JP7120592B2 - Vacuum steam cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning machine that performs vacuum steam cleaning by contacting an object to be cleaned with vapor of a cleaning agent under reduced pressure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vacuum steam cleaning method for appropriately controlling the supply and replenishment of cleaning agent to a steam generation/distillation regenerator during vacuum steam cleaning according to the cleaning agent used.

Vacuum steam cleaning (depressurized steam cleaning) is used to clean metal parts and other objects to be cleaned by contacting the object to be cleaned with vapors of various cleaning agents made of hydrocarbon solvents and other solvents under a predetermined vacuum condition. Widely adopted. In vacuum steam cleaning, vacuum is drawn from a sealed vacuum steam cleaning tank in which the object to be cleaned is placed, and while a predetermined vacuum state (reduced pressure state) is maintained, steam of the cleaning agent is generated from the steam generator/distillation regenerator. is introduced into the vacuum steam cleaning tank.

During vacuum steam cleaning, a specified amount of cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, and the cleaning agent lost as steam is sequentially replenished to maintain a specified amount of steam generation. For this reason, the cleaning agent is replenished through a liquid level adjuster using a ball tap or the like to maintain a constant amount of cleaning agent stored in the steam generator/distillation regenerator. In addition, when discharging the residual cleaning agent from the steam generation/distillation regenerator after vacuum steam cleaning is completed, the The boil-down valve, which is a normally open valve, is closed, and the residual detergent is boiled down to reduce the volume and then discarded outside. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vacuum cleaning/drying method and apparatus provided with a liquid level adjusting mechanism, and Patent Document 2 discloses a vacuum distillation regeneration apparatus provided with a liquid level adjuster.

JP-A-7-227581 JP-A-6-269604

Various cleaning agents are known for use in vacuum steam cleaning. Some detergents are treated as non-flammable detergents containing organic solvents such as alcohols and water as main components. Such detergents have a relatively high water content compared to other detergents.

When performing vacuum steam cleaning with a cleaning agent containing a large amount of water using a generally used steam generation/distillation regenerator, the following adverse effects may occur. In the steam generation/distillation regenerator, when a cleaning agent containing a large amount of water is heated to generate steam, the water evaporates first because the boiling point of water is lower than that of the organic solvent. Since the boiling point of water is lowered under reduced pressure, the temperature in the steam generation/distillation regenerator does not rise sufficiently until the water contained in the cleaning agent evaporates. In addition, even on the side of the vacuum steam cleaning tank to which low-temperature steam is supplied, the internal temperature does not rise to a temperature suitable for vacuum steam cleaning.

In addition, when water evaporates from the cleaning agent in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, the liquid level of the cleaning agent drops accordingly. A corresponding amount of fresh cleaning agent is replenished. That is, when a predetermined amount of water evaporates from the cleaning agent in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, the cleaning agent with a high water content is replenished. Therefore, when a cleaning agent containing a large amount of water is used, it takes time to start evaporating the organic solvent, and vacuum steam cleaning may not be performed efficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum steam cleaning method capable of efficiently vacuum steam cleaning an object to be cleaned even when using a cleaning agent having a relatively high water content. It is in.

In the present invention, a cleaning agent is supplied to a steam generator/distillation regenerator via a liquid level regulator and a boil-down valve, and the vapor of the cleaning agent generated from the steam generation/distillation regenerator is used to clean an object to be cleaned. vacuum steam cleaning, close the boil-down valve to cut off the supply of the cleaning agent, boil down the residual cleaning agent in the steam generator/distillation regenerator and discharge it to the outside. It relates to a steam cleaning method.

In the vacuum steam cleaning method according to the present invention, the cleaning agent is supplied and replenished to the steam generation/distillation regenerator as follows. First, a specified amount of the cleaning agent necessary for the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned is supplied to the steam generation/distillation regenerator. After the first prescribed amount of the cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, the boil down valve is closed. While the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned is being performed, the boil-down valve is kept closed, and the cleaning agent is not replenished to the steam generation/distillation regenerator by the liquid level adjuster. It is characterized by

In vacuum steam cleaning, a defined amount of cleaning agent is supplied in advance to the steam generation/distillation regenerator. Since steam is generated with the boil down valve closed and the level regulator is inactive, the steam generation/distillation regenerator is not replenished with fresh cleaning agent during steam generation. Therefore, when a cleaning agent containing a large amount of water is used, the water evaporates in the first predetermined period of time, after which organic solvent vapor is generated and begins to be supplied to the vacuum vapor cleaning tank. It is possible to avoid or suppress the problem that it takes a long time until the organic solvent vapor starts to be generated after repeated replenishment of a new cleaning agent as in the conventional art.

