JPH0448516B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Fields> The disclosed technology is applicable to finishing cleaning of precision instruments such as plastic lenses and glasses used in precision instruments such as optical machines, and applying coatings for hardening of precision instruments. belongs to the field of liquid processing technology.

<Summary of the gist> Therefore, this invention cures glass or plastic lenses used in optical devices, etc. by immersing them in a liquid treatment tank and then lifting them into warm gas at the top to quickly dry them. This invention relates to a liquid processing method for precision equipment in which the processing liquid is transported to a predetermined next processing step or subjected to final cleaning with pure water, and in particular, the processing liquid in the liquid processing tank is transferred to one of the liquid processing tanks. The upper and lower flow velocities are set at the same speed from one side to the other, and the flow is rectified in multiple stages on the side to create a laminar side flow.
This invention relates to a liquid processing method for precision equipment that performs circulation filtration in a heated state.

<Prior Art> As is well known, in recent years, when civil life and industrial society have become more prosperous, we owe an extremely large amount to modern science, and in particular, we owe an extremely large amount to various information devices.

Naturally, such information equipment is highly precise due to the combination of so-called IC parts and electro-optical equipment, and therefore, such precision equipment such as IC parts and optical parts are extremely precise. Precision finishing accuracy is strictly required, and cleanliness not only on the micron level but also on the submicron level has recently become required.

Therefore, in the manufacturing process of such precision instruments, finishing cleaning with pure water is performed after cleaning with various chemicals in the final finishing process, and optical products such as plastics and glass are cleaned during use and maintenance. In order to prevent scratches and improve light transmittance, there is a coating application process for hardening treatment, and in most cases, this is done through immersion in a liquid treatment and drying in warm gas after the immersion. Ru.

The conventional liquid processing method is briefly explained below with reference to FIG.

That is, in the coating process after final cleaning of a precision instrument of a plastic lens 1 with pure water, the coating liquid 2 is circulated in a circular manner via the circulation pump 4 and the filter 5 to the coating tank 3 that stores the coating liquid 2. The lens 1 is immersed in the coating liquid 2 using the processing basket 6 and then pulled up into the warm gas after a predetermined period of time. Because it is circulated in a circle, some of the dust is removed by the filter 5, but over time, submicron-sized dust and chemicals from previous processes with heavy specific gravity stagnate and float, often resulting in coating problems. In many cases, it was scattered in the processing liquid 2 and attached to the surface of the lens 1 inside the basket 6 that was pulled up.

However, since such precision equipment requires cleanliness on the submicron level, filters are used to prevent dust and fine particles on the submicron level during final cleaning with pure water and chemical coating treatment. Although we are trying to achieve complete filtration by using methods such as the
Therefore, so-called stains may occur due to the concentration of the treatment liquid during the process of immersing it in a specified treatment liquid and lifting it into warm gas, and the adhesion of submicron-level dust and fine particles during the drying process in the warm gas. If it cannot be removed, the product will be rejected, and the precision equipment of the product may be easily damaged by electrical shots or scratches, which may lead to an inconvenience in which the reliability of the product accuracy will be reduced. It was hot.

In particular, when precision equipment is immersed in processing liquids such as pure water or coating liquid using conventional techniques and then pulled up into warm gas, spots or blocks of liquid may adhere to the processing surface of the precision equipment. However, there was a drawback in that stains were generated during the process in which the processing liquid was concentrated in the drying process.

Therefore, until now, the cleaning solution has been drained and replaced after each cleaning process, which has resulted in problems such as not being able to shorten the takt time, and due to the large amount of expensive cleaning solution being used. There were disadvantages that led to increased costs.

To deal with this, there is a technique, such as the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-277734 and the invention proposed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-130389, in which the processing liquid is made into a laminar flow to the side of the processing tank. However, since the side flow within the processing tank is rectified in a single stage, laminar flow cannot be reliably produced, and impurities on the micron scale tend to remain in the processing tank.

<Objective of the Invention> The object of the present invention is to solve the technical problem of immersing precision instruments in a processing liquid during finish cleaning and post-process coating treatment of precision instruments based on the above-mentioned prior art. We focused on the problem of stains occurring through the concentration process in the drying process, where precision equipment is immersed in a calm storage state of processing liquid in a liquid processing tank and pulled up into the warm gas at the top. During liquid treatment from immersion to withdrawal, we prevent dust and fine particles from floating in the liquid treatment tank and the accumulation of impurities from the previous process, and completely remove them in the circulation process. Cleaning technology in the precision equipment manufacturing industry that absolutely prevents dust from adhering to the surfaces of precision equipment being pulled up, reduces the amount of processing liquid used, reduces costs, and shortens takt times. The purpose of this invention is to provide an excellent liquid processing method for precision equipment that is beneficial to the field of application.

<Means/effects for solving the problem> In order to solve the above problem, the structure of the present invention, which is based on the scope of the above-mentioned claims, is as follows:
Final cleaning and coating are applied to precision equipment using a liquid treatment tank.Through the circulation of the treatment liquid, dust and other particles in the submicron range are filtered out using a filter, etc., in a cycle circuit outside the liquid treatment tank. Inside the chamber, a laminar side flow with the same flow velocity at the top and bottom is rectified in multiple stages in the horizontal direction, and the treatment liquid is quickly processed without floating or stagnation of submicron dust particles or impurities. This technology takes technical measures to economically control the amount of processing liquid used and shorten the takt time by discharging the liquid and performing high-precision liquid processing.

