JP5635954B2 - Static elimination and dust removal equipment and static elimination and dust removal method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for discharging and removing charged particles adhering to clean clothes and the like.

  It is known that an electrostatic force acts on charged particles obtained by charging particles in an electric field, and the charged particles easily adhere to an electric field generation source. Examples of the electric field generation source include various electrostatically charged members. In particular, the adhesion of particles due to the electrostatic charge is the following production facility, that is, a process of manufacturing a transparent electrode as an FPD material (flat panel display), In production facilities such as facilities for assembling / manufacturing production equipment and facilities for producing next-generation secondary batteries, there is a problem as particle contamination.

  Products (workpieces) manufactured at the above facilities allow manufacturing with a low cleanliness (cleanness: about 1000 to 10,000), but in the various production facility spaces described above, friction, peeling, cleaning, drying, etc. There are also large particles having a size of several μm that can be generated in the manufacturing process, and the adhesion to the product is one of the main factors for the decrease in the product yield.

  In addition, a conductive material is generally applied to the interior member of the clean room, but this is charged with a potential of about ± 100 V, which generates charged particles in the room space and adheres to the product. The degree of cleanliness will be reduced.

  By the way, the behavior of particles is influenced by terminal sedimentation due to gravity, air current, and electrostatic force, and the adsorption of charged particles to workpieces and interior members is mainly related to the electrostatic force, and the charged amount of charged particles ( The adsorptive power is determined by the electric field intensity generated by the charge amount) and the surface potential of the workpiece. For this reason, as a countermeasure against static electricity, the work surface is neutralized with an ionizer or soft X-rays.

  Here, a conventional charge removal and dust removal countermeasure when an operator enters the clean room will be described with reference to FIG.

  In general, when the worker H enters the clean room CR, he / she enters the room wearing clean clothes made of conductive fibers that are difficult to be electrostatically charged. However, when the worker H walks, static electricity remains at an arbitrary friction site, which causes fine particles to adhere. Therefore, since it is not sufficient to change into clean clothes and enter the clean room in the changing room, an air shower room AS is provided on the entrance side of the clean room CR to perform dust removal with a high-speed air current from a powerful blower B. That is, the worker H wearing clean clothes first enters the air shower room AS (in the X1 direction), takes an air shower here, is charged positively and negatively in this air shower, and is charged particles p1 attached to the clean clothes. After the dust p2 is dropped, the user enters the clean room CR (in the X2 direction) to perform work.

  Although not shown, some air shower rooms are equipped with an ionizer, and the ions generated by this ionizer are provided to charged particles attached to clean clothes via electrostatic force. Static electricity is removed and dust is removed.

  However, since the air shower room described above is expensive and the number of people that can be used at one time is limited, there is a problem that the working efficiency in the clean room is remarkably lowered.

  Therefore, some clean rooms do not have an air shower room, and there are existing clean rooms that remove attached particles only by air ventilation using a fan filter unit (FFU). In this form of clean room, it cannot be denied that the dust removal effect is lower than that of the air shower room.

  As another measure not using the air shower room, an ionizer is installed near the passage leading to the air shower room or the entrance door of the air shower room, and the charged particles are neutralized by the generated ions. There is a measure to remove dust by dropping, but especially in the case of clean clothes, there is friction, so it is difficult to remove all particles by simply removing electricity.

  Here, to turn to the conventional publicly available technology, a static elimination unit that neutralizes the fine particles adhered to the product by an ionizer, and a shock wave generation unit that blows away the neutralized particles without forming an air layer using a shock wave, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a static elimination and dust removal system including an exhaust part that sucks blown particles.

  By applying this charge removal dust removal system, the charged particles can be discharged to form fine particles, and by blowing these fine particles, a high dust removal effect can be expected for the attached particles.

  However, since this static elimination and dust removal system is completely separated from the static elimination part and the shock wave generation part, it takes time to finally remove dust from the static elimination particles. Since it is easy to understand that the scale of the entire system that covers the shock wave generation unit is large, and as a result, the equipment cost tends to be high, the equipment cost is high as in the case of installing an air shower room, and the attached charging It is hard to say that a system with high charge and dust removal efficiency of particles is necessary.

