JP2908744B2 - Cleaning and drying method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing and drying apparatus for removing dirt adhering to small parts in a manufacturing process of small parts such as machines and electronic parts to obtain a clean part, and an apparatus used therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when cleaning small parts such as electronic parts, the parts are placed in a basket such as a basket or a barrel, and the liquid is ultrasonically or hydraulically pumped in a cleaning liquid, or spray-cleaned in the atmosphere. And then air blowing, hot air,
Drying such as vacuum was performed.

[0003]

However, machines,
When small articles such as electronic parts are placed in a basket and washed, the parts in the basket stick to each other or separate during the washing, so that mechanical energy such as ultrasonic waves, liquid flow or spray is dispersed, and the parts are washed. There is a problem that unevenness occurs. If these energies are increased in order to eliminate the cleaning unevenness, there is a problem that small parts are damaged or damaged during cleaning.

[0004] Further, the cleaning liquid containing a surfactant has a disadvantage that a large amount of bubbles are generated during cleaning.

Further, in drying, it is difficult for dry air, heat, etc. to be transmitted between closely-contacted parts, a blind hole or the like, and a high-temperature hot air or a decompression device of a medium vacuum or higher is required for complete drying. For this reason, it is difficult to increase the drying time and the equipment cost.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in the conventional cleaning method, and cleans and dries dirt attached to small parts and dirt interposed between parts in a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing / drying method which can be performed and an apparatus having a small number of tanks and auxiliary equipment used for the method.

[0007]

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning tank supporting a basket accommodating parts to be cleaned in a cleaning tank connected to the cleaning tank. The heated washing liquid is gradually fed while eliminating the air in the washing tank to make it full, and then the washing liquid is circulated at a high speed between the washing tank and the liquid receiving tank to perform the washing. After cleaning the parts to be cleaned in the tank for a predetermined time, and then returning the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank to the liquid receiving tank, the remaining liquid is further removed.
A cleaning and drying method characterized in that after removing bubbles by air blowing, a large amount of air is blown into the cleaning tank for a predetermined time to dry the parts to be cleaned.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the supply or circulation of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning tank is performed by a pump whose speed is controlled by a frequency converter.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a basket accommodating the parts to be cleaned is supported inside by a flange, and the bottom has a four-sided slope or end plate structure, and a baffle is provided at a slightly upper central portion of the bottom. Provided, a cleaning tank having an upper lid plate, and located below the cleaning tank, connected to the cleaning tank with a cleaning liquid circulating pipe, provided with a rectifying plate and a heating device inside,
A sealed liquid receiving tank filled with a cleaning liquid, a circulating pump attached to the cleaning liquid circulating pipe, and a speed controller controlled by a frequency converter to transmit a predetermined amount of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning tank; A cleaning and drying apparatus comprising a blower for draining a liquid in a cleaning tank and blowing air for drying.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention comprises two tanks, a washing tank and a liquid receiving tank. Parts to be cleaned are put in a basket, the basket is mounted in the washing tank, and the cleaning liquid heated in the liquid receiving tank is washed. A mechanism is provided for cleaning the parts to be cleaned in the basket while circulating from the tank to the liquid receiving tank.

[0011] In drying the washed parts,
With the washed parts still in the basket in the washing tank, the washing liquid is returned to the liquid receiving tank, and after the washing liquid in the washing tank is sufficiently drained, the required amount of dry air is supplied to dry the washed parts. It is provided with a mechanism to make it work.

At the start of the above-mentioned cleaning, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid to suppress foaming of the cleaning liquid, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid, the drainage liquid after the cleaning, the flow rate of the drying air, and the exhaust air after the drying are determined. The operation is performed by an operation of a control unit such as a CPU in which a required time, an amount, and the like are input in advance.

According to the present invention, as described above, one tank is used as both a washing tank and a drying tank, and the washing and drying operations are performed in this tank. Liquids and air flow) and thermal energy are not dispersed, so that the components to be cleaned can be acted upon in a short time and sufficient cleaning and drying can be performed.

