JPH07290010A - Steam cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Construction] The object to be cleaned 7 is accommodated and the bottom portion has the vapor tank 1 in which the solvent 2 is stored. A heater 3 for heating the solvent 2 is provided below the steam tank 1, and a pump 5 is connected via a communication pipe 10. The pump 5 is provided with a storage tank 8 for storing the drawn gas, and the solvent 2 stored in the storage tank 8 is returned to the steam tank 1 through the communication pipe 6. . [Effect] Since the pressure inside the steam tank 1 can be lowered, the vapor of the solvent 2 can be generated at a temperature lower than usual. Therefore, the heater temperature of the heater 3 can be lowered, and the risk of fire or the like is reduced. Moreover, the power consumption of the heater 3 is also reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vapor cleaning apparatus for vapor cleaning a glass substrate or the like to be cleaned by using vapor of a solvent.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for cleaning glass substrates and the like, for example, vapor cleaning using a vapor of a solvent such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol) has been performed because of the advantage that good cleaning properties can be obtained without damaging the materials. A steam cleaning device is often used.

As shown in FIG. 6, such a steam cleaning apparatus has a cleaning tank 51 whose upper portion is opened and which stores a solvent 52.
Is equipped with. A heating heater 53 for heating the stored solvent 52 is provided in the lower portion of the cleaning tank 51, and a cooling pipe 54 through which cooling water flows inside is provided in the upper portion thereof. The mounting table 5 is provided in the central portion inside the cleaning tank 51.
5 is provided, and the object to be cleaned 5 is placed on the mounting table 55.
6 is set.

An object to be cleaned 56 using the above steam cleaning device
At the time of cleaning, the object 56 to be cleaned is put into the cleaning tank 51 from the opened upper portion of the cleaning tank 51. This cleaning object 5
6 is previously held at a temperature lower than the vapor phase temperature inside the cleaning tank 51. When the object 56 to be cleaned is set on the mounting table 55, the solvent 52 is warmed by the heater 53 to become vapor and fills the inside of the cleaning tank 51.

The solvent 52 that has become vapor condenses and adheres to the surface of the object 56 to be cleaned due to the temperature difference between the vapor phase and the object 56 to be cleaned. The adhered solvent 52 causes the object to be cleaned 56 to be cleaned.
The dirt adhering to the surface of is dissolved or dispersed and washed. The contaminated solvent 52 directly drops into the liquid pool of the solvent 52, becomes vapor again, and the cleaning target 56 is continuously cleaned with the clean solvent 52.

On the other hand, the cleaning tank 51 opened during steam generation
The vapor of the solvent 52 that is trying to dissipate into the atmosphere from the top,
It is liquefied again in the cooling pipe 54 and returned to the inside of the cleaning tank 51.

[0007]

However, in the above vapor cleaning apparatus, the temperature of the heater 53 must be raised considerably in order to convert the solvent 52 into vapor and maintain the state. It has been raised to over 1.5 times the temperature. For example, when IPA is used as the solvent 52,
The boiling point of IPA at atmospheric pressure (760 mmHg) is 82.
Since the temperature is 3 ° C., it is necessary to raise the temperature of the heater 53 to 120 ° C. or higher in order to saturate the IPA vapor.
Therefore, the temperature of the heater 53 increases, the risk of fire and the like increases, and the power consumption by the heater also increases, leading to higher costs.

The steam cleaning apparatus of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and lowers the boiling point of the solvent to generate steam at a lower temperature, thereby reducing the risk of fire and the like. The purpose is to reduce power consumption, and also to reduce running cost by reducing the amount of solvent consumption.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a steam cleaning apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a sealable steam cleaning chamber for accommodating an object to be cleaned and storing a solvent at the bottom. A heating means for heating the solvent stored in the vapor cleaning chamber to generate vapor, and a decompression means for decompressing the vapor cleaning chamber, characterized in that the cleaning target is vapor-cleaned by using the vapor of the solvent. There is.

A steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention comprises:
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising solvent recovery means for recovering a solvent contained in a gas drawn by the pressure reducing means from the steam cleaning chamber to reduce the pressure in the steam cleaning chamber. It is characterized by

The steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention comprises:
In order to solve the above problems, in the steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, the pressure can be adjusted individually and independently.
In addition, a front chamber, which is communicated with the steam cleaning chamber through the opening / closing means, and which stores an object to be cleaned before being carried into the steam cleaning chamber, and a target object, which is discharged from the steam cleaning chamber, are housed. It is characterized by having a rear room.

