JPH0249793B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for sequentially cleaning an article using a plurality of types of cleaning liquids.

In general, when manufacturing and processing articles, cleaning treatment is often performed not only as a pretreatment on materials, but also as an intermediate treatment or post-treatment.
For example, cleaning is used in various situations such as cleaning to remove chips and cutting oil after cutting an article, pre-treatment such as degreasing during plating, post-treatment such as cleaning and removal of electroplating liquid, pre-cleaning during painting, etc. However, when the number of articles to be treated increases, a continuous assembly line system is used, and a large amount of cleaning liquid must be used. In such cases, items are usually fed into tanks containing cleaning liquid one after another, passed through the liquid, then taken out and sent to the next cleaning tank, or treated with multiple types of cleaning liquid, or treated with different types of cleaning liquid. Cleaning processing is often performed by feeding articles into a tunnel lined with injection ports for different types of cleaning fluids from one of the tunnels.

However, using a large amount of cleaning fluid is not only economically disadvantageous, but also has disadvantages such as increased costs for treating waste fluid to prevent pollution. Moreover, the assembly line system has the disadvantage that the amount of cleaning liquid used cannot be changed much even if the number of items to be processed increases or decreases.

The present invention can reduce the amount of cleaning liquid used as the number of items to be processed increases or decreases to the minimum necessary limit, and as a result, the cost of waste liquid treatment equipment and its operation can be reduced, and it is also convenient for recovering useful resources. in,
The purpose is to provide a cleaning method that has the advantage of being economical, and its main point is to carry an article into a cleaning chamber and spray a cleaning liquid around it (including a shower, a water film shower, etc.). same as below)
and collecting and circulating the cleaning solution for use;
The purpose of this invention is to limit the amount of waste liquid generated to a minimum by controlling the degree of mixing of the cleaning liquids when the same cleaning process is repeated by sequentially switching the cleaning liquids.

Hereinafter, the contents of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached figures.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical cleaning chamber made of a cylinder, square tube, etc., with an open upper end and a funnel-shaped lower end. Cleaning liquid is jetted into the cleaning chamber from liquid jet ports 2, 2', etc. attached to the inner wall surface of the cleaning chamber. The injection ports may be installed in multiple stages on the wall surface of the cleaning chamber, or in multiple stages per stage. The washed liquid collects at the lower end and is collected by a liquid distribution means comprising a liquid distribution valve 3 and a liquid distribution valve driving device 4 into a tank 5 selected from liquid storage tanks 5, 5a, . . . . The cleaning liquid 6 stored in the liquid storage tank passes through a pump 7 and a liquid supply pipe 8 to the liquid injection ports 2, 2'.
... and is sprayed onto the article 10 to be cleaned suspended in the cleaning chamber, and circulates within the apparatus while cleaning the article. Since such cleaning liquid becomes dirty with repeated use, at least a cleaning liquid for rinsing is required, and for this purpose, a liquid storage tank, pump, liquid supply pipe,
It is desirable to have at least as many sets of liquid jet ports as there are types of cleaning liquid. These cleaning liquids 6, 6a, 6b, etc. are stored in the liquid storage tank 5 and 5a, 5b, respectively (only a part is shown and omitted in the drawing), and cleaning with the cleaning liquid 6 is performed. Once finished, the pump 7 is stopped, and after a predetermined pause time has passed and the excess liquid has been collected into the liquid storage tank 5, the pump 7a is started, and the cleaning liquid 6a in the liquid storage tank 5a is
through the liquid sending pipe 8a to the liquid injection ports 2a, 2a', 2
a″ (2a′, 2a″, etc. are omitted)...
The article 10 sent thereto is washed. At this time, the cleaning chamber and the surface of the article 10 are wetted with the cleaning liquid 6 that still contains dirt, so when the next cleaning liquid 6a is sprayed, the first part of the cleaning liquid discharged from the bottom is contaminated with dirt. The cleaning liquid 6 is mixed with the cleaning liquid 6. Therefore, if we send only this dirty part to the liquid storage tank 5 and then collect the relatively less dirty part to the liquid storage tank 5a, the dirt in the cleaning liquid 6 will be diluted by the cleaning liquid 6a. At the same time, since the increase in dirt in the cleaning liquid 6a can be suppressed to a minimum, a good cleaning effect can be maintained even if the number of repeated uses of the cleaning liquid 6a increases.