Here, it is also possible to change the mode of supply and replenishment of the cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator according to the type of cleaning agent used. When the cleaning agent is a first cleaning agent containing more water than a predetermined ratio, for example, a non-halogen non-flammable cleaning agent containing alcohol and water as main components, a predetermined amount of cleaning agent is added in advance as described above. Vacuum steam cleaning is performed using a first control mode of supplying cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator.

When the cleaning agent is the second cleaning agent having a water content equal to or less than the above predetermined ratio, the vacuum steam cleaning can be performed by the second control mode as in the conventional case. In the second control mode, a second specified amount of the cleaning agent smaller than the first specified amount is supplied to the steam generation/distillation regenerator, and the second specified amount of the cleaning agent is supplied to the steam generation/distillation regeneration unit. After being stored in the vessel, the boiling down valve is kept open, and the cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator by the liquid level adjuster while the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned is being performed. perform the replenishment operation.

A vacuum washer to which the present invention can be applied is, for example, a multi-tank vacuum steam washing/drying machine, and includes a rough washing tank for roughly washing the object to be washed with the cleaning agent, and the object to be washed after the rough washing. It has a finish cleaning tank for finishing cleaning with the cleaning agent to the cleaning object, and a vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank for performing the vacuum steam cleaning and vacuum drying on the cleaning object after the finish cleaning.

The present invention is similarly applicable to a one-tank vacuum washer-dryer. In the vacuum washing/drying machine in this case, the cleaning agent for rough cleaning is supplied to the vacuum washing/drying tank, the object to be cleaned is roughly washed, and the cleaning agent is recovered from the vacuum steam washing/drying tank. and supplying the cleaning agent for final cleaning to the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank, subjecting the object to be cleaned after the rough cleaning to finish cleaning, and recovering the cleaning agent from the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank. a step of supplying the steam from the steam generator/distillation regenerator to the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank to apply the vacuum steam cleaning to the object to be cleaned after the finish cleaning; and the vacuum steam cleaning and drying. A step of vacuum-drying the object to be cleaned after the vacuum steam cleaning by evacuating the bath is performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a system diagram of a one-tank vacuum steam washing and drying machine to which the present invention is applied; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a system diagram of a multi-tank vacuum steam washing and drying machine to which the present invention is applied;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, with reference to drawings, embodiment of the vacuum steam washing dryer to which this invention is applied is described.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a one-tank vacuum washing/drying machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A one-tank vacuum cleaning/drying machine 1 includes a vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 that can be sealed, and an ultrasonic generator 3 is arranged at the bottom of the vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 . An object to be cleaned is put in a cleaning basket 4 into the vacuum cleaning drying tank 2 . The objects to be cleaned placed in the vacuum cleaning drying tank 2 are supplied with the required electric power and driving compressed air according to a set sequence, under the control of a cleaning machine control unit 41 built in an electric/pneumatic box 40. , a vacuum rough cleaning step, a vacuum finish cleaning step, a vacuum steam cleaning step and a vacuum drying step are performed. The washing machine control section 41 drives and controls each section to perform each step as described below. Note that the heat medium oil circulates from the heat medium oil tank 42 through the path indicated by the thin dashed line to heat each part to be heated. In addition, cooling water circulates from an external cooling water supply source 43 through a path indicated by a thick dashed line to cool each part to be cooled.