[0012]

According to the structure of the above-mentioned claim 1, the object to be cleaned is put in the steam cleaning chamber to seal the inside of the chamber, and while the pressure inside the chamber is reduced by the pressure reducing means, the solvent stored at the bottom of the steam cleaning chamber is heated to the heating means. Are heated to generate steam, and the object to be cleaned is steam-cleaned by the steam. That is, in this case, since the heating of the solvent is performed under reduced pressure, the boiling point of the solvent drops, and the solvent boils at a temperature lower than the boiling point under the atmospheric pressure to generate steam. Therefore, when heating is performed using, for example, a heating heater as the heating means, the heater temperature can be made lower than that of the conventional configuration that generates steam under atmospheric pressure, and the risk of fire or the like is reduced. Can improve safety. Further, since the heater temperature can be lowered when heating the solvent, the power consumption can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the solvent recovery means is further provided, when the pressure in the steam cleaning chamber is reduced by the solvent recovery means, the solvent is contained in the gas drawn by the pressure reduction means. The solvent that is used can be recovered, and the running cost can be reduced by reducing the consumption of the solvent. In other words, when the object to be cleaned is put in or taken out of the steam cleaning room, the pressure in the room returns to the same pressure as the atmospheric pressure.
In order to clean many objects to be cleaned, it is necessary to repeatedly draw the gas in the steam cleaning chamber, and if such a solvent recovery means is not provided, a large amount of solvent will be discharged together with the gas. It will be released into the atmosphere and the solvent will be wasted. As the solvent recovery means, a tank for storing the gas drawn by the decompression means and a connecting pipe connecting the bottom of the tank and the steam cleaning chamber can be used, and the drawn gas has a high pressure. It may be returned to the liquid inside and the solvent accumulated at the bottom of the tank may be returned to the vapor cleaning chamber through the communication pipe.

Further, in the case of the conventional steam cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the cooling pipe 54 is arranged above the cleaning tank 51,
Although it is cooled by cooling water, since the upper part of the cleaning tank 51 is open, the vapor or gas of the solvent 52 passing through the central portion where the cooling pipe 54 is not arranged is dissipated into the atmosphere as it is. Although there is a problem that the running cost rises, the running cost can be significantly reduced by adopting the configuration of the present invention.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the front chamber for accommodating the object to be cleaned before being brought into the steam cleaning chamber and the rear chamber for accommodating the object to be cleaned carried out from the steam cleaning chamber are provided. Since the front chamber and the rear chamber are respectively connected to the steam cleaning chamber and the pressures can be adjusted independently of each other, the cleaning target is put in the front chamber at the time of cleaning, and the pressure inside the chamber is adjusted. After lowering it to the same level as the steam cleaning room, open the opening / closing means between the front room and the steam cleaning room to carry it into the steam cleaning room, and open the opening / closing means between the front room and the steam cleaning room. After closing and cleaning, after cleaning, open the opening / closing means between the steam cleaning chamber and the rear chamber to move the object to be cleaned to the rear chamber where the pressure in the room has been lowered to the same level as the steam cleaning chamber in advance. After carrying in, after that, the pressure in the rear chamber is returned to atmospheric pressure and the object to be cleaned is taken out, so that the steam cleaning chamber Pressure, substantially be kept constant, necessary to operate the each pressure reducing means for each object to be cleaned is eliminated. Therefore, even with this, the solvent is not released into the atmosphere together with the drawn gas every time the pressure in the steam cleaning chamber is reduced, and it is possible to reduce the consumption amount of the solvent and reduce the running cost. Become.

[0016]

【Example】

[Embodiment 1] The following will describe one embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the steam cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment is provided with a steam tank (steam cleaning chamber) 1 having an appropriate amount of a solvent 2 such as IPA stored at the bottom. On the upper surface of the steam tank 1, a lid portion 1a for putting the object to be cleaned 7 into the steam tank 1 is provided.
Is provided, and when the lid 1a is closed, the inside of the steam tank 1 is in a sealed state.