In this way, the cleaning liquid 6 is switched to the cleaning liquid 6a to clean the article 10, and then the cleaning liquid 6b is sequentially switched to the cleaning liquid 6b in the same way to clean the article 10. Furthermore, the injection of the last cleaning liquid is stopped and the collection of the liquid is completed. After waiting for a predetermined delay time to elapse, the liquid distribution valve 3 is switched to connect to the first liquid storage tank 5, the operation of the entire cleaning apparatus is stopped, and the article 10 is taken out from the cleaning chamber and the cleaning process is started. finish.

When such a washing process is repeated, the concentration of waste liquid in each liquid storage tank relatively increases as the number of washings increases, while maintaining the difference in concentration between each tank. Therefore, when the concentration of the waste liquid in the first liquid storage tank 5 reaches a predetermined concentration, all of the cleaning liquid in the first liquid storage tank 5 is discharged to the outside of the layer to recover or dispose of useful components. Next, the entire amount of liquid in the second liquid storage tank 5a is sent into the empty first liquid storage tank 5,
Next, the liquid in the third liquid storage tank 5b is sent into the empty second liquid storage tank 5a. In this way, the liquid in the latter liquid storage tank is sequentially forwarded to the previous liquid storage tank, and the empty final liquid storage tank is replenished with new cleaning liquid. With this operation, one cycle of the cleaning liquid switching process in each liquid storage tank is completed.

In this case, the empty first liquid storage tank 5 is replenished with new cleaning liquid and becomes the final liquid storage tank,
The cleaning liquid in each liquid storage tank may be switched without sequentially forwarding the liquid in the latter liquid storage tank to the previous liquid storage tank.

This series of operations begins when the item is brought into the cleaning chamber and ends when the item is taken out. During this time, things such as switching the liquid distribution valve and starting/stopping the pump are preset. The control device 9, which stores the programmed program, performs this in an orderly manner. The control device may be started manually by an operator after the article has entered the cleaning chamber, or it may be started automatically by using a sensor or the like to detect that the article has entered the cleaning chamber. good. FIG. 2 is a chart showing switching of the liquid distribution valve and the liquid sending pump with respect to time due to the operation of the control device. The operating program of this control device includes the operating time of the liquid pump, that is, the cleaning time, the down time from stopping the liquid pump to starting the operation of the next liquid pump, and the dispensing time after stopping the liquid feeding pump. It is created by setting at least three types of delay times until the liquid valve is switched. However, depending on the cleaning liquid, it may be desirable to set different cleaning times depending on the type of cleaning liquid and the order of cleaning, rather than setting the same cleaning time for all cleaning liquids. It is desirable that settings be made so that optimal results can be obtained each time depending on the type of cleaning process.

In carrying out the present invention, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.
For example, the cleaning chamber does not necessarily have to have a cylindrical part and a funnel-shaped part, and it is sufficient that the liquid can be collected without leaking. It is not necessary that the entire upper end is open; it is sufficient as long as it does not interfere with carrying in goods or inspecting the interior, and a lid or the like may be used as appropriate to prevent splashing of the cleaning liquid. Furthermore, spraying of the cleaning liquid can be prevented by spraying a water film shower from the liquid injection port at the top of the room. Furthermore, the liquid injection port may be provided through the side wall or may be inserted from above, or if a lid is partially provided at the upper end, it may be attached to the inside of this lid.

The number of liquid jet ports may be one each, but in order to spread the cleaning liquid evenly around the article, it is preferable to use two or more, preferably a set of three, to spray the cleaning liquid from three directions at the same time.

Although the liquid storage tank and the pump are each provided as a set, this is not necessary. for example,
The cleaning liquid collected at the bottom of the cleaning chamber is once received in the liquid receiving tank, and then passes through a common pump and liquid distribution valve.
The liquid may be delivered to respective liquid storage tanks provided at a higher position than the washing chamber. In this case, the cleaning liquid in the liquid storage tank can be sent directly to the injection port through the cleaning liquid control valve and the liquid sending pipe by gravity alone, without using a liquid sending pump or the like. When configured in this way, it goes without saying that the liquid pump is not subject to program control, but the control valves for switching the liquid distribution valve and stopping the cleaning liquid from the liquid storage tank are controlled by the control device. stomach.