In the rough vacuum cleaning process, a cleaning agent for rough cleaning is supplied from the rough liquid tank 6 of the vacuum buffer tank 5 to the vacuum cleaning drying tank 2 through the supply pipe 7 . The object to be cleaned is subjected to rough cleaning by vacuum ultrasonic cleaning while being immersed. The vacuum washing/drying tank 2 is maintained in a predetermined vacuum state by the vacuum drawing mechanism 16 . After the rough cleaning, the cleaning agent is recovered in the crude liquid tank 6 through the recovery pipe 9 passing through the filter 8 .

In the next vacuum finishing cleaning step, the cleaning agent for finishing cleaning is supplied from the finishing liquid tank 10 of the vacuum buffer tank 5 to the vacuum cleaning drying tank 2 through the supply pipe 11 . The object to be cleaned is subjected to final cleaning by vacuum ultrasonic cleaning while being immersed. Also in this case, the vacuum washing/drying tank 2 is kept in a predetermined vacuum state by the vacuum drawing mechanism 16 . After finishing cleaning, the cleaning agent is recovered in the finishing liquid tank 10 through the recovery pipe 13 passing through the filter 12 . The finishing liquid tank 10 is replenished with a cleaning agent from a reserve tank 14 through a supply pipe 15 .

The supply and recovery of the cleaning agent are performed by the height difference between the vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 and the tanks 6 and 10 and the vacuuming by the vacuuming mechanism 16 . The vacuuming mechanism 16 has a two-stage structure consisting of a liquid ring vacuum pump 17a and a mechanical booster pump 17b. At the time of supplying and recovering the cleaning agent, the vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 and the vacuum buffer tank 5 are evacuated by a liquid ring vacuum pump 17a via a vacuum evacuation pipe 18, respectively, and are restored by vent valves 19 and 20. The pressure is alternated.

After the finish cleaning process, a vacuum steam cleaning process is performed. The vacuum cleaning and drying tank 2 is evacuated in a first stage by the liquid ring vacuum pump 17a of the vacuuming mechanism 16 to a predetermined vacuum state. Vapor of the cleaning agent is supplied from the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23 to the vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 through the steam supply pipe 22 while maintaining the vacuum state. The object to be cleaned in the vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 is subjected to vacuum steam cleaning.

A cleaning agent is supplied from the crude liquid tank 6 of the vacuum buffer tank 5 to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 through a supply pipe 24 . The cleaning agent is supplied to the supply port provided at the lower end side of the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 through the filter 25 attached to the supply pipe 24, the liquid level adjuster 26 and the boil-down valve 27 in sequence. A heater 23b is arranged vertically in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23. As shown in FIG. The cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 until the liquid level specified by the liquid level adjuster 26 is reached. The cleaning agent is heated by the heater 23 b to become steam, and is supplied to the vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 through the steam supply pipe 22 . The supply control of the cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 in the vacuum steam cleaning will be described later.

A drain port is arranged at the lower end of the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 . Via this, residual cleaning agent in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 can be discharged to the sludge tank 28 . The waste liquid collected in the sludge tank 28 is collected in an external waste liquid drum 30 through a waste liquid pipe 29 and disposed of as industrial waste.

The vapor of the cleaning agent distilled and regenerated in the vapor generator/distillation regenerator 23 is condensed through a pipe 32 passing through a condenser 31 and recovered in the reserve tank 14 . Alternatively, it is collected in a vacuum buffer tank 35 via pipes 32 and 33 .

After the vacuum steam cleaning, the vacuum cleaning drying tank 2 is drained. At the time of vacuum steam cleaning, the cleaning agent adhered and condensed on the surface of the object to be cleaned in the vacuum cleaning and drying tank 2 accumulates at the bottom of the vacuum cleaning and drying tank 2 . The cleaning agent is recovered in a vacuum buffer tank 35 via a recovery pipe 34 . The cleaning agent collected in the vacuum buffer tank 35 can be collected in the crude liquid tank 6 via the collection pipes 35 a and 35 b and the collection pipe 13 passing through the filter 12 .

After this, a vacuum drying process is performed. The vacuum cleaning/drying tank 2 is vacuumed in two stages by the vacuuming mechanism 16 through the vacuuming tube 21 to achieve a predetermined vacuum state, and the object to be cleaned is vacuum-dried. The vapor of the cleaning agent evacuated by the liquid ring vacuum pump 17a of the vacuuming mechanism 16 is cooled in the gas-liquid separation tank 36 and condensed and collected. The collected cleaning agent is returned to the crude liquid tank 6 of the vacuum buffer tank 5 via the collection pipes 37 , 35 b and the collection pipe 13 passing through the filter 12 .

