JPH0349869A - Frozen grain injecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To manufacture frozen grains without supplying a refrigerant from the outside by providing a refrigerant generating means in which cooled gas is boosted by a compressor thereafter cooled through an expander to generate cooling gas. CONSTITUTION:A refrigerant generating means 100, in which cooled gas is boosted by a compressor 31 thereafter cooled through an expander 40 to generate a refrigerant 15, is provided, and one part of the cooled gas, boosted by this compressor 31, is atomized in a heat insulating vessel 6 by an atomizer 8 with a frozen material from a supply pipe 9. Then a frozen grain 16b, manufactured by heat-exchanging an atomized grain 6a with the refrigerant 15, is injected by an injecting equipment 19 with the one part of the cooled gas boosted by the compressor 31. The refrigerant 15, thus generated, is not supplied from the outside, further the frozen grain 16b can be manufactured at the low cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a frozen particle injection device generally referred to as ice cleaning, which removes foreign matter, oil, etc. that has adhered to the surface of an object to be processed such as a semiconductor. The purpose is to remove impurities by spraying fine frozen particles such as ice particles.

[Prior Art] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional frozen grain injection device, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-93566. ) is a frozen particle transfer means, (3) is a frozen particle injection means, (4) is a frozen particle cooling means, and (6) is a cooling temperature control means. The frozen grain manufacturing means (1) has an exhaust pipe (7) connected to the upper part of a heat-insulating closed container (6), and a raw material supply pipe (9) to be frozen.
), and a sprayer (8) connected to the spray gas supply pipe (10).
), and a net-like body (11) made of wire mesh or the like is stretched in an inclined manner at the bottom of the container (6), so that the inside of the container (6) is
A refrigerant storage tank with an open top, which is divided into chambers (6a) and (6b), and further has a refrigerant supply pipe (13) and a refrigerant evaporation promoting gas injection pipe (14) connected to the lower chamber, that is, the refrigerant evaporation section (6b). (12) is arranged. The sprayer (8) supplies the raw material to be frozen such as water supplied from the supply pipe (9) to the introduction pipe (1).
The atomizing gas such as nitrogen gas or air introduced from 0) is configured to spray a mist downward into the container (6).

Next, the operation will be explained.

According to this frozen grain manufacturing means (1), the refrigerant supply pipe (13
) to the tank (12), a predetermined amount of refrigerant (15) such as liquid nitrogen is supplied, and then the refrigerant (15) contained in the tank (12) is
) by injecting a refrigerant evaporation promoting gas such as dry air, nitrogen gas, or argon gas into the refrigerant evaporation section (6b).
After generating the refrigerant vapor (15a), the atomizer (8)
When the raw material to be frozen is sprayed, spray particles (16a) of the raw material to be frozen are formed in the upper chamber (6a) of the insulating container (6).
is frozen by exchanging heat with the refrigerant evaporated gas (15a), making it possible to obtain fine frozen particles (16b). That is, the refrigerant evaporation gas (15a) passes through the reticulation body (11) from the refrigerant evaporation part (6b) to the upper chamber (6a).
The temperature gradually increases due to the density difference caused by successive heat exchange with the spray particles (16a) in the upper chamber (6a). The evaporated refrigerant gas (15a) (hereinafter referred to as "exhausted cold air") that has completed heat exchange with the spray particles (16a) is discharged to the outside of the container (6) from the exhaust pipe (7). on the other hand,
The spray particles (16a) naturally fall inside the royal room (6a),
During this period, the refrigerant evaporation gas (15a) rising
The frozen particles (16b) are frozen by exchanging heat with the reticular body (
11) Fall and reach above. The frozen particles (16b) that have reached and fallen onto the net-like body (11) are caused by the fact that the net-like body (11) is sloped downward and the refrigerant evaporated gas (15a)
11), the net-like body (11) flows or slides along the slope of the net-like body (11).
Collection hopper (17), which will be described later, gathers at the bottom of 1).
will be collected.

The frozen particle transfer means (2) connects a collection hopper (17), which is a frozen particle collection unit, to collect frozen particles (16b) that flow or slide on the net-like body (11) and collect them. ), and a transfer pipe (18) that guides and transfers the frozen grains (16a) to the outside of the container (6) is connected to this recovery hopper (17). 18) is connected to the frozen particle injection means (3). According to both means (2) and (3), a suitably pressurized drive gas such as air or nitrogen is injected into the injection device 19 from the introduction pipe (20).
), the frozen particles (16b) in the recovery hopper (17) are introduced into the collection hopper (17) by creating a negative pressure state inside the ejection device (19), that is, by a kind of Venturi effect.
is suctioned and transferred inside the transfer pipe (18) to the injection device (19).
The frozen particles are supplied to the frozen particle supply section (19a) of the injection device (19
) is injected together with the drive gas onto the object to be processed (21).