According to the method of the present invention, dirt is most likely to accumulate in the first liquid used to first wash an article, and when an article with such dirty liquid is washed with the second cleaning liquid, the first cleaning liquid is mixed. Since the portion is merged with the first cleaning liquid, the stains in the first cleaning liquid are diluted by the second cleaning liquid, and at the same time, the increase in stains in the second cleaning liquid is also suppressed. The same applies to the relationship between the second cleaning liquid and the third cleaning liquid, so not only is the dirt in the second cleaning liquid diluted by replenishing the third cleaning liquid, but also the amount of the second cleaning liquid is prevented from decreasing. can. As a result, the last stage cleaning liquid,
For example, when cleaning an item with fresh water is finished, the amount of cleaning liquid in the last stage decreases by the amount that flows into the previous stage, and the amount of cleaning liquid in the first stage increases by the corresponding amount. It is also possible to operate in such a way that fresh water is extracted from the first stage and at the same time fresh water is supplied to the last stage. In this way, a large number of articles can be cleaned efficiently and economically by replenishing a very small amount of cleaning liquid.

Such a method of the present invention is particularly effective for cleaning articles after plating. In other words, products that have just been plated must be thoroughly washed because they are wet with the plating solution, but the plating solution contains many useful substances and also substances that are harmful to the human body, so products that have just been plated must be washed thoroughly. It is necessary to completely process the cleaning liquid, and an increase in the amount of discharged liquid not only may result in incomplete processing, but is also uneconomical. Therefore, when it is desired to minimize the amount of discharged liquid and obtain a complete cleaning effect, as in this case, and especially when the type and amount of articles to be treated are not always constant, the method and apparatus of the present invention are useful. Combined with the flexibility of processing capacity, this feature is even more effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory schematic diagram of an apparatus for carrying out the cleaning method of the present invention, in which a is viewed from the lateral direction;
Further, b is a view seen from above. FIG. 2 is an example of a chart showing an operating program of the control device when carrying out the cleaning method according to the present invention. 1...Cleaning chamber, 2, 2', 2'', 2a...Liquid injection port, 3...Liquid distribution valve, 4...Liquid distribution valve drive device,
5, 5a...Liquid storage tank, 6,6a...Cleaning liquid, 7,7a
...Pump, 8, 8a...Liquid sending pipe, 9...Control device, 1
0...Article to be cleaned.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When sequentially cleaning articles using multiple types of cleaning solutions, the articles are carried into a single cleaning chamber,
Next, the first cleaning liquid pumped from the first liquid storage tank is sprayed from the injection port onto the article to clean it, and the used cleaning liquid is collected into the first liquid storage tank, and after the first predetermined cleaning time has elapsed. Stopping the injection of the first cleaning liquid, and then, after a first predetermined pause time has elapsed, spraying the second cleaning liquid force-fed from the second liquid storage tank onto the article from the injection port to start cleaning; After the first delay time has elapsed, the collection of the second cleaning liquid is switched from the first liquid storage tank to the second liquid storage tank by switching the liquid distribution valve, and after the second predetermined cleaning time has elapsed, the collection of the second cleaning liquid is switched from the first liquid storage tank to the second liquid storage tank. The injection of the cleaning liquid is stopped, and then, after a second predetermined pause time has elapsed, the third cleaning liquid pumped from the third liquid storage tank is injected from the injection port onto the article to start cleaning, and then the second delay period is elapsed. After the time has elapsed, the collection of the third cleaning liquid is switched from the second liquid storage tank to the third liquid storage tank by switching the liquid distribution valve, and thereafter, the cleaning liquid is sequentially transferred to the subsequent liquid storage tank in the same manner. While switching, perform the necessary type and number of cleaning treatments,
The liquid distribution valve is switched so that the cleaning liquid can be collected in the first liquid storage tank after a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the last injection cleaning was stopped, and the entire cleaning process is completed, and then the items that have undergone the cleaning process are A method for cleaning articles, characterized by carrying them out from a cleaning chamber.