(Supply control of cleaning agent to steam generator/distillation regenerator)
Here, in the vacuum steam cleaning step in the vacuum cleaning/drying machine 1, the supply of the cleaning agent to the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23 is controlled as follows. First, in this example, a non-halogen and non-flammable cleaning agent containing alcohol and water as main components is used as the cleaning agent. Examples of cleaning agents that contain relatively more water than other cleaning agents include "Non-Halogen Nonflammable Cleaning Agents HA Series" (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation).

In the vacuum steam cleaning step, the cleaning agent is supplied from the crude liquid tank 6 of the vacuum buffer tank 5 to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 through the supply pipe 24 via the liquid level adjuster 26 and the boil-down valve 27 . The cleaning agent is supplied so that a predetermined amount is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 . A specified amount is set by the liquid level adjuster 26 .

After a specified amount of cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23, the boiling down valve 27 is closed and vacuum steam cleaning is performed in this state. Since the boil-down valve 27 is kept closed while the vacuum steam cleaning is performed, the liquid level adjuster 26 does not operate and the cleaning agent replenishment operation to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 is not performed.

In the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23, the heater 23b heats and evaporates the stored cleaning agent. At first, water with a low boiling point contained in the cleaning agent evaporates, after which the organic solvent contained in the cleaning agent begins to evaporate, and the object to be cleaned in the vacuum cleaning drying tank 2 is vacuum steam cleaned. begin. In the conventional general vacuum steam cleaning process, the boiling down valve 27 is a normally open valve, and when the liquid level of the cleaning agent stored in the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23 drops due to evaporation, the liquid level adjuster 26 acts to replenish new detergent corresponding to the reduced amount.

In the case of a cleaning agent containing a relatively large amount of water, the operation of evaporating the water contained in the replenished cleaning agent is repeated, generating vapor of the organic solvent and actually starting vacuum vapor cleaning. It takes time to In this example, since the boil-down valve 27 is kept closed, the cleaning agent is not replenished. Therefore, the generation of the organic solvent vapor can be accelerated, and the vacuum vapor cleaning can be efficiently performed.

Also, in this example, the specified amount of cleaning agent initially supplied to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 is set to a larger amount than when the cleaning agent is replenished by the liquid level adjuster 26 . This allows the steam required for vacuum steam cleaning to be generated.

When the residual cleaning agent from the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23 is discarded, the boil-down valve 27 is closed to boil down the residual cleaning agent to reduce its volume and discard it in the sludge tank 28, as in the conventional case.

(Another example of control of cleaning agent supply to steam generator/distillation regenerator)
Here, in the vacuum steam cleaning step of the vacuum cleaning and drying machine 1, the boil-down valve 27 is kept open as in the conventional case, and the liquid level adjuster 26 is operated to replenish the cleaning agent and generate steam. - A control that keeps the liquid level of the distillation regenerator 23 constant can be adopted.

For example, when using a cleaning agent with a relatively low water content, the same control mode as in the prior art is used to control the supply and replenishment of the cleaning agent. In this case, the washing machine control section 41 is set with a first control mode and a second control mode for supplying and replenishing the washing agent to the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23, and either one of the control modes is set. be selectable.

The first control mode is selected when using a cleaning agent with a high water content. The first control mode is performed by the control described above. The second control mode is selected when using a cleaning agent with a low water content. In this case, a predetermined specified amount of cleaning agent is supplied to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23 . Even after a specified amount of cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 23, the boil down valve 27 is kept open. During the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned, the liquid level adjuster 26 operates to replenish the cleaning agent to the steam generator/distillation regenerator 23 .

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 2 is a system diagram of an example of a multi-tank vacuum washing/drying machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The vacuum washing/drying machine 50 of Embodiment 2 is a three-tank type vacuum washing/drying machine, and includes a first washing tank 51 provided with an ultrasonic wave generator 51a, which is a rough washing tank for roughly washing an object to be cleaned. a second cleaning tank 52, which is a finishing washing tank, in which the objects to be cleaned after rough washing are subjected to finish washing; I have. The first and second cleaning tanks 51 and 52 are arranged in a common vacuum buffer tank 54 .