Hereinafter, the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 2 denotes a basket containing the parts 1 to be cleaned such as small parts. The basket 2 is supported on the cleaning tank 3 by a flange 2a provided on the upper edge of the flange of the basket 2 and a flange 3a protruding upward inside the cleaning tank 3. The structure is sealed by the differential pressure of the liquid and air when passing through the part to be cleaned 1 during the passage of the liquid and the ventilation.

The basket 2 has an upper surface 2b in this example.
And the lower surface 2c is formed as a mesh as an inlet and an outlet of the cleaning liquid,
The other surface is a shielded cylindrical shape.

The cleaning tank 3 has an inlet 32 for supplying the cleaning liquid into the tank, draining the cleaning liquid, and supplying air for drying, an outlet 33 for the cleaning liquid and air, and a drain for the cleaning liquid. Exit 3
1 and an air discharge port 34, and each of the connecting pipes connected thereto has an opening and closing valve for opening and closing, an air-operated butterfly valve with speed adjustment, and valves 21, 22, 2, such as a solenoid valve.
3, 24, 25 are attached. These valves are interlocked and controlled by the CPU 14 along a path indicated by a dotted line 61.

The bottom 36 of the cleaning tank 3 has a four-sided gradient or a mirror plate structure. This is because the outlet 31
During the operation of returning the cleaning liquid to the liquid receiving tank 4 to be described later, when the cleaning liquid becomes low, the remaining liquid is stored in one place of the bottom portion 36, and the cleaning liquid is efficiently discharged.

Reference numeral 37 denotes an umbrella-shaped baffle provided slightly above the discharge port 31 at the bottom of the washing tank 3. When circulating the washing liquid during washing in the washing tank 3, a vortex is generated at the bottom of the tank.
Prevents bubbles from forming and allows the cleaning solution to drain smoothly 33
Can be led to. Reference numeral 35 denotes an upper cover plate of the cleaning tank 3.

The liquid receiving tank 4 has a heating device 4 below the inside thereof.
1 and a cleaning liquid 5 guided from a cleaning liquid inlet 44.
Is heated. Reference numeral 45 denotes a discharge port for sending the heated cleaning liquid 5 to the cleaning tank 3 by the circulation pump 9 via the filter 47. Reference numeral 46 denotes a return port of the circulation cleaning liquid. A current plate 42 is attached. The rectifying plate 42 is provided in order to prevent the cleaning liquid entering the liquid receiving tank 4 from generating a vortex, and to prevent bubbles from being generated by the vortex.

Reference numeral 48 denotes a temperature detector attached to the liquid receiving tank 4, which issues an alarm when the temperature of the cleaning liquid in the liquid receiving tank 4 rises excessively or stops the cleaning / drying device. Connected.

The washing tank 3 and the liquid receiving tank 4 are connected to the above-mentioned outlet port 45.
And the inlet 32, the outlets 31 and 33 and the return port 46 are connected by communication pipes 51, 52 and 53, respectively.
Has a circulation pump 9 for transferring and circulating the cleaning liquid and a check valve 26. As the circulation pump 9, an in-line pump having a low head and a large flow rate or a multi-stage pump having a high head and a large flow rate is used, and operation control is performed by the frequency converter 13.

The air for draining the cleaning tank 3 or for drying the cleaning parts after the cleaning is performed by opening and closing the valve 22 through the filter 11 by the blower 10 attached to the blower pipe 54 connected to the inlet 32. The opening and closing of this valve 22 and the flow rate thereof are controlled in conjunction with other valves in the same manner as the other valves.
U operates while monitoring input information such as temperature and pressure.

In the step 15, after the washing in the washing tank 3 is completed, the washing liquid 5 is returned to the liquid receiving tank 4 before the drying operation is started. At this time, it is confirmed that no washing liquid is present in the washing tank 3. A liquid detector, which is connected to the CPU, receives the signal and operates the above-described valve 22, and operates the blower 1
A blow by 0 is performed.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a filter, and 27 denotes the filter 2
8, one of the pipes 55 is connected to the liquid receiving tank 4
And the other is connected to the transmission pipe 51. The filter 28 is for filtering the cleaning liquid in the liquid receiving tank 4 and cleaning it when the cleaning liquid is not circulated, such as before starting the cleaning by the apparatus or during drying after the cleaning. The washing liquid may be filtered by the filter 28 and returned to the liquid receiving tank 4.

