JPH064953Y2 - Cleaning equipment using organic solvent - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is used for cleaning various articles such as a mold or an IC substrate using an organic solvent such as CFC.

(Prior Art) In order to remove stains attached to various articles, a cleaning device using an organic solvent such as CFC has been conventionally used.

When performing cleaning work, after the object to be cleaned is stored inside a cleaning tank that is airtight, the air inside the cleaning tank is exhausted by a vacuum pump to remove fine irregularities or internal The organic solvent for the cleaning is fed into the cleaning tank after the organic solvent is easily allowed to enter even the inside of the minute voids existing in.

After feeding the organic solvent into the cleaning tank, the organic solvent is vibrated by an ultrasonic vibrator or stirred by a stirring blade to remove dirt such as oil adhering to the surface of the object to be cleaned.

When the dirt cannot be removed sufficiently by one cleaning operation, the organic solvent is discharged from the inside of the cleaning tank, the gas inside the cleaning tank is discharged by the vacuum pump, and the organic solvent is fed again into the cleaning tank.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional cleaning apparatus using the organic solvent as described above, it is inevitable that a part of the cleaning organic solvent leaks to the outside, and the surrounding environment is It could make it worse.

In particular, chlorofluorocarbon widely used as an organic solvent for cleaning has been reported to lead to environmental destruction of the entire earth such as depletion of the ozone layer, and it is necessary to suppress leakage to the surroundings as low as possible.

The cleaning apparatus using the organic solvent of the present invention solves such a problem.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A cleaning device using an organic solvent of the present invention is a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open upper part, a cleaning tank having an upper end opening and a lid that can be hermetically closed, and a cleaning tank of this cleaning tank. The vapor supply means for sending the vapor of the organic solvent to the inside, the storage tank for storing the organic solvent to be fed into the cleaning tank, and the upper space filled with the vapor of the organic solvent, and this storage tank and the cleaning tank are connected. , A supply / discharge means for supplying / discharging the organic solvent between both tanks, a heater for heating and evaporating the liquid organic solvent and a cooler for condensing the vapor of the organic solvent are combined to collect the condensed organic solvent. Exhaust that discharges air from the cleaning tank by installing a distiller for sending to the storage tank and a vacuum pump in the middle, and installing an exhaust pipe for sending the organic solvent vapor discharged from the cleaning tank to the distiller and a vacuum pump in the middle A suction pipe that pumps air into the cleaning tank. It is composed of the trachea.

(Operation) When the object to be cleaned is cleaned by the cleaning apparatus using the organic solvent of the present invention configured as described above, after storing the object to be cleaned in the cleaning tank, the lid of the cleaning tank is closed, The vacuum pump provided in the middle of the exhaust pipe is operated to discharge the air inside the cleaning tank.

After the air in the cleaning tank is discharged, the organic solvent in the storage tank is fed into the cleaning tank through the supply / discharge means to clean the object to be cleaned.

When the cleaning work with the liquid organic solvent is completed, the liquid organic solvent in the cleaning tank is gradually returned to the storage tank by the supply / discharge means, and the vapor of the organic solvent is supplied from the vapor supply means into the cleaning tank.

As a result, part of the object to be cleaned in the cleaning tank is exposed on the liquid surface of the liquid organic solvent, the vapor of the organic solvent is condensed at this exposed part, and the surface of the object to be cleaned is cleaned by this condensed portion. Will be
So-called steam cleaning is performed.

When all the liquid organic solvent in the cleaning tank is returned to the storage tank while performing the steam cleaning, the vacuum pump installed in the middle of the discharge pipe is operated to distill the organic solvent vapor remaining in the cleaning tank. Discharge into the container. As described above, the vapor of the organic solvent discharged to the distiller through the discharge pipe is condensed and liquefied by the cooler provided in the distiller and collected. At this time, air is not mixed in the distiller. When the inside of the cleaning tank reaches a predetermined vacuum level with the operation of the vacuum pump, the vacuum pump is stopped and air is sent into the cleaning tank through the intake pipe.

As a result, if the pressure in the cleaning tank rises to about atmospheric pressure, the lid of the cleaning tank is opened and the object to be cleaned after cleaning is taken out.

(Embodiment) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a cleaning apparatus using an organic solvent of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a bottomed cylindrical cleaning tank having an upper opening, which has a lid 2 capable of airtightly closing the upper opening, and ultrasonic vibrators 16, 16 are attached to the bottom surface of the cleaning tank 1. The liquid organic solvent sent into the interior is vibrated so that the object 36 to be cleaned immersed in the organic solvent can be efficiently cleaned.