The objects to be cleaned are placed in a cleaning basket 55 and put into the first and second cleaning tanks 51 and 52 and the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 53 . According to a set sequence, the objects to be cleaned placed in the cleaning basket 55 are carried into the first cleaning tank 51 by a transport mechanism (not shown), subjected to rough ultrasonic cleaning, and then subjected to the second cleaning tank 52. , subjected to a final cleaning process, and then put into a vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank 53 to undergo a vacuum steam cleaning process and a vacuum drying process. Each part is driven and controlled by a washing machine control part 57 built in an electric equipment/compressed air box 56 to which required electric power and driving compressed air are supplied, and each step is executed.

In the ultrasonic rough cleaning process, the object to be cleaned is immersed in the cleaning agent for rough cleaning stored in the first cleaning tank 51 and subjected to rough cleaning by ultrasonic cleaning. The cleaning agent that has flowed down from the first cleaning tank 51 to the adjacent overflow tank 60 is cleaned through a circulation pipe 64 passing through the tank 61 , the circulation pump 62 and the filter 63 and returned to the first cleaning tank 51 . In the next finish cleaning step, the object to be cleaned is immersed in the cleaning agent for finish cleaning stored in the second cleaning tank 52 to perform finish cleaning. The cleaning agent is cleaned through a circulation pipe 67 passing through a circulation pump 65 and a filter 66 and returned to the second cleaning tank 52 . Further, the cleaning agent is supplied and replenished from the reserve tank 68 to the second cleaning tank 52 through the liquid supply pipe 70 that passes through the liquid supply pump 69 . The cleaning agent supplied to the second cleaning tank 52 overflows and is supplied to the adjacent first cleaning tank 51 .

The vacuum steam cleaning process after the finish cleaning process is performed by putting the object to be cleaned into the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 53 . The vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 53 is evacuated by a vacuuming mechanism 72 via a vacuuming pipe 71 to a predetermined vacuum state. The vacuuming mechanism 72 includes a liquid ring vacuum pump 73 and a mechanical booster pump 74 . In the vacuum steam cleaning step, the liquid ring vacuum pump 73 performs one-step vacuuming to maintain a predetermined vacuum state. In this state, the vapor of the cleaning agent is supplied from the vapor generator/distillation regenerator 76 to the vacuum vapor washing/drying tank 53 through the vapor supply pipe 75 . The object to be cleaned in the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 53 is subjected to vacuum steam cleaning.

A cleaning agent is supplied to the steam generator/distillation regenerator 76 through a supply pipe 77 branching from the circulation pipe 64 of the first cleaning tank 51 . The cleaning agent is supplied to the supply port provided at the lower end of the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 through a liquid level adjuster 78 attached to a supply pipe 77 and a boil-down valve 79 in sequence. A heater 76b is arranged vertically in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76. As shown in FIG. Cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 until the level defined by the level regulator 78 is achieved. The cleaning agent is heated by the heater 76 b to become steam, and is supplied to the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 53 through the steam supply pipe 75 . The supply control of the cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 in the vacuum steam cleaning will be described later.

A drain port is arranged at the lower end of the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 , through which residual cleaning agent in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 can be discharged to the sludge tank 80 . The waste liquid collected in the sludge tank 80 is collected in a waste liquid can 81 and disposed of as industrial waste. The vapor of the cleaning agent distilled and regenerated in the vapor generation/distillation regenerator 23 is condensed through a pipe 83 passing through a condenser 82 and recovered in a vacuum buffer tank 84 .

After the vacuum steam cleaning, the vacuum steam cleaning drying tank 53 is drained. At the time of vacuum steam cleaning, the cleaning agent adhered and condensed on the surface of the object to be cleaned in the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank 53 accumulates at the bottom of the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank 53 . The cleaning agent is recovered in vacuum buffer tank 84 through recovery pipe 85 .

