ring 26 also continues to rotate. The rotation of the lower portion 26a causes the outer peripheral screw to rotate, and pushes the rotating arm 23 upward.
When the rotary arm 23 rises and reaches the vertical positioning stopper 7a, the raising stops, but the screw of the lower portion 26a of the crimping ring 26 continues to rotate and generates a force that pushes up the vertical positioning stopper 7a.
Due to the reaction of this force, the rotary arm 23 receives a downward pressing force from the vertical positioning stopper 7a and is transmitted to the pressing ring 26, the bearing 47, and the pressing holder 45 to press the elevating frame 1 downward.
Although the rotation of the crimping shaft 50 continues for a predetermined time, since a torque limiter (not shown) such as a clutch is installed on the drive mechanism side, a crimping force exceeding a predetermined force is not applied.

<Press release operation>
When the rotation mechanism starts in the reverse direction and the crimping shaft 50 rotates in the reverse direction, the crimping operation is reversed. First, the crimping force is released to release the crimping, and then the rotating arm 23 rotates in the R direction in FIG. 5 (B). Then, it reaches the rotation stopper 25 and stops in the state of FIG. At this time, when a position sensor (not shown) on the lifting frame 1 for the rotating arm 23 is detected, the crimping shaft 50 is stopped after a predetermined time of the timer, and the crimp release operation is completed.

As described above, in the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, the blower 13 (fan sealing portion 21), the cleaning / drying tank 6, the recovery device 12, and the pipes 51 to 53 are completely shut off from the outside air during the work drying operation. Since the water separator 14, the liquid return tank 16, the pipes 56 and 61, and other pipes are all completely sealed off from the outside air. There is no outflow of solvent vapor and the solvent recovery efficiency is improved.
In addition, after the work is dried, the cleaning tub 2 and the air in the work are cooled in the cooling tank 5 continuously provided so as to cover the washing / drying tank 6 above the cleaning / drying tank 6 and remain. The amount of solvent vapor is further reduced, and the air in the drying path that has flowed into the cooling tank 5 is also cooled, so that the concentration of the solvent vapor is further reduced and the liquefied solvent vapor is recovered. The solvent recovery efficiency is further improved.

  Further, in the cleaning device of this embodiment, the gas holder 165, the vacuum pump 16, and the like are not used, so that the cost can be reduced and the cleaning device can be provided at low cost.

  Further, in the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, the lifting frame 1 holding the cleaning basket 2 in which the workpiece is stored is movable downward, and the lifting frame 1 is opened upward when cleaning or drying the workpiece. Since the work can be retained in the cooling tank 5 when the work is cooled, the work such as washing, drying, and cooling can be efficiently performed. it can.

  Further, in the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, when the workpiece is cooled in the cooling tank 5, the cleaning rod 2 is rotated to efficiently cool the cleaning rod 2 and the air in the workpiece, thereby further reducing the solvent vapor. Can be reduced.

Further, in the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, the lifting frame 1 can be crimped to the upper end of the frame 8 of the cleaning / drying tank with a strong crimping force by the crimping mechanism, so that the lifting frame 1 due to the vapor pressure of the solvent when the workpiece is dried. Can be prevented and the sealed state can be maintained.
According to the experimental results of the prototype of the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment when this crimping mechanism is not used, the amount of solvent consumption per cleaning is 22.64 cc using a fluorinated solvent, and the conventional open cleaning is performed. It was reduced to about 1/12 compared with the case where the machine was used. When this crimping mechanism is used, a further reduction of about 1/2 to 1/5 is expected.

  In the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, the amount of consumption of the solvent is negligible, so that environmental problems such as solvent price problems and toxicity do not occur, and it is possible to freely select a solvent suitable for the purpose, Suppressing solvent consumption can greatly contribute to environmental problems, which are global problems.

  While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the present embodiment, the cleaning operation is performed in such a manner that the workpiece is immersed in the solvent liquid. However, the workpiece may be sprayed with a jet of solvent.

1 Lifting frame 1X Installation / fixing frame 2 Washing bowl 5 Cooling tank 6 Washing / drying tank 7 Cooling tank frame 7a Up / down position stopper 8 Washing / drying tank frame 11 Cooling pipe 12 Collector (condenser)
13 Hot Air Machine 14 Moisture Separator 16 Liquid Return Tank 17 Solvent Pump 21 Fan Sealing Unit 23 Rotating Arms 24 and 25 Rotating Stopper 26 Crimp Ring 31 Groove 41 for Collected Liquid Gear Motor 42 Warm Gear 43 Warm Wheel 45 Crimp Holder 46 Lifting Shaft 47 Bearing 48 compression spring 49 compression gear 50 compression shaft 51 to 53, 55, 56, 71 piping 103 piping for taking out overflow liquid

Claims (6)

A cleaning / drying tank in which the object to be processed is washed with a solvent and the object to be processed is dried;
A hot air machine connected to the washing / drying tank and drying the workpiece;
Connected to the washing / drying tank and the hot air machine, and equipped with a collector for cooling, liquefying and recovering the solvent vapor,
The cleaning / drying tank into which the solvent vapor flows when the object to be processed flows, the hot air machine, and the recovery unit are cleaning apparatuses that are sealed off from outside air,
A cleaning apparatus provided with a cooling tank that is continuously provided above the cleaning / drying tank and that cools the object to be processed and dried in the cleaning / drying tank and condenses and liquefies the solvent vapor. . A container containing the object to be processed is held downward so as to be detachable,
At least installed in the cooling tank so as to be movable in the vertical direction,
When cleaning and drying the object to be processed, an elevating frame is provided that is pressure-bonded to the cleaning / drying tank opened upward and sealed, and can be retained in the cooling tank when the object to be processed is cooled. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the elevating frame includes a rotation mechanism that rotates the container when the elevating frame stays in the cooling tank. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a pressure-bonding mechanism for the elevating frame having a pressure-bonding force of 1960 N or more and a pressure against the outside air of 0.15 kg / cm ² or more.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a low temperature apparatus of −20 ° C. or lower is used for the recovery unit and the cooling tank. A solvent return tank for supplying the solvent to the washing / drying tank;
The said liquid return tank has a mechanism which can collect | recover the overflow of a solvent in a tank, The washing | cleaning apparatus of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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