The frozen grain cooling means (4) branches the exhaust pipe (7) into a cold air discharge pipe (22) and an exhaust cold air introduction pipe (23), and has a cooling action section ( 23a)
is wound around the outer part of the transfer tube (18). According to this frozen grain cooling means (4), the discharged cold air discharged from the container (6) to the exhaust pipe (7) is placed on the outer surface of the transfer pipe (18) via the discharged cold air introduction pipe (23). The frozen grains (16b) in the transfer pipe (18) are guided to the cooling action section (23a) to be cooled or kept cold.

The cooling temperature control means (5) includes first and second flow control valves (24) and (25) interposed in the cold air discharge pipe (22) and the discharge cold air introduction pipe (23), respectively, and the transfer pipe (18), or a temperature detector (26) that detects the temperature at the frozen grain supply section (19a) in the injection device (19), and a temperature detector (26) that detects the temperature at the transfer start end in the injection device (19), and a temperature detector (26) that detects the temperature at the transfer start end in the injection device (19), and 24) A controller that controls opening and closing of (25) (
27). According to the cooling temperature control means (5), when the temperature detected by the temperature detector (26) is higher than the preset temperature, the first flow rate control valve (24)
) to the closed side and the second flow rate control valve (25) to the open side to increase the amount of discharged cold air introduced into the cooling action section (23 &) of the introduction pipe (23), and conversely to When the detected temperature is lower than the set temperature, the first flow rate control valve (24) is opened and the second flow rate control valve (25) is controlled to be closed to limit the amount of discharged cold air introduced. By this, the transfer tube (
18) Maintain the internal temperature at the set temperature and transfer the pipe (18)
The temperature of the frozen grains (16b) being transferred inside is maintained at a constant temperature. The set temperature is determined so as to obtain the required frozen grain cooling temperature, and depends on the type of raw material to be frozen, the particle size of the frozen grains, and the frozen grains (16b) required for the surface treatment. It is set appropriately according to various conditions such as the hardness of the material.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] The conventional frozen particle injection device is configured as described above.
Because it does not have a generation mechanism for the refrigerant (liquid nitrogen, etc.) used as a cold gas phase source, it is necessary to replenish the evaporated portion of the refrigerant (liquid nitrogen, etc.) from outside. There were problems such as the fact that it was impossible to operate this device unless the location was correct.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above problems, and it is a low-cost and simple device that can produce and inject frozen particles without externally supplying a refrigerant (liquid nitrogen, etc.). The purpose is to obtain the composition.

[! ! Means for Solving the Problem] The frozen particle injection device according to the present invention has a refrigerant generating means that increases the pressure of the gas to be cooled using a compressor, cools it via an expander, and generates a cooling gas, A part of the gas to be cooled that has been pressurized by the compressor is sprayed together with the raw material to be frozen into the insulating container, and the frozen particles produced by exchanging heat between the sprayed particles and the cooling gas are It is designed to be injected together with a part of the gas to be cooled whose pressure has been increased by a compressor.

Furthermore, a frozen particle injection device according to another aspect of the present invention has a refrigerant generating means for boosting the pressure of the gas to be cooled in a compressor and then cooling and liquefying it through an expander to generate a liquefied refrigerant, and Frozen particles produced by spraying a part of the gas to be cooled pressurized by the compressor into the insulating container together with the raw material to be frozen, and exchanging heat between the sprayed particles and the liquefied refrigerant, The gas is injected together with a portion of the gas to be cooled whose pressure has been increased by the compressor.

[Function] The frozen particle injection device according to the present invention has a refrigerant generation means for generating refrigerant by increasing the pressure of the gas to be cooled with a compressor and then cooling it through an expander, and pressurizing the gas with the compressor. A part of the cooled gas is sprayed into the heat insulating container together with the raw material to be frozen, and the frozen particles are produced by exchanging heat between the sprayed particles and the refrigerant, and the pressure of the cooled gas is increased by the compressor. Since the refrigerant is injected together with a part of the refrigerant, there is no need to supply refrigerant from the outside, and a frozen particle injection device having a simple configuration at low cost can be obtained. Further, if the refrigerant formed in the refrigerant generating means is gaseous, the refrigerant can be obtained with low energy.

〔Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a frozen particle injection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in the figure, (100) is a refrigerant generating means. The refrigerant generating means (100) is configured as follows. That is, the compressor (31) is a cooling water pipe (32)
It is a compressor equipped with a cooling water vibrator (32), and can perform isothermal compression by the action of cooling water flowing through a cooling water vibrator (32). (3
3) is provided on the suction side of the compressor (31) to supply pure dry air, and a filter (34) for removing moisture and carbon dioxide is provided on the discharge side of the compressor (31). , filter to remove impurities such as dust
(42a) is an air intake pipe, (42b) is a pipe that connects the filter (33) and the compression II (31), and (42c) is a pipe that connects the compression 1fp1 (31) and the filter (34). Piping, (39) is the heat exchanger, (42d) is the piping connecting the filter (34) and the heat exchanger (39), (40) is the Joule-Thomson expansion valve, (42e) is the heat exchanger (39
) and the Joule-Thompson expansion valve (40); (42f) is the Joule-Thompson expansion valve (40);
40) and the refrigerant storage tank (12), (
15) is a refrigerant, which is a cooling gas, that is, low-temperature air. (42g) is a pipe connecting the refrigerant storage tank (12> and the heat exchanger (39)), and (42h) is a pipe connecting the heat exchanger (39) and the pipe (42b).

Next, the principle of operation of this refrigerant generating means (100) is shown in FIG. This is a T-S diagram showing a cycle in which dry air at a state near atmospheric temperature is brought into a state of low-temperature air close to a liquid phase corresponding to the pressure thereof.

Here, T is temperature, S is entropy, l is enthalpy, and 1 is constant. After performing isothermal compression in the compressor (31) from atmospheric state A to B, the heat exchanger (39)
The temperature is lowered by isobaric cooling from B to C, and the temperature is lowered by adiabatic expansion from point C to the original pressure pl using the Joule-Thomson expansion valve (40), making it a state of low-temperature air. A part of the low-temperature air is taken out as a refrigerant (low-temperature gas), and the remaining gas is returned to the heat exchanger depending on the condition, returning to A close to the original state, and new gas is added. Replenish it, return to the original state A, and repeat the cycle again. In this way, the temperature of the air can be lowered.

In addition, in FIG. 2, E represents heat exchange, and curve F represents a saturation line.

A part of the low-temperature air whose temperature has decreased is introduced as a refrigerant (15) to the flow rate adjustment valve (43) via the refrigerant supply pipe (13a), and after adjusting the flow rate, it is passed through the refrigerant supply pipe (13b). The refrigerant supply port (4) provided at the bottom of the insulating container (6)
4) Inject more. The remaining refrigerant (cold air) enters the heat exchanger (39), exchanges heat with the discharge gas of the compressor (31), and then mixes with pure dry air supplied through the filter (33). and enters the compressor (31) via pipe (42b) to repeat the cycle again. A part of the dry air pressurized by the compressor (31) passes through the pipe (42i), the valve (37) for adjusting the spray gas flow rate, and the pipe (42j), and then passes through the pipe (42j).
It passes through a filter (35) for removing impurities such as dust, and then enters the atomizer (8) via an atomizing gas introduction pipe (10).
) and used to spray pure water, which is the raw material to be frozen. Furthermore, some of the dry air pressurized by the compressor is
A valve (
38) and piping (421), passes through a filter (36) for removing impurities such as dust, and a drive gas introduction pipe (20), and is supplied as a drive gas to the injection device (19), and the frozen particles are (16b) is sprayed onto the surface of the object to be treated.

In this way, in the frozen particle injection device of the above embodiment,
The device itself can generate the refrigerant (low-temperature air) without supplying refrigerant (liquid nitrogen, etc.) from the outside, and by the same action as the conventional example, it can produce frozen particles and transfer the frozen particles to the object to be treated. By spraying onto the surface of the object to be treated, impurities such as foreign matter and oils and fats adhering to the surface of the object to be treated can be removed.

In addition, a part of the gas to be cooled that has been pressurized by the compressor is injected together with the raw material to be frozen or part of the frozen particles, so that the atomizing gas for the raw material to be frozen and the freezing It is possible to eliminate the supply device of the drive gas for particle injection, and the structure of the device becomes simple and can be constructed at low cost.

In addition, although the above example shows the case where air is used as the gas to be cooled, nitrogen gas may also be used.Also, although the case where pure water is used as the raw material to be frozen is explained, it is possible to use the same function as this. Other materials to be frozen may be used, and the same effects as in the above embodiments can be achieved.