The vapor supply means for feeding the vapor of the organic solvent into the cleaning tank 1 has a heater 3 built therein, an evaporator 4 for heating and evaporating the organic solvent stored therein, and a solenoid valve 5 in the middle. , The vaporization pipe 6 having both ends connected to the upper portion of the evaporator 4 and the upper portion of the cleaning tank 1, respectively. When the solenoid valve 5 is opened, the vapor of the organic solvent is introduced into the upper space of the cleaning tank 1. I am trying to send you.

The storage tank 7 that stores the organic solvent to be fed into the cleaning tank 1 is provided at a higher place than the cleaning tank 1, and one end is connected to the bottom of the storage tank 7, and the solenoid valve 8 is provided on the way. By connecting the other end of the liquid supply pipe 37 provided with the cleaning tank 1, the liquid organic solvent stored in the storage tank 7 flows down to the cleaning tank 1 by gravity due to the opening of the solenoid valve 8. I am trying to do it.

Further, the other end of the connection pipe 9 having one end connected to the upper part of the storage tank 7 is connected to an intermediate part of a distiller 10 described later. The distiller 10 is connected to the middle portion of the storage tank 10. It is connected to the middle part of the distiller 10. In addition to the liquid organic solvent, the vapor of the organic solvent is sent from the distiller 10 to the storage tank 7 through the connecting pipe 9, and as a result, the upper space of the storage tank 7 is always filled with the vapor of the organic solvent. There is.

Furthermore, one end is connected to the bottom of the cleaning tank 1, and the other end of the drainage pipe 12 provided with the solenoid valve 13 and the liquid feed pump 11 in the middle is
It is connected to the storage tank 7 so that the liquid organic solvent in the cleaning tank 1 can be returned to the storage tank 7 when the solenoid valve 13 is opened and the liquid feed pump 11 is operated.

Distiller 10 connected to the storage tank 7 by the connecting pipe 9
Is configured by combining the lower half evaporator 14 and the upper half condenser 15. A heater 1 for heating and evaporating the liquid organic solvent is provided at the bottom of an evaporator casing 17 formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom so that the liquid organic solvent can be stored.
A condenser 20 for condensing the vapor of the organic solvent is provided on the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical condenser casing 19 whose upper end opening is closed by a lid 22.

The cross-sectional area of the evaporator casing 17 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the condenser casing 19, and the upper end edge of the evaporator casing 17 is made to project above the bottom surface of the condenser casing 19 so that A condensate receiving portion 21 is formed on the outside. The cooler 20 arranged on the inner peripheral surface of the condenser casing 19 is positioned above the condensate receiving portion 21, and the organic solvent condensed by touching the cooler 20 is transferred to the condensate receiving portion 21. I am trying to run down.

In addition, a second condenser having a second cooler 25 built therein is provided in the middle of the exhaust pipe 24, one end of which is connected to the lid 22 that closes the upper end opening of the condenser casing 19 and the other end of which is connected to the activated carbon filter 23. A container 26 is provided.

Further, one end of the solenoid valve 28 is connected to the cleaning tank 1 and
The other end of the discharge pipe 29 provided with the vacuum pump 27 is bifurcated into first and second branch pipe portions 30 and 31. Of the two branch pipe portions 30 and 31 provided with the solenoid valves 32 and 33 on the way, the end portion of the first branch pipe portion 30 is connected to the evaporator 14 of the distiller 10 and the end portion of the second branch pipe portion 31. The ends are connected to the activated carbon filter 23, respectively.

Reference numeral 34 is an intake pipe for sending air into the cleaning tank 1, and an electromagnetic valve 35 is provided on the way to connect one end to the cleaning tank 1 and
The other end is open to the atmosphere.

When the object 36 to be cleaned is cleaned by the cleaning apparatus using the organic solvent of the present invention configured as described above, the cleaning tank 1
After opening the lid 2 provided at the upper end of the cleaning tank 1 to store the object to be cleaned 36 in the cleaning tank 1, the lid 2 of the cleaning tank 1 is closed, and then a solenoid valve provided in the middle of the discharge pipe 29 also serving as the exhaust pipe. 28 is opened and the vacuum pump 27 is operated to discharge the air existing inside the cleaning tank 1 to make the inside of the cleaning tank 1 a vacuum.