After this, a vacuum drying process is performed. The vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 53 is subjected to two stages of vacuuming by the vacuuming mechanism 72 through the vacuuming tube 86, and the object to be cleaned is vacuum-dried in a predetermined vacuum state. The vapor of the cleaning agent evacuated by the liquid ring vacuum pump 73 of the vacuuming mechanism 72 is cooled in the gas-liquid separation tank 87 and condensed and collected. The collected cleaning agent is returned to the second cleaning tank 52 via the recovery pipe 88 and the liquid supply pipe 70 that passes through the liquid supply pump 69 .

(Supply control of cleaning agent to steam generator/distillation regenerator)
In the vacuum steam cleaning process in the vacuum cleaning/drying machine 50 of this embodiment, the supply of the cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 is controlled as follows. A non-halogen, non-flammable cleaning agent containing alcohol and water as the main components is used as the cleaning agent. Examples of cleaning agents that contain relatively more water than other cleaning agents include "Non-Halogen Nonflammable Cleaning Agents HA Series" (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation).

In the vacuum steam cleaning process, the cleaning agent is supplied to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 via a supply line 77 via a liquid level regulator 78 and a boil down valve 79 . The cleaning agent is supplied so that a predetermined amount is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 . A specified amount is set by the liquid level adjuster 78 . After a specified amount of cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76, the boiling down valve 79 is closed and vacuum steam cleaning is performed in this state. Since the boil-down valve 79 is kept closed while the vacuum steam cleaning is being performed, the liquid level adjuster 78 is inactive and the cleaning agent replenishment operation to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76 is not performed. With such control, the vacuum steam cleaning process can be efficiently executed as in the case of the first embodiment.

Also in this example, the first control mode and the second control mode are set in the washing machine control unit 57 for the supply and replenishment of the washing agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76, and either one of the control modes is set. It can be left selectable. The first control mode is the case described above. The second control mode supplies a predetermined, prescribed amount of cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76, as in the conventional case. Even after a specified amount of cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator 76, the boil down valve 79 is kept open. While the object to be cleaned is being vacuum steam cleaned, the liquid level adjuster 78 operates to replenish the cleaning agent to the steam generator/distillation regenerator 76 .

[Other embodiments]
Although the above is an example of a one-tank type and a three-tank type, the present invention can be similarly applied to a two-tank type or a multi-tank type vacuum steam washing/drying machine having four or more tanks. be.

1 vacuum cleaning dryer 2 vacuum cleaning drying tank 3 ultrasonic generator 4 cleaning basket 5 vacuum buffer tank 6 crude liquid tank 7 supply pipe 8 filter 9 recovery pipe 10 finishing liquid tank 11 supply pipe 12 filter 13 recovery pipe 14 reserve tank 15 Supply pipe 16 Evacuation mechanism 17a Liquid ring vacuum pump 17b Mechanical booster pump 18 Pipes 19, 20 Vent valve 21 Evacuation pipe 22 Steam supply pipe 23 Steam generator/distillation regenerator 23b Heater 24 Supply pipe 25 Filter 26 Liquid level adjuster 27 Boil down valve 28 Sludge tank 29 Waste liquid pipe 30 Waste liquid drum 31 Condenser 32 Pipe 33 Pipe 34 Recovery pipe 35 Vacuum buffer tank 35 a, 35 b Recovery pipe 36 Gas-liquid separation tank 37 Recovery pipe 40 Electric equipment/compressed air box 41 Cleaning machine control unit 42 Heat medium oil tank 43 Cooling water supply source 50 Vacuum cleaning dryer 51 First cleaning tank 51a Ultrasonic generator 52 Second cleaning tank 53 Vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank 54 Vacuum buffer tank 55 Cleaning basket 56 Electrical/pneumatic box 57 Cleaning machine Control unit 60 overflow tank 61 tank 62 circulation pump 63 filter 64 circulation pipe 65 circulation pump 66 filter 67 circulation pipe 68 reserve tank 69 liquid supply pump 70 liquid supply pipe 71 pipe 72 evacuation mechanism 73 liquid ring vacuum pump 74 mechanical booster pump 75 steam supply pipe 76 steam generation/distillation regenerator 76b heater 77 supply pipe 78 liquid level adjuster 79 valve 80 sludge tank 81 waste liquid can 82 condenser 83 pipe 84 vacuum buffer tank 85 recovery pipe 86 evacuation pipe 87 gas-liquid separation tank 88 recovery tube

Claims (6)

A cleaning agent is supplied to a steam generator/distillation regenerator through a liquid level regulator and a boil-down valve, and vacuum steam cleaning of an object to be cleaned is performed using the steam of the cleaning agent generated from the steam generation/distillation regenerator. and closing the boil-down valve to cut off the supply of the cleaning agent to boil down the residual cleaning agent in the steam generator/distillation regenerator and discharge it to the outside, comprising:
supplying a specified amount of the cleaning agent required for the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned to the steam generation/distillation regenerator;
After the specified amount of the cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, closing the boil-down valve,
The vacuum is characterized in that, while the vacuum steam cleaning is performed, the boil-down valve is kept closed, and the cleaning agent is not replenished to the steam generation/distillation regenerator by the liquid level adjuster. Steam cleaning method. The vacuum steam cleaning method of claim 1, wherein
A vacuum steam cleaning method using, as the cleaning agent, a non-halogen and non-flammable cleaning agent containing alcohol and water as main components. A cleaning agent is supplied to a steam generator/distillation regenerator through a liquid level regulator and a boil-down valve, and vacuum steam cleaning of an object to be cleaned is performed using the steam of the cleaning agent generated from the steam generation/distillation regenerator. and closing the boil-down valve to cut off the supply of the cleaning agent to boil down the residual cleaning agent in the steam generator/distillation regenerator and discharge it to the outside, comprising:
supplying and replenishing the cleaning agent to the steam generation/distillation regenerator in one of a first control mode and a second control mode;
The first control mode is
supplying a first specified amount of the cleaning agent required for the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned to the steam generation/distillation regenerator;
After the first specified amount of the cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, closing the boil-down valve;
While the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned is being performed, control is performed such that the boiling down valve is kept closed and the cleaning agent is not replenished to the steam generation/distillation regenerator by the liquid level adjuster. and
The second control mode is
supplying a second specified amount of the cleaning agent, which is smaller than the first specified amount, to the steam generation/distillation regenerator;
Even after the second specified amount of the cleaning agent is stored in the steam generation/distillation regenerator, the boil-down valve is kept open, and during the vacuum steam cleaning of the object to be cleaned, the A vacuum steam cleaning method, characterized in that the cleaning agent is replenished to the steam generation/distillation regenerator by a liquid level regulator. A vacuum steam cleaning method according to claim 3, wherein
adopting the first control mode when the cleaning agent is a first cleaning agent containing more water than a predetermined ratio;
A vacuum steam cleaning method employing the second control mode when the cleaning agent is a second cleaning agent having a water content equal to or less than the predetermined ratio. A vacuum steam cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The washing machine is a multi-tank vacuum steam washing and drying machine,
a rough cleaning tank for roughly cleaning the object to be cleaned with the cleaning agent;
a finish cleaning tank for performing finish cleaning with the cleaning agent on the object to be cleaned after the rough cleaning;
a vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank for performing the vacuum steam cleaning and vacuum drying on the object to be cleaned after the finish cleaning;
A vacuum steam cleaning method comprising: A vacuum steam cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The washing machine is a one-tank vacuum steam washing and drying machine,
a step of supplying the cleaning agent for rough cleaning to a vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank of the vacuum steam cleaning and drying machine, subjecting the object to be cleaned to rough cleaning, and recovering the cleaning agent from the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank; ,
a step of supplying the cleaning agent for finish cleaning to the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank, subjecting the object to be cleaned after the rough cleaning to finish cleaning, and recovering the cleaning agent from the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank;
a step of supplying the steam from the steam generator/distillation regenerator to the vacuum steam cleaning/drying tank to subject the object to be cleaned after the finish cleaning to the vacuum steam cleaning;
a step of vacuum-drying the object to be cleaned after the vacuum steam cleaning by evacuating the vacuum steam cleaning and drying tank;
Vacuum steam cleaning method including.

Images