Next, an example of a method of cleaning and drying a part to be cleaned by the cleaning and drying apparatus having the above-described structure will be described. First, a cylindrical basket 2 in which the upper surface 2b and the lower surface 2c serving as the inlet and outlet of the cleaning liquid 5 are meshed and the other surface is shielded.
The small electronic component 1 is accommodated in the washing tank 3 and the flange 2a provided on the upper edge flange thereof is supported by the flange 3a provided on the upper end inside the washing tank 3 correspondingly. The basket 2 is mounted in the tank 3.

A cleaning liquid 5 in a liquid tank (not shown) is filled into the liquid receiving tank 4 connected to the cleaning tank 3 by the transmission pipes 51, 52, and 53 through a transmission pipe 50 through a transmission port 44.
Heating is performed by a heating device 41 provided in the tank 4.

An automatic washing start button (not shown) of the apparatus is pressed, valves 21, 22 and 24 are closed, valves 23 and 25 are opened, and a communication pipe 51 communicating with an outlet 45 of the liquid receiving tank 4 is opened. By operating the attached circulation pump 9 at a low frequency, the heated cleaning liquid 5 in the liquid receiving tank 4 is gradually (within a predetermined time) passed through the check valve 26 from the inlet 32 into the cleaning tank 3. The air in the washing tank 3 is expelled from the air outlet 34 to the outside of the system, and is sent in such a manner as to prevent the generation of bubbles, so that the inside of the washing tank 3 is filled with liquid.

At this time, if air remains in the upper part of the washing tank 3, the valve 23 is closed and the valve 25 is opened to expel the remaining air from the air discharge port 34.

After confirming that the cleaning tank 3 is completely filled with the cleaning liquid 5, the valve 25 is closed, the valve 23 is opened, and the cleaning liquid 5 is discharged from the liquid discharge port 33 and the liquid return port 46 is opened.
To the state of flowing into the liquid receiving tank 4 and then the circulation pump 9
The circulating pump 9 is switched to high frequency (rated frequency) operation by the frequency converter 13 connected to
The cleaning liquid 5 is supplied to the liquid receiving tank 4 and the cleaning tank 3 at a rate of liter / minute.
The small parts 1 in the basket 2 are washed while circulating between them.

As described above, when starting high-frequency operation in the circulation pump 9, C is controlled by an external timer (not shown).
The cleaning time is measured in accordance with a command from the PU 14, and the cleaning is completed when the time is up, and the circulation pump 9 is stopped. With the stop of the circulation pump 9, the valves 21, 23 and 25 are opened, and the cleaning liquid 5 in the cleaning tank 3 from the liquid outlets 31 and 33 is made into one flow at the junction P of the communication pipes 52 and 53. The liquid is returned to the liquid receiving tank 4 from the return port 46.

The reason why the cleaning liquid discharged from the liquid discharge ports 31 and 33 is returned to the liquid receiving tank 4 as one stream is to minimize the generation of bubbles when flowing into the liquid receiving tank.

Thus, the cleaning liquid 5 returns to the liquid receiving tank 4,
Upon receiving a signal indicating that there is no liquid in the cleaning tank 3 by the liquid detector 15 having a tip inserted into the lower part of the cleaning tank 4, the valves 23 and 25 are closed, and the valves 22 and 24 are opened to open the cleaning tank 3. The blower 10 connected to the inlet 32 of the liquid and the drying air is operated for inching operation of the blower 10 for several seconds, or the valve 22 is opened and closed instantaneously during continuous operation of the blower 10, so that the cleaning tank is maintained for a certain time. By blowing air into the cleaning tank 3, the remaining cleaning liquid and bubbles adhered to the small parts 1, the basket 2, or the inner wall of the cleaning tank 3 are transferred to the liquid receiving tank 4 through the valve 21 from the liquid outlet 31 at the lower part of the cleaning tank. to recover.