At this time, the solenoid valve 33 provided in the second branch pipe portion 31 is opened, and the solenoid valve 32 provided in the first branch pipe portion 30 is closed,
The gas sucked from the cleaning tank 1 is diffused into the atmosphere through the activated carbon filter 23. Therefore, even if a small amount of the organic solvent used in the previous cleaning operation remains in the cleaning tank 1, this residue is adsorbed by the activated carbon filter 23, and the organic solvent remains in the atmosphere. The molecule is never dissipated.

When the air in the cleaning tank 1 is discharged, the solenoid valve 8 in the middle of the liquid supply pipe 37 constituting the supply / discharge means is opened, and the liquid suction pipe 3
The organic solvent in the storage tank 7 is fed into the inside of the cleaning tank 1 through 7. This feeding is performed efficiently and quickly by the action of gravity due to the storage tank 7 being located at a higher position than the washing tank 1 and the suction action due to the vacuum inside the washing tank 1.

If a sufficient amount of the organic solvent is fed into the cleaning tank 1, the ultrasonic vibrators 16 and 1 provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 1 will be described.
By energizing 6, the vibrators 16 and 16 are vibrated, the organic solvent is vibrated, and the object to be cleaned 36 immersed in the organic solvent is cleaned.

In order to perform the cleaning of the object to be cleaned 36 stored in the cleaning tank 1 more efficiently, as shown in FIG. 2, a shower nozzle 38 is provided at the tip of the liquid supply pipe 37 to perform cleaning. Tank 1
When the organic solvent is fed into the cleaning tank 1, the organic solvent is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned 36, or, though not shown, the organic solvent in the cleaning tank 1 is supplied by a stirring blade or a circulation pump provided in the cleaning tank 1. Can be made to flow. However, the object to be cleaned 36
Is weak against physical impact, it is sufficient to simply immerse the article to be cleaned 36 in an organic solvent (no ultrasonic vibration is applied).

When the cleaning work with the liquid organic solvent is completed, the liquid feed pump 1 provided in the middle of the drain pipe 12 constituting the supply / discharge means.
By operating 1 at a low speed, the liquid organic solvent in the cleaning tank 1 is gradually returned to the storage tank 7. At the same time, the heater 3 in the evaporator 4 which constitutes the vapor supply means is energized and the solenoid valve 5 in the middle of the steam supply pipe 6 is opened, so that a relatively high temperature is maintained in the cleaning tank 1 from the evaporator 4. Supply high organic solvent vapors.

As a result, part of the object 36 to be cleaned in the cleaning tank 1 is exposed on the liquid surface of the liquid organic solvent, and the vapor of the organic solvent is condensed at this exposed part, and the extremely clean condensed portion is used for cleaning. Thing 3
The so-called steam cleaning, in which the surface of 6 is finally cleaned, is performed.

In performing the vapor cleaning, in the case of the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, only a part of the object to be cleaned 36 is exposed on the liquid surface of the liquid organic solvent, and the rest of the object to be cleaned 26 is in the liquid organic solvent. Since it remains soaked in, the temperature difference between the object to be cleaned 36 and the organic solvent vapor supplied from the evaporator 4 is sufficiently maintained throughout the entire vapor cleaning process, and the object to be cleaned 36 is It is possible to secure a sufficient amount of organic solvent condensed on the surface. That is, when the entire cleaning object 36 is exposed from the liquid organic solvent and vapor cleaning is performed, the temperature of the cleaning object 36 rises as the organic solvent condenses, and Since there is no difference in the temperature of the solvent vapor,
The organic solvent vapor is not efficiently condensed on the surface of the object, but if a part of the object to be cleaned 36 is left immersed in the liquid organic solvent, the object to be cleaned 36 will be exposed to the liquid organic solvent. Since it is cooled, as described above, the temperature difference between the object to be cleaned 36 and the organic solvent vapor supplied from the evaporator 4 is sufficiently secured, and the vapor of the organic solvent on the surface of the object to be cleaned 36 is secured. It can be condensed efficiently.

In the case of performing such vapor cleaning, the liquid in the cleaning tank 1 is liquefied by the pressure of the organic solvent vapor sent from the evaporator 4 into the cleaning tank 1 (instead of omitting the liquid feed pump 11). By returning the organic solvent to the storage tank 7 and increasing the pressure in the cleaning tank 1 at the time of performing the steam cleaning, the condensation temperature of the organic solvent vapor is increased to increase the condensation amount of the steam, and thus the steam cleaning is further performed. The efficiency of can be improved.