JP 2008-234958 A JP 2009-283305 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can solve the problems such as expensive equipment costs when the air shower room is provided and reduction in work efficiency in the clean room, and is further attached to the object to be cleaned. It is an object of the present invention to provide a static elimination and dust removal apparatus and method with extremely high static elimination and dust removal efficiency and static elimination and dust removal efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, a static elimination dust removing device according to the present invention is a device for static elimination and dust elimination of charged particles adhering to an object to be cleaned,
An air gun and an ionizer for generating an air mass by storing an ionizer in a sealed space having an opening only at one place are integrally configured. After ions are generated in the sealed space by the ionizer, ions in the sealed space are formed. The air containing the ion is generated and irradiated with an air cannon to generate an air mass containing ions, and the ion produced by the ionizer is blown off by the air mass. The ions contained in the blown air mass are covered. The charged particles adhering to the clean target are neutralized to be uncharged particles, and the object to be cleaned is vibrated by an air mass, and the non-charged particles adhering to the target to be cleaned are blown away to remove dust.

  The static elimination dust removing apparatus of the present invention generates ions by an ionizer and then vibrates an air cannon to generate an air vortex (air mass), and the ions are transported and controlled by the air mass. The transported ions neutralize the charged particles to form uncharged particles. The uncharged particles are blown away by vibration caused by an air mass and prevent reattachment.

  In the static elimination dust removing apparatus of the present invention, the air gun and the ionizer are integrated together, and air containing ions generated by the ionizer installed in the air gun is covered as an air mass generated by the air gun. By irradiating toward the clean target, in addition to reliably providing the air to be cleaned as an air mass containing ions, the charged particles adhering to the target to be cleaned are neutralized with ions to become non-charged particles. At the same time, it blows away due to vibrations caused by air mass, and prevents static re-adhesion by removing static electricity from the object to be cleaned and eliminating the electrostatic force generated between it and the uncharged particles. As a result, it is extremely compact and does not require a wide installation space.

  Here, an “air mass” is a case where vibration (pressure) is applied to an air cannon such as a chamber provided with a circular opening on one arbitrary surface and no openings on the other five surfaces. The flow rate difference between the air exiting the chamber and the air entering the chamber by the amount of the exiting air is a vortex at the boundary portion of the circular opening described above, and proceeds in a spiral shape, In addition, the air contains ions and has a pressure (speed) at which uncharged particles are blown away by vibrating the object to be cleaned.

  The air gun is not particularly limited. For example, the air gun is a device composed of a chamber filled with air in which generated ions are suspended and a cylinder mechanism that applies vibration (pressure) to the chamber. As described above, for example, a form in which a circular opening is provided can be given.

  The “adhesion” described so far is that a substance such as a particle is attached to the surface of another substance, and a force acting between these substances is called an adhesion force (mutual bonding force). Examples of the adhesive force include van der Waals force, hydrophobic interaction force, and electrostatic force. Since it is necessary to effectively remove particles adhering to, for example, clean clothes by the action of a plurality of such elements, it is effective to simultaneously remove static electricity from charged particles and blow off with high-pressure or high-speed air current. . Actually, the charged particles are neutralized by the provided ions and the uncharged particles are blown away. Strictly, both are not performed at the same time, but the term “simultaneous” here means almost simultaneously. As in the prior art described above, when compared with those in which the static elimination part and the shock wave generation part are completely separated and there is a certain time lag between the static elimination action and the blow-off action, they may be referred to as simultaneous In the present specification, it is said that the static elimination and the blow-off are performed “simultaneously” because there is only a time interval that does not matter.

  The static elimination dust removing device described above may be provided in an area near the entrance door in the clean room, and work may be performed in the work area in the clean room through this area, or the static elimination dust removal may be performed in a passage leading to the clean room entrance. The form in which the apparatus is installed may be sufficient.

  “Clean target” includes workers working in the clean room and clean clothes worn by workers, as well as transport equipment that moves in the clean room (such as casters and automatic transport machines that are transported manually) Is mentioned.

  The above-mentioned static elimination dust removing device is a device that combines a known ionizer and a known cylinder mechanism, etc., and since these are integrated, a wide space is not required for installation, and the device manufacturing cost is It will not be expensive. Therefore, the equipment cost can be reduced as compared with the case where an air shower room is provided, and the charged particles can be discharged and removed in a short time, so that the work efficiency in the clean room is not lowered.

Furthermore, the present invention extends to a static elimination method, and is a method for static elimination of charged particles adhering to an object to be cleaned,
Ions are generated in the sealed space with the ionizer of an air gun containing an ionizer in a sealed space having an opening in only one place, and an air mass containing ions is generated and irradiated by the air gun. Charged particles that are blown to the target to be cleaned and the ions contained in the blown air mass charge the target object to be neutralized to form non-charged particles, and the target mass is vibrated by the air mass and adhered to the target to be cleaned. The uncharged particles are blown away to remove dust.

  According to the charge removal and dust removal method of the present invention, charge removal and charge removal of charged particles can be performed very efficiently, and the dust removal effect from clean clothes is extremely high. Yield can be realized. Furthermore, reattachment of uncharged particles can be prevented.

  As can be understood from the above description, according to the static elimination dust removing apparatus of the present invention, an air mass and an ionizer are integrally formed, and air containing ions generated by an ionizer installed in an air gun is used as an air gun. By irradiating the object to be cleaned as an air mass generated in step 1, the charged particles attached to the object to be cleaned are neutralized with ions in addition to reliably providing the object to be cleaned as an air mass containing ions. In addition to making particles uncharged, the uncharged particles are blown away by vibration caused by air mass, and the electrostatic force generated between the charged particles is eliminated by eliminating the charge of the object to be cleaned, thereby preventing reattachment. In addition, it is possible to achieve an excellent charge and dust removal effect of charged particles in a small-scale and inexpensive apparatus. In addition, according to the static elimination and dust removal method of the present invention, the charged particles can be effectively blown out in a short time by carrying out static elimination and dust simultaneously, and high working efficiency and high product yield in a clean room can be realized.

It is a schematic diagram explaining a clean room equipped with a static elimination dust removing apparatus of the present invention, (a) is a diagram explaining the situation where the worker who has entered the clean room is dusting the charged particles adhering to the clean clothes, (B) is the figure explaining the situation where a worker moves to the work area in a clean room after clean clothes are dedusted. It is the model which showed the static elimination dust removal apparatus of this invention, Comprising: The front side surface is cut | disconnected and the inside is shown, It is the figure explaining the condition where the ion is produced | generated with the ionizer. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which an air mass is generated by an air cannon and ions are blown away by the air mass following FIG. 2. It is the schematic diagram explaining the conventional static elimination dust removal method at the time of an operator entering a clean room.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a clean room equipped with the static elimination dust removing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1 a is a diagram for explaining a situation where a worker who has entered the clean room removes charged particles adhering to clean clothes. FIG. 1b is a diagram illustrating a situation where the worker moves to the work area in the clean room after the clean clothes are removed. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the static elimination dust removing apparatus of the present invention, showing the inside by cutting the front wall, and is a diagram explaining the situation where ions are generated by the ionizer. . FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a situation where, after FIG. 2, an air mass is generated by an air cannon, and ions are blown away by vibration caused by the air mass.

  The static elimination dust removal apparatus 10 of the present invention is provided in the entrance area in the clean room CR, and the worker H wearing clean clothes enters the clean room CR (in the X3 direction) and then blows away the air blown from the static elimination dust removal apparatus 10. The charged particles p1 adhering to the clean clothes are neutralized by the contained ions to be uncharged particles p2 (fine particles, dust), and discharged from the clean clothes by the air mass that provides ions together with the adhering uncharged fine particles p2. Dust removal is performed.

  In the illustrated clean room CR, the static elimination device 10 is disposed on the top of the entrance area, and the worker H from whom the charged particles p1 and the like are removed from the clean clothes moves indoors (X4 direction) in the work area WA. It is an indoor configuration for executing the indoor work. Although not shown in the figure, there are an automatic transfer device, a manual caster, and the like for transferring various workpieces, parts, etc., which are also appropriately cleaned by the static elimination device 10. In addition, an exhaust port (not shown) connected to the clean room CR and an exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust port are connected to the vacuum mechanism so that fine particles and dust falling on the indoor floor can be sucked and exhausted.

  In addition to the configuration in which the static elimination dust removing device 10 is arranged in the clean room CR as shown in the example, one or a plurality of static elimination dust removal devices 10 are arranged in the passage leading to the entrance of the clean room CR. When the CR enters the room, it may be in a form in which static charge and dust removal of the charged particles already attached to the clean clothes is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the static elimination dust removing apparatus 10 includes a chamber 1, an ionizer 2 stored in the upper part of the chamber 1, and a cylinder mechanism 3 that is fixed to the left and right side walls 11, 11 of the chamber 1 and applies vibrations. , 3 and the chamber 1 and the cylinder mechanism 3 constitute an air cannon. The mechanism for applying vibration to the chamber 1 is not limited to the illustrated cylinder mechanism.

  The chamber 1 is composed of six wall surfaces including a front wall (not shown), and a circular opening 12a is formed in the lower wall 12 thereof.

  The cylinder mechanism 3 includes a cylinder 31 and a piston 32 that slides inside the cylinder 31. The piston 32 is fixed to the side wall 11 of the chamber 1, and air or oil or the like is placed in a space on the opposite side of the piston 32 in the cylinder 31. The fluid L is provided instantaneously. When the fluid L is instantaneously provided in the cylinder 31, the piston 32 pushes the side wall 11 of the chamber 1 at a stroke and applies vibration to the side wall 11 at the time of pushing, and also vibrates into the internal space of the chamber 1 through the side wall 11. Is propagated.

  Moreover, the static elimination dust removal apparatus 10 shown in figure shows that a series of operation control is performed by the control apparatus not shown. Specifically, first, the ionizer 2 is ON-controlled by the controller, and the chamber 1 is filled with ions. At this stage, the side walls 11 are positioned at the outermost position of the chamber 1 so that the internal space of the chamber 1 can be filled with as many ions as possible.

  When a predetermined time has elapsed since the ON control of the ionizer 2, the left and right cylinder mechanisms 3, 3 are controlled to be turned ON synchronously by the control device, so that the left and right cylinders 31, The same amount of liquid increase ΔL is provided in 31, whereby the left and right pistons 32, 32 push the side walls 11, 11 of the chamber 1 at a stroke to apply vibration (Y1 direction), and the left and right side walls 11, 11 are chambers. 1 internal space is instantaneously compressed (Y2 direction).

  The momentary sliding of the left and right pistons 32, 32 imparts vibration to the chamber 1 to create an air mass therein, and ions filled through the circular opening 12a below the chamber 1 are filled with this air mass. Is blown away at high speed (Y3 direction).

  Returning to FIG. 1a, the ions blown off by the air mass reach the charged particles p1 adhering to the clean clothes of the worker H located below to neutralize the charge, and the uncharged particles are blown away by the air mass blown off the ions. To be removed.

  As described above, since the ionizer / duster 10 shown in the figure includes the ionizer 2 that generates ions and the cylinder mechanism 3 in an integrated manner, the space occupied by the device is much larger than that of a system that is configured by separating them. It may be narrow. In addition, since the ionizer 2 and the cylinder mechanism 3 are simply configured as a single unit via the chamber 1, the device manufacturing cost is not expensive. In particular, by disposing the charge-removing / dust-removing device 10 of the present invention in the interior or exterior passage of the clean room CR, the installation of the air shower room can be eliminated, and the cost required for equipment or construction of the entire clean room can be reduced.

  Further, since the ions are blown off at high speed by the air mass, the ions can be reliably provided to the worker H even when the top height of the clean room CR shown in FIG.

  And since ions are blown off by air mass and provided to charged particles that adhere to clean clothes, etc., charged particles are neutralized by ions and at the same time uncharged particles are blown away by air mass. The electrostatic charge and dust removal effect is extremely high. This leads to a reduction in the possibility of particle contamination on a flat panel display or a next-generation secondary battery manufactured in the clean room, leading to an improvement in product yield in the clean room CR. In addition, since static elimination and dust removal are performed instantaneously, the working efficiency in the clean room can be significantly improved as compared with the case where an air shower room is particularly applied.

  Charged particles adhere to clean clothes, etc., due to the adhesion force consisting of van der Waals force, hydrophobic interaction force, electrostatic force, etc., but the effect of this adhesion force is relatively weak (air With respect to charged particles having a particle diameter of 0.1 μm or more that are easily affected by airflow and gravity (due to a lump), the dust removing effect by the charge removing device 10 of the present invention is further enhanced.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and there are design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. They are also included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Chamber, 11 ... Side wall, 12 ... Bottom wall, 12a circular opening, 2 ... Ionizer, 3 ... Cylinder mechanism (air gun), 31 ... Cylinder, 32 ... Piston, 10 ... Static elimination dust removal apparatus, CR ... Clean room, WA ... Work area, p1 ... charged particles, p2 ... uncharged particles (fine particles, dust), H ... workers

Claims (2)

A device that removes and removes charged particles adhering to the object to be cleaned,
An air gun and an ionizer for generating an air mass by storing an ionizer in a sealed space having an opening only at one place are integrally configured. After ions are generated in the sealed space by the ionizer, ions in the sealed space are formed. The air containing the ion is generated and irradiated with an air cannon to produce an air mass containing ions, and the air mass is controlled to blow away the ions produced by the ionizer ,
Charged particles, which are contained in the air mass that has been blown off, are removed from the charged particles by removing the charge to make uncharged particles. The air mass is vibrated by the air mass, and the uncharged particles that adhere to the clean target are blown away. A static elimination device that removes dust. It is a method for removing dust from charged particles adhering to the object to be cleaned,
Ions are generated in the sealed space with the ionizer of an air gun containing an ionizer in a sealed space having an opening in only one place, and an air mass containing ions is generated and irradiated by the air gun. skip to be cleaned object, ions contained in the air mass blown away is by neutralizing charged particles adhering to the cleaning object and uncharged particles, by vibrating the object to be cleaned object air mass adheres to the clean target neutralizing dust method of dust blown away was a non-charged particles.

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