<Example> Next, an example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

Note that the same parts as in FIG. 2 will be explained using the same reference numerals.

The illustrated embodiment is a treatment liquid for hardening coating on the surface of an optical lens used as a precision instrument, and inside the liquid treatment tank 3 is a basket 6 containing a plastic lens 1 which can be immersed and pulled up. A predetermined amount of a predetermined coating treatment liquid 2 is stored, and a first stage rectifying mechanism 7, 7' is provided on one side and the other side of the liquid treatment tank 3, and a valve 8,
Auxiliary tank 9, circulation pump 10, filter 11,
A circulation circuit 14 having a heater 12 and a valve 13 interposed in series is connected in a circular manner, and inside the liquid processing tank 3 there is a perforated plate 15 in the vertical direction, which has a large number of fine holes of a predetermined size. ,15,15,15
are installed horizontally in four stages as second and third stage rectifying mechanisms.

Note that a predetermined drying gas is heated and circulated at the slowest possible speed outside the liquid processing tank 3, particularly in the upper part thereof, by capturing submicron-sized dust using an ultra-precision filter (not shown).

In the above-mentioned system, the plastic lens 1, which has been molded and manufactured in a predetermined manner in the previous step, is transferred to a basket 6 after finishing cleaning with pure water in the previous stage, dried to a predetermined value, and then coated in a predetermined manner in a liquid treatment tank 3. When applying the treatment to the surface, the coating treatment liquid 2 is passed through the circulation circuit 1 to the liquid treatment tank 3 in advance.
4, the auxiliary tank 9 and the circulation pump 10 circulate and pressure feed, the filter 11 captures submicron dust, the heater 12 heats it to an appropriate set temperature, and the rectifier mechanism 7, 7' moves the air from one side to the other. A process in which the liquid is diffused into the liquid and press-fitted into the liquid treatment tank 3 to rectify the upper and lower side flows as much as possible, and then flows through the perforated plates 15, 15, 15, etc. of the second and third stage rectification mechanisms. The upper and lower flow velocities are adjusted to the same speed, and the flow flows as a kind of laminar, uniform rectified side flow, so that even the mixed dust in the micron scale does not remain suspended in the liquid treatment tank 3. The processing liquid 2 reliably flows and circulates laterally at a low speed without causing dust, is completely captured by the filter 11, and the surface of the lens 1 is coated with the processing liquid 2, which is free of submicron-level dust.

After a predetermined period of time, the basket 6 is pulled up into the warm gas at the top using the processing liquid 2, dried, and transferred to the next stage of processing from within the warm gas, which is free of micron-level dust, so that so-called stains do not occur. , a lens 1 coated as designed by uniform coating drying is obtained.

During this time, there is no need to replace the entire amount of processing liquid, and therefore it is economical and the takt time can be shortened.

It goes without saying that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, a flow meter may be provided in the circulation circuit of the liquid processing tank to adjust the circulation speed and circulation pressure of the circulation pump, so that the liquid Various aspects can be adopted, such as making the speed of the side flow of laminar rectification in the processing tank as low as possible.

Moreover, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to the coating treatment of plastic lenses, etc., but also to each cleaning step in the cleaning process and the final cleaning with pure water.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, in precision liquid processing such as cleaning and coating of precision equipment such as electronic parts, optical lenses, and glass, the processing liquid is stored and cleaned, and after immersion, it is immersed in warm gas. Before pulling up the processing liquid, the processing liquid is rectified in multiple stages from one side of the liquid processing tank to the other side to create a laminar side flow. By moving the liquid in the liquid processing tank, the processing liquid in the liquid processing tank does not circulate in a specific circle, but flows horizontally at a uniform speed as a whole in a laminar flow rectification. Because of the movement, sub-micron dust and fine particles from the previous process, which are mixed unexpectedly, do not float and stay inside the liquid treatment tank, and therefore, these particles do not reach the surface of the immersed precision equipment. Submicron-scale dust and particles do not adhere when pulled up into the warm gas at the top. Therefore, during coating and cleaning finishing, submicron-scale dust and particles that get mixed in and stains caused by heavy chemicals from previous processes can be avoided. This provides an excellent effect in that complete cleaning, coating, etc. can be carried out with high precision and uniformity as designed.

Therefore, the reliability of the precision equipment obtained as a final product is high, and it also helps improve yield.
The excellent effect of increasing product quality is achieved.

In addition, there is no need to completely replace the valuable treatment liquid every time the treatment is carried out, and the cleanliness of the coating treatment liquid in the liquid treatment tank is further improved, reducing costs and takt time. It is played.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig.
The figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional liquid processing method for precision instruments. 1... Precision equipment, 2... Processing liquid, 3... Liquid processing tank, 1
0...Circulation pump, 11...Filter, 12...Heater, 14...Circulation circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a liquid processing method in which precision equipment is immersed in a liquid processing tank and then lifted up and transported to the next stage of processing, the processing liquid is transferred from one side to the other in the liquid processing tank above and below the liquid processing tank. When circulating the fluid in a laminar side flow with the same flow velocity in all parts, a rectification action is performed in multiple stages in the horizontal direction to perform a prescribed liquid treatment on the precision equipment. Characteristic liquid processing method for precision equipment.