However, the structure of the supply / discharge means for taking in and out the organic solvent between the cleaning tank 1 and the storage tank 7 is such that the solvent is moved in one direction by gravity and the other direction is moved by a pump or vapor pressure. In addition to the movement, both movements in both directions are performed by a pump or the like, which is determined by design according to the property of the object to be cleaned 36, the scale of the apparatus, and the like.

When all the liquid organic solvent in the cleaning tank 1 is returned to the storage tank 7 while performing the above-described vapor cleaning, the solenoid valve 28 provided in the middle of the discharge pipe 29 is opened and the vacuum pump 27 is used.
To start. At this time, the solenoid valve 32 provided in the first branch pipe section 30 is opened, and the solenoid valve 33 provided in the second branch pipe section 31 is opened.
To close the organic solvent vapor remaining in the cleaning tank 1,
Discharge into the still 10.

As described above, the vapor of the organic solvent discharged to the distiller 10 through the discharge pipe 29 and the first branch pipe portion 30 together with the vapor of the organic solvent originally present in the distiller 10 is the vaporizer 10 It is condensed and liquefied by the cooler 20 provided in the storage tank 7 and is collected in the condensate receiving portion 21 and is supplied to the storage tank 7 through the connecting pipe 9.
Will be collected.

When the inside of the cleaning tank 1 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum with the operation of the vacuum pump 27, the electromagnetic valve 28 is closed and the vacuum pump 2
7 is stopped, the solenoid valve 35 which was closed until then is opened, the intake pipe 34 is closed, and air is sent into the cleaning tank 1.

As a result, the pressure in the cleaning tank 1 rises, and if this pressure rises to about atmospheric pressure, the lid 2 of the cleaning tank 1 is opened and the object 36 to be cleaned which has been cleaned is taken out. The level of the organic solvent vapor existing in the condenser 15 of the distiller 10 (the height of the boundary between the organic solvent vapor layer and the air layer) is measured through the discharge pipe 29 and the first branch pipe portion 30. The organic solvent vapor is sent up and down, and ascends and descends with it, and if the amount of elevation is large, the gas containing the organic solvent vapor is easily sent out from the exhaust pipe 24, but the heater 18 provided in the distiller 10 By appropriately adjusting the amount of electricity and the amount of refrigerant sent to the cooler 20, the fluctuation of the above level can be reduced, so that the discharge amount of the organic solvent vapor through the exhaust pipe 24 can be suppressed to a slight extent.

Further, in the illustrated example, a second condenser 26 containing a second cooler 25 is provided in the middle of the exhaust pipe 24, and the end portion of the exhaust pipe 24 is connected to the activated carbon filter 23. Thus, the amount of the organic solvent vapor discharged through the exhaust pipe 24 is reduced and the trace amount of the organic solvent vapor unavoidably discharged is treated.

In this way, when the second condenser 26 for recovering the organic solvent vapor is provided, as shown in FIG. 7, the trap pipe 43 for returning the condensed component to the evaporator 14 and the exhaust pipe 2 for exhausting from the condenser 15
If 4 and 4 are independent, the exhaust from the condenser 15 and the recirculation of the condensed portion can be efficiently performed without interfering with each other.

However, if the distiller 10 is hermetically sealed and the exhaust pipe 24 is omitted, the second condenser 26 is not necessary. In this case, by appropriately adjusting the amount of electricity supplied to the heater 18 and the use of the refrigerant supplied to the cooling 20, it is possible to prevent the pressure inside the distiller 10 from becoming too high, or conversely becoming too low.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a check valve 45, which separates the intake pipe 44 and the exhaust pipe 24 from each other and allows gas to pass through the intake pipe 44 only in the intake direction, is provided in the exhaust pipe 24 with a second condenser. 26 and a check valve 46 that allows gas to pass only in the exhaust direction can be provided.

The storage layer 7 and the distiller 10 may be provided independently of each other as shown in FIG. 1, but as shown in FIG. 3, the upper part of the evaporator casing 17 of the distiller 10 and The upper part of the storage layer 7 may be formed so as to communicate with each other. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of storage layers 7, 7 are arranged in series with each other, and the storage layer 7 on the most downstream side is The cleaning tank 1 and the liquid supply pipe 37
(See FIG. 1).

Further, as means for filling the upper space of the storage tank 7 with the vapor of the organic solvent, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper space of the evaporator 14 of the distiller 10 and the upper space of the storage tank 7 are connected by a connecting pipe. In addition to communicating with 9, the vapor generator 40 (which can also be used as the evaporator 4 for supplying the vapor to the cleaning tank 1) provided separately as shown in FIG. It is also possible to supply the organic solvent vapor to the space. However, in the case of the structure shown in FIG. 3, there is no need to take any special measures.
The upper space of the can be filled with organic solvent vapor.