In addition, in the above embodiment, cooling was performed using a Joule-Thomson expansion valve, but if it expands the gas,
Other expanders such as a turbine may also be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the cooling gas is generated in the refrigerant generating means (100), but the cooling gas does not need to be in a gaseous state and may be cooled to a liquefied state. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a frozen particle injection device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram illustrating the operation of a refrigerant generating means according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, (41) is a gas-liquid separation tank, (4
2f) is a pipe connecting the Joule-Thomson expansion valve (40) and the gas-liquid separation tank (41), and (15) is a refrigerant, which in this case is liquefied air. (42g) is a pipe connecting the gas-liquid separation tank (41) and the heat exchanger (39). Figure 4 is a T-5 diagram showing a cycle in which dry air at around atmospheric temperature is brought into a liquid phase corresponding to the pressure. 31)
After performing isothermal compression at , the heat exchanger (39) performs isobaric cooling from B to C to lower the temperature.From 0 point C, adiabatic expansion is performed to the original pressure pt using the Joule-Thomson expansion valve (40). At the same time, a point on the wet steam line is reached, where gas-liquid separation is performed to extract only the wet part as liquefied gas in state H, and the remaining gas is returned to the heat exchanger from state G. The gas is returned to A', which is close to the previous state, and new gas is supplied, returning to the original state A, and the cycle is repeated again. In this way, the air is liquefied, and the liquefied refrigerant (15) is passed through the refrigerant supply pipe (13) to the insulating container (
6) is supplied to the tank (12) provided at the bottom of the tank. The remaining gas (cold air) is returned to the heat exchanger (39) and operates similarly to the frozen particle injector shown in FIG.

In addition, the refrigerant (15) in the tank (12) produces frozen particles in the same manner as in the conventional example, and by spraying the frozen particles onto the surface of the object to be treated, foreign substances attached to the surface of the object to be treated can be removed. , impurities such as oil and fat can be removed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the gas to be cooled is pressurized by a compressor, and then cooled by an expander to generate a cooling gas. A part of the gas to be cooled, which has been pressurized by the compressor, is sprayed into the heat insulating container together with the raw material to be frozen, and the frozen particles produced by exchanging heat between the sprayed particles and the cooling gas are heated by the compressor. Since it is injected together with a part of the pressurized gas to be cooled, it is possible to obtain frozen particles using a simple device without supplying refrigerant from the outside.

In addition, it is possible to eliminate the supply devices for the atomizing gas for the raw material to be frozen and the drive gas for the injection of frozen particles, which were conventionally provided separately, which has the effect of simplifying the structure of the device and allowing it to be constructed at low cost. . Furthermore, since the generated refrigerant is a cooling gas, the refrigerant can be obtained with low energy.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant generating means generates liquefied refrigerant, supplies the liquefied refrigerant to the heat insulating container, and, as in the above invention, increases the pressure in the compressor. Since a part of the gas to be cooled is injected together with the raw material to be frozen or frozen grains, frozen grains can be obtained with a simple device without supplying refrigerant from the outside. It is possible to eliminate a supply device for drive gas for atomizing gas and frozen particle injection, which simplifies the structure of the device and has the advantage of being able to be constructed at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a frozen grain manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram illustrating the operation of a refrigerant generating means according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a frozen particle injection device according to another embodiment, FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram illustrating the operation of a refrigerant generating means according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional frozen particle production device. FIG. In the figure, (1) is a frozen grain manufacturing means, (3) is a frozen grain injection means, (6) is an insulating container, (8) is a sprayer, (9) is a frozen raw material supply pipe, (13a) and ( 13
b) is a refrigerant supply pipe, (15) is a refrigerant, (16a) is a spray particle, (16b) is a frozen particle, (19) is an injection device,
(20) is the drive gas introduction pipe, (31) is the compressor, (40) is the Joule-Thomson expansion valve, (41)
is a gas-liquid separation tank, and (100) is a refrigerant generating means. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A heat insulating container, a refrigerant generating means for increasing the pressure of the cooled gas using a compressor and then cooling it through an expander to generate cooling gas, and a supply means for supplying the cooling gas into the heat insulating container. , a spraying means for spraying a part of the gas to be cooled whose pressure has been increased by the compressor into the insulating container together with the raw material to be frozen;
and frozen particles produced by heat exchange between the atomized particles formed by this atomizing means and the cooling gas,
A frozen particle injection device comprising an injection means for injecting a part of the cooled gas pressurized by the compressor. (2) an insulating container, a refrigerant generating means for pressurizing the gas to be cooled by a compressor and then cooling and liquefying it through an expander to generate a liquefied refrigerant; and a refrigerant generating means for generating a liquefied refrigerant; a spraying means for spraying a part of the gas to be cooled pressurized by the compressor into the insulating container together with the raw material to be frozen, and the spray particles formed by the spraying means and the liquefied above. A frozen particle injection device comprising an injection means for injecting frozen particles produced by exchanging heat with a refrigerant together with a part of the gas to be cooled that is pressurized by the compressor.