Inside the steam tank 1, there is provided a mounting table 4 on which the object to be cleaned 7 is mounted. This table 4
Is provided above the liquid surface of the liquid pool of the solvent 2 so that the set object 7 is not dipped in the stored solvent 2. A heater (heating means) 3 for heating the stored solvent 2 to generate steam is provided below the steam tank 1.

And, in the upper part of the steam tank 1,
A pump (pressure reducing means) 5 capable of reducing the pressure inside the steam tank 1 is connected via a communication pipe 10. The pump 5 is provided with a storage tank 8 for storing the gas drawn from the inside of the steam tank 1, and the bottom of the storage tank 8 is vaporized through a communication pipe 6 having an opening / closing valve 9. It is connected to the bottom of the tank 1. The storage tank 8 and the communication pipe 6 constitute the solvent recovery means of the present invention. Further, an opening / closing valve 12 was provided on the upper portion of the steam tank 1,
Leak pipe 11 for returning the pressure inside the steam tank 1 to atmospheric pressure
Is provided.

When carrying out the cleaning process using the steam cleaning apparatus having such a configuration, first, the lid 1a of the steam tank 1 is opened and the object to be cleaned 7 is set on the mounting table 4 inside the steam tank 1. Then, the lid 1a is closed. Here, the open / close valve 9 of the communication pipe 6 and the open / close valve 12 of the leak pipe 11 are closed, and the object to be cleaned 7 is previously held at a temperature lower than the vapor phase temperature inside the steam tank 1. ing.

Next, the pump 5 is operated to draw the gas inside the steam tank 1 into the storage tank 8 to lower the pressure inside the steam tank 1. The gas sent to the storage tank 8 is in a state of being confined inside the storage tank 8, so that the pressure in the tank becomes high, and the vapor of the solvent 2 contained in the gas is liquefied to the bottom of the storage tank 8. Collect.

At this time, the heater 3 is also energized to warm the solvent 2 and generate steam. In this case, since the inside of the steam tank 1 is depressurized, the boiling point of the solvent 2 drops, and steam is generated at a temperature lower than the normal boiling point. Therefore, the set temperature of the heater 3 is set lower than that of the heater provided in the conventional steam cleaning device.

The vapor of the solvent 2 condenses and adheres to the surface of the object to be cleaned 7 due to the temperature difference between the vapor phase and the object to be cleaned 7, and dissolves or disperses the dirt adhering to the surface of the object to be cleaned 7. And drops into the liquid pool of solvent 2 below. The same thing is repeated, and the object to be cleaned 7 is gradually cleaned.

After that, when the cleaning of the object to be cleaned 7 is completed,
The opening / closing valve 12 of the leak pipe 11 is opened to send air into the steam tank 1 to return the pressure inside the steam tank 1 to the atmospheric pressure. Then, the lid 1a is opened and the article to be cleaned 7 is taken out. At this time, the opening / closing valve 9 is also opened, and the solvent 2 accumulated in the storage tank 8 is returned to the steam tank 1 through the communication passage 6. Hereinafter, the cleaning process is performed in the same procedure as described above.

As described above, in the steam cleaning apparatus of this embodiment, the pump 5 for drawing the gas inside the steam tank 1 is attached to the steam tank 1, and the operation of the pump 5 allows the inside of the steam tank 1 to be operated. Since the pressure is lowered, the boiling point of the solvent 2 stored inside the steam tank 1 is lowered by depressurization, and steam can be generated at a temperature lower than the normal boiling point. Therefore, the heater temperature of the heater 3 can be lowered, and the risk of fire or the like can be reduced and
The power consumption of the heater 3 is also low, and the cost can be reduced. FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the pressure and the boiling point of IPA used as the solvent 2 in this example.

Further, in the above steam cleaning apparatus, the steam tank 1 is provided with the lid portion 1a for closing the opening for taking in and out the article to be washed 7, and the closed state can be taken by closing the lid portion 1a. As it is, the conventional cleaning tank 5
The vapor of the solvent 2 does not dissipate into the atmosphere through the opening as in the apparatus having the configuration in which the upper part of 1 is opened (see FIG. 6).