The means for supplying the vapor of the organic solvent to the upper space of the cleaning tank 1 is provided with a separate evaporator 4 as shown in FIG. 1 and a distiller 10 as shown in FIG. The upper space of the evaporator 14 and the upper space of the cleaning tank 1 may be connected by a pipe 42 provided with a solenoid valve 41 on the way.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a vacuum pump for discharging the air in the cleaning tank 1 and a vacuum pump for discharging the organic solvent vapor in the cleaning tank 1 are combined into one vacuum. Pump 27
The discharge side pipe of the vacuum pump 27 is divided into the first and second branch pipe portions 30 and 31, but the air discharge vacuum pump and the organic solvent vapor discharge vacuum pump are separately provided. The vacuum pumps may be provided and the pipes of both vacuum pumps may be independent of each other.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the evaporator 14 and the condenser 15 constituting the distiller 10 have a diameter larger than that of the evaporator 14, and the condenser 15 is connected above the evaporator 14. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the condenser 15 may have a smaller diameter than the evaporator 14, and the condenser 15 may be built in the upper portion of the evaporator 14. Further, as shown in FIG. The evaporator 14 and the condenser 15 may be configured independently of each other.

Further, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 1, if the storage tank 7 and the distiller 10 are connected by an inclined pipe 47, as the liquid organic solvent in the storage tank 7 exceeds a certain amount, this is distilled. Bowl 1
It is possible to distill the organic solvent contaminated by repeating the washing operation by overflowing it to the evaporator 14 of 0 and purifying it.

(Effect of the Invention) Since the cleaning apparatus using the organic solvent of the present invention is configured and operates as described above, it is possible to clean the object to be cleaned without leaking the organic solvent including its vapor to the outside. This makes it possible to protect the surrounding environment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the whole constitution of a cleaning apparatus using an organic solvent of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing another example of a cleaning tank, and FIGS. 3 to 4 are a storage tank and a distiller. And FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a steam supplying means to the storage tank, and FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing another example of the steam supplying means to the cleaning tank. FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic vertical cross-sectional views showing two examples of gas supply and discharge mechanism in the upper space of the still,
9 to 10 are respectively schematic vertical sectional views showing another two examples of the still. 1: Washing tank, 2: Lid, 3: Heater, 4: Evaporator, 5: Solenoid valve, 6: Steam supply pipe, 7: Storage tank, 8: Solenoid valve, 9: Connection pipe, 10: Distiller, 11 : Liquid delivery pump, 12: Drainage pipe,
13: solenoid valve, 14: evaporator, 15: condenser, 16: ultrasonic transducer, 17: evaporator casing, 18: heater,
19: Condenser casing, 20: Cooler, 21: Condensate receiving part, 22: Lid, 23: Activated carbon filter, 24: Exhaust pipe, 25: Second cooler, 26: Second condenser, 27:
Vacuum pump, 28: solenoid valve, 29: exhaust pipe, 30: first branch pipe part, 31: second branch pipe part, 32, 33: solenoid valve, 34: intake pipe, 35: solenoid valve, 36: Items to be cleaned, 3
7: liquid supply pipe, 38: shower nozzle, 40: steam generator, 41: solenoid valve, 42: pipe, 43: trap pipe, 4
4: intake pipe, 45, 46: check valve, 47: inclined pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A cleaning tank having a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening at the top and a lid capable of airtightly closing the upper opening, and controlling the communication and interruption with the atmosphere, and an organic material inside the cleaning tank. A vapor supply means for feeding solvent vapor and a reservoir tank for storing the organic solvent in the reservoir fed into the cleaning tank and filling the upper space with the vapor of the organic solvent, and connecting this reservoir with the cleaning tank. A supply / discharge means for supplying / discharging the organic solvent between them, a heater for heating and evaporating the liquid organic solvent, and a cooler for condensing the vapor of the organic solvent are combined, and the condensed organic solvent is stored in the storage tank. The organic solvent discharged from the cleaning tank was installed in the casing sealed with a lid, and a distiller was introduced into the atmosphere through an activated carbon filter through an exhaust pipe passing through the second condenser, and a vacuum pump was installed on the way. Discharge pipe for sending steam to the above distiller , The middle vacuum pump provided in the air in the cleaning tank made of an exhaust pipe for discharging through the activated charcoal filter, cleaning apparatus using organic solvents.