After confirming that there is no cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 3 as described above, the valve 21 is closed, and the blower 10 is continuously operated to blow a large amount of air to the small parts 1 in the cleaning tank 3. To dry. In the continuous operation of the blower 10, by setting a drying time in advance by an external timer (not shown), the blower 10 automatically stops at the same time as the time is up. At the time of this drying, although not shown, the blower 10
The drying efficiency is improved if hot air is sent in parallel with a heater.

After the inertia force of the blower is stopped, the inertia force of the blower is reduced. Then, the valves 21, 23 and 25 are opened, the 22 and 24 are closed, the upper lid plate 35 of the washing tank 3 is opened, and the basket 2 containing the small parts 1 is opened. , The automatic washing and drying is completed.

As described above, according to the present invention, since all of the cleaning liquid discharged by the pump into the basket whose flow direction of the cleaning liquid is specified is poured into the small parts which are the objects to be cleaned, the loss of the used cleaning liquid is reduced. Because of the small number, it is also possible to use a small pump with a low head as the circulation pump.

Prior to cleaning by sending a large amount of cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid (particularly,
Air bubbles that cause foaming (when surfactants are contained) can be removed, and foaming can be suppressed even if a large amount of cleaning liquid is circulated and fed during high-frequency pump operation. can do.

In the present invention, by controlling the feeding of the cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank in two stages as described above, the objects to be cleaned do not come into rapid contact with each other, and thus the object to be cleaned is damaged or damaged. There is no fear.

In drying after washing, the washing liquid is returned to the liquid receiving tank, and the washing liquid and bubbles adhering to the inner wall of the washing tank, the basket, and the gap between the washing parts are removed by the inching operation of the blower, and then high-speed air is blown. By doing so, efficient drying can be performed in a short time.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, by using the apparatus described in the claims, the cleaning liquid is fed into the basket in which the parts to be cleaned are placed in the cleaning tank at a controlled flow rate and fed in two stages. By performing circulating cleaning, draining including complete recovery of the cleaning liquid and foam by controlling the amount of blowing air and blowing time, and performing drying, the parts to be cleaned can be cleaned in a short time. By reducing the number of tanks, for example, by performing washing and drying in the same tank, washing and drying can be performed at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a washing and drying apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 To-be-cleaned part 2 Basket 3 Cleaning tank 4 Liquid receiving tank 5 Cleaning liquid 9 Circulation pump 10 Blower 13 Frequency converter 14 CPU 37 Umbrella baffle 41 Heating device 42 Rectifier plate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B08B 3/10 H01L 21/304 351 H01L 21/304 361

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] In a washing tank supporting a basket accommodating parts to be washed, a heated washing liquid in a liquid receiving tank connected to the washing tank is gradually removed while removing air in the washing tank. And then the cleaning solution is circulated at high speed between the cleaning tank and the liquid receiving tank to wash the parts to be cleaned in the cleaning tank for a predetermined time, and then in the cleaning tank. The cleaning liquid is returned to the liquid receiving tank, and the remaining liquid and bubbles are removed by air blowing, and then a large amount of air is blown into the cleaning tank for a predetermined time to dry the parts to be cleaned. . 2. The cleaning and drying method according to claim 1, wherein the supply or circulation of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning tank is performed by a pump whose speed is controlled by a frequency converter. 3. A cleaning device having a basket accommodating parts to be cleaned internally supported by flanges, a bottom having a four-sided slope or a mirror plate structure, a baffle provided at a slightly upper central portion of the bottom, and a top cover plate. A tank, which is located below the washing tank, is connected to the washing tank by a washing liquid circulating pipe, is provided with a current plate and a heating device therein, and is a sealed liquid receiving tank filled with the washing liquid; A circulating pump attached to the cleaning liquid circulation pipe and controlled by a frequency converter to feed a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid to the cleaning tank, and a blower for draining the cleaning tank and blowing air for drying. A washing and drying apparatus comprising: