JPH0568953A - Vapor cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect vapor deficiency precisely and quickly by measuring the flow rate of a cleaning liquid flowing in a recovery pileline in an apparatus to clean the surface of an object of cleaning such as an automotive part by bringing it into contact with the vapor of a cleaning liquid such as trichloroethane, CONSTITUTION:A heating pipe 2 built in a heater is installed in the bottom part of a cleaning tank 1 and at the same time a spiral pipe 3 through which cooling water runs is installed in the inside of the upper part of the cleaning tank 1 and an object A of cleaning is set to be immersed in the cleaning tank 1 from upside by a hanging conveyer 14 freely movable up and down. While the surface of the object A of cleaning is degreased by being brought into contact with the vapor of a cleaning liquid 11 in the cleaning tank 1, the vapor is cooled and condensed by the spiral pipe 3 to prevent the vapor from being dispersed and at the same time to return the condensed cleaning liquid to the bottom part of the cleaning tank 1 through a recovery pipeline 4. In this case, a flow meter 5 is connected to the recovery pipeline 4 and when it is detected based on the measured value that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid reaches the prescribed level, and alarm is given and cleaning operation is interrupted simultaneously.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steam cleaning apparatus for cleaning the surface of an object to be cleaned such as automobile parts by bringing it into contact with steam of a cleaning liquid such as trichloroethane (TCE).

More specifically, the present invention relates to a steam cleaning apparatus equipped with a facility for condensing a cleaning liquid vapor by cooling, recovering and condensing the vapor.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the manufacture of automobile parts such as urethane bumpers and PP bumpers, degreasing treatment of the surface of the parts is performed by contact with trichloroethane vapor before coating.

The steam cleaning apparatus used for this degreasing treatment generally heats and evaporates the trichloroethane liquid in the cleaning tank, fills the tank with the steam, and introduces the parts to be cleaned into the surface. Although it is configured to perform cleaning, in order to prevent the scattering of the cleaning liquid and improve the utilization rate, trichloroethane vapor is usually condensed and cooled at the top of the cleaning tank, and this is collected to collect the trichloroethane liquid at the bottom of the cleaning tank. It has a mechanism to return to.

[0005]

In order to maintain a sufficiently high cleaning effect (degreasing effect) in such a steam cleaning apparatus, it is necessary to keep the inside of the cleaning tank saturated with trichloroethane vapor during operation. To be done. If the steam is not sufficiently filled, degreasing on the surface of the component will be insufficient, and defective degreasing cannot be visually confirmed, causing the situation where the coating film on the component surface peels off in the baking process after painting. Become.

Therefore, during operation, it is necessary to judge whether or not the cleaning tank is filled with trichloroethane vapor. However, it is not possible for the operator to observe what is going on inside the washing tank that is directly operating, so that it is possible to know whether the mechanical system is electrically filled with steam, or if it is insufficient. There is a need to.

Further, such a situation of vapor shortage occurs, for example, because the amount of heat of heating is reduced due to the deterioration of the performance of the heater and the amount of trichloroethane vapor generated is reduced.

In addition to this, in the case of vapor shortage, water in the air is condensed together with trichloroethane vapor, and the produced water flows down along the inner wall of the tank and mixes with the trichloroethane liquid at the bottom of the tank, and the water on the surface. A layer may be formed and this aqueous layer may appear to interfere with the generation of trichloroethane vapor.

In the former case, the occurrence of steam shortage can be confirmed and detected by detecting the decrease in the amount of heat of heating by monitoring the temperature of the trichloroethane solution in the cleaning tank. For this reason, the conventional steam cleaning apparatus is usually equipped with a thermometer for measuring the liquid temperature at the bottom of the cleaning tank together with related control means.

In the latter case, however, the occurrence of the steam shortage cannot be properly detected by the temperature measurement monitor. Since the wall of the cleaning tank has a heat insulation structure and the trichloroethane vapor is supersaturated during normal operation, even if the trichloroethane vapor in the cleaning tank is insufficiently filled, the situation will immediately increase. It does not lead to the phenomenon of decline. Therefore, even if a method of measuring and monitoring the temperature of trichloroethane vapor is adopted, which is similar to the above liquid temperature measurement, this method cannot accurately detect vapor shortage, and even if it is detected, its response Will be slow. That is, the detection accuracy and responsiveness are extremely poor.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to accurately and quickly detect the occurrence of a shortage of steam in the cleaning tank, and in that case, appropriately. It is to provide a steam cleaning device that can deal with the above.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the flow rate of a cleaning solution (trichloroethane, etc.) flowing through a recovery pipe system is measured, and the flow rate fluctuates to an abnormal level as compared with the case of normal operation. By making it possible to detect that the cleaning liquid vapor in the cleaning tank is full or insufficient, that is, the steam cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is In the cleaning device equipped with a cleaning liquid recovery pipe system that collects the cleaning liquid condensed by the cooling device at the top of the tank and returns it to the bottom of the tank while generating the cleaning liquid vapor by the heating means, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid recovery pipe system. Is connected to the flow meter, and when it detects that the flow rate measured by the flow meter has decreased below a predetermined level, an alarm signal is issued and / or the operation of the cleaning device is detected. It is characterized by having a control mechanism for interrupting rolling.

(Outline of the Invention) In the present invention, the cleaning liquid recovery pipe system collects the cleaning liquid condensed in the upper part of the cleaning tank,
A pipe system that returns this to the bottom of the cleaning tank may be used, and a conventional system may be used. For example, a gutter that receives the liquid that has condensed the vapor, a separator that collects the liquid from the gutter and separates it into a cleaning liquid and water, a pool tank that stores the separated cleaning liquid, a pump that supplies the stored cleaning liquid to the bottom of the cleaning tank, In addition, a pipe which connects them to each other is often used.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises a flow meter connected to such a cleaning liquid recovery pipe system and a control mechanism electrically connected to the flow meter. As the flow meter, one that can measure the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and monitor the change thereof if desired, for example, an oval flow meter, a mass flow meter, an ultrasonic flow meter, or the like can be applied.

Further, the control mechanism is a mechanism for controlling the operation of the steam cleaning device, and at least when it is detected that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is reduced to a predetermined level or less during operation, an alarm signal is issued or cleaning is performed. Any device having a mechanism for interrupting the operation of the device may be used. The control mechanism is a mechanism that, for example, when the alarm signal is received, the alarm light emits or flashes, or the alarm buzzer sounds.

In addition to the above functions, a more preferable control mechanism is provided with a mechanism for starting the cleaning operation process when it is detected that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid reaches another level at the start of operation. Is.

As the other structure of the steam cleaning device, a conventional one can be applied. For example, the heating means may be a heating tube with a built-in heater introduced from the outside to the bottom of the cleaning tank, and the cooling means may be a spiral tube arranged near the wall inside the upper part of the cleaning tank. The thing in which cooling water circulates can be used.

[0018]

In the vapor cleaning apparatus equipped with the cleaning liquid recovery pipe system, the cleaning liquid is circulated between the internal space of the cleaning tank and the recovery pipe system outside the tank while repeating evaporation and condensation, and is almost entirely reused. It Therefore, in the same apparatus, during operation, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through the recovery pipe system is kept substantially constant while the cleaning liquid vapor is sufficiently filled in the cleaning tank. If, for some reason, the situation in which the cleaning tank is insufficiently filled with steam, the situation immediately appears as a decrease in the flow rate of the cleaning solution in the recovery pipe system.

According to the present invention, the cleaning liquid recovery pipe system is equipped with a flow meter so that the flow rate of the recovered cleaning liquid can be measured, and the change in the flow rate can be monitored according to the model.
It is also possible to record.

Further, in the present invention, the control mechanism can detect that the flow rate measured by the flow meter has decreased below a predetermined level, and at this time, an alarm signal is issued based on this detection. , And / or interrupt the operation of the cleaning device. Therefore, due to the generation of the alarm signal, the worker can know that the situation where the steam in the cleaning tank is insufficient is filled, and the operation of the device is interrupted,
It is possible to minimize the occurrence of products with insufficient cleaning (defatting failure).

A further characteristic feature of the present invention is that even when a shortage of steam in the cleaning tank occurs due to insufficient heat quantity of the heater, and also due to the formation of a water layer on the surface of the cleaning liquid. Even if there is a shortage of steam in the tank, all of them are effective.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, in the steam cleaning apparatus of the embodiment, a heating pipe 2 with a built-in heater is introduced inside from the outside at the bottom of the cleaning tank 1, and a spiral pipe 3 is provided inside the upper portion of the cleaning tank 1.
Is arranged near the inner wall, and cooling water is circulated inside the pipe. Further, the suspending conveyor 14 is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating up and down (in the direction of the arrow Y in the figure), and the cleaning object A (PP bumper, urethane bumper) suspended on the conveyor is moved upward into the cleaning tank 1. It can be introduced further and taken out upwards.

Therefore, the cleaning liquid (trichloroethane) 11 contained in the cleaning tank 1 is heated and evaporated by the heat generated by the heating pipe 2, and the steam is filled in the tank. By introducing the object A to be cleaned into the cleaning tank 1 at this stage, the surface thereof is washed away by contact with the vapor of the cleaning liquid 11, and the bumper surface is degreased, for example. At the same time, the vapor of the cleaning liquid 11 is cooled and condensed by the spiral tube 3 in the upper part of the cleaning tank 1, whereby the vapor is prevented from being diffused. In the figure, 15 is a water level sensor, 16
Represents a temperature sensor.

The cleaning apparatus further comprises a cleaning liquid recovery pipe system 4 for collecting the cleaning liquid condensed in the upper portion of the cleaning tank 1 and returning it to the bottom of the cleaning tank 1. The collection pipe system 4
As shown in FIG. 1, a trough 6 is provided below the spiral tube 3 along the inner wall of the cleaning tank 1 to receive a liquid in which vapor is condensed, and the liquid is collected from the gutter 6 and separated into a cleaning liquid and water. Separator 7, pool tank 8 for storing the cleaning liquid separated by the separator 7,
It comprises a pump 9 for supplying the cleaning liquid stored in the pool tank 8 to the bottom of the cleaning tank 1 and spraying it toward the object A to be cleaned by the shower nozzle 10, and a pipe connecting these to each other.

The apparatus of this embodiment comprises a flow meter 5 connected to the cleaning liquid recovery pipe system 4 and a control mechanism 12 electrically connected to the flow meter 5. Flowmeter 5 is a collection pipe system 4
It measures the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through the chamber and monitors the change, and is composed of, for example, an oval flow meter. The control mechanism is a mechanism that controls the entire operation of the steam cleaning apparatus, and detects that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid has reached a predetermined start level based on the measurement value of the flow meter 5 at the start of the operation. At this time, a mechanism for starting the cleaning operation process is provided, and when it is detected that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid has decreased below a predetermined interruption level based on the measurement value of the flow meter 5 during operation, an alarm signal is issued and the alarm buzzer 13 is activated. A mechanism is provided for ringing and / or interrupting the operation of the cleaning device.

Thus, in the present embodiment, when a shortage of steam in the cleaning tank occurs due to insufficient heat quantity of the heating pipe 2 or due to the formation of a water layer on the surface of the cleaning liquid, this causes a recovery pipe system. The decrease in the flow rate of the cleaning liquid of 4 below a predetermined level is detected based on the measurement of the flow meter 5, and in this case, an alarm signal is issued by the control mechanism 12 and the buzzer 13 sounds or the operation of the cleaning device is started. Stops and becomes suspended. Therefore, the operator can accurately and quickly know the occurrence of the situation where the steam is insufficiently filled, and further, the occurrence of the bumper product or the like having poor degreasing can be minimized.

[0027]

As described above, the present invention measures the flow rate of the cleaning liquid to be recovered, detects that the measured flow rate has dropped below a predetermined level, and at this time issues an alarm signal, and Since the operation of the cleaning device is interrupted and / or the cause of the steam shortage can be detected, the occurrence of the shortage of steam in the cleaning tank can be accurately and promptly detected regardless of the cause of the steam shortage, and thus the insufficient cleaning (degreasing) It is possible to suppress the occurrence of (defective) products to a minimum, and eventually to improve the productivity of coated products.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a steam cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning Tank 2 Heating Pipe 3 Cooling Spiral Pipe 4 Cleaning Liquid Recovery Pipe System 5 Flow Meter 11 Cleaning Liquid 12 Control Mechanism A Cleaning Object

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steam cleaning apparatus equipped with a cleaning liquid recovery pipe system for generating cleaning liquid vapor by heating means at the bottom of the cleaning tank and collecting cleaning liquid condensed by cooling means at the top of the cleaning tank and returning it to the bottom of the tank. A flow meter for measuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is connected to the cleaning liquid recovery pipe system, and it is detected that the flow rate measured by the flow meter has decreased below a predetermined level, and at this time, an alarm signal is issued and / or A steam cleaning device comprising a control mechanism for interrupting the operation of the cleaning device.