Further, in the above embodiment, the pump 5
The gas inside the steam tank 1 drawn by is stored in the storage tank 8, and the solvent 2 that has been liquefied again due to the pressure increase and accumulated at the bottom is returned to the inside of the steam tank 1 through the communication pipe 6. Therefore, the solvent 2 contained in the gas drawn when the pressure inside the steam tank 1 is depressurized can be recovered, and the consumption amount of the solvent 2 can be reduced to reduce the running cost. That is, when the object 7 to be cleaned is put in or taken out of the steam tank 1, the pressure inside the steam tank 1 is returned to the atmospheric pressure. It is necessary to draw gas, and if such a solvent 2 is not able to be collected, a large amount of solvent 2 will be released into the atmosphere together with the drawn gas, and the solvent 2 will be used wastefully. As a result, running costs will increase.

In the above embodiment, the object to be cleaned 7 is held at a temperature lower than the vapor phase temperature in the steam tank 1 in advance. Even if the article to be cleaned 7 is immersed in a water tank and the surface of the article to be cleaned 7 is carried into the inside of the steam tank 1 with the pure water attached, the adhered pure water and the solvent 2 are replaced. Good.

[Embodiment 2] The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.
For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as the members shown in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the steam cleaning apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a front chamber 13 and a rear chamber 14 are adjacent to each other with a steam tank 1'in between. The front chamber 13 and the steam tank 1 ′, and the steam tank 1 ′ and the rear chamber 14 are connected to each other via the open / close doors 15 and 16, and the front chamber 13 and the steam tank 1 are communicated with each other by a transporting means (not shown). 'To the rear chamber 14 through the cleaning object 7
Can be transported.

The antechamber 13 is a room for accommodating the object 7 to be cleaned, which is sent to the steam tank 1 ', and has a lid 13a for accommodating the object 7 to be cleaned. .
Further, the rear chamber 14 is a room in which the cleaned object 7 sent from the steam tank 1 ′ is accommodated, and a lid portion 14 a for ejecting the cleaned object 7 is provided on the upper surface.

As described above, in the steam tank 1'of the present embodiment, since the object 7 to be cleaned is put in and taken out of the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14, the lid portion 1 in the steam tank 1 of the above embodiment is carried out.
A is not provided, and the communication pipe 10 is connected to the upper surface. The other parts have a structure substantially the same as that of the steam tank 1.

Inside the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14, the above-mentioned mounting tables 4 are provided, respectively, and the storage space 13 for storing the liquefied solvent 2 in the lower part thereof.
b and 14b are provided respectively. These storage spaces 13b and 14b are connected to the lower part of the steam tank 1'through a communication pipe (not shown), and the solvent 2 accumulated in the storage spaces 13b and 14b is connected to the communication pipe by a steam tank 1 '.
A pump (not shown) is provided for returning to the back. Further, the pumps 5 are connected to the upper surfaces of the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 via communication pipes 17 and 18, respectively, and the pressure of the pump 5 can be reduced by the operation of the pumps 5.
Here, the pump 5 can individually adjust the indoor pressures of the steam tank 1 ′, the front chamber 13, and the rear chamber 14. The communication pipes 17 and 18 are connected to the open / close valve 20.
Are connected to each other via a communication pipe 19 having a. Further, leak pipes 21 and 23 having opening / closing valves 22 and 24 for returning the insides of the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 to the atmospheric pressure are provided above the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14, respectively. There is.

A procedure for carrying out the cleaning process using the steam cleaning apparatus having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

First, the lid 13a is opened, the object to be cleaned 7a is set on the mounting table 4 inside the front chamber 13, and the lid 13a is closed (FIG. 4 (a)). Here, each open / close door 15/16
Is closed, the steam tank 1 ′ and the rear chamber 14 are in a sealed state, the steam tank 1 ′ is depressurized by the operation of the pump 5, and the rear chamber 14 is maintained at the atmospheric pressure. And
The heater 2 is also energized, the solvent 2 stored in the steam tank 1'boils at a low boiling point under reduced pressure, and the steam tank 1 '
The interior is already full of steam. Further, the object to be cleaned 7a is held in advance at a temperature lower than the vapor phase temperature inside the steam tank 1 ', as in the above embodiment. The open / close valve 9 of the communication pipe 6, the open / close valves 12, 22, 24 of the leak pipes 11, 21, 23, and the open / close valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 are closed (see FIG. 1).

Next, the pump 5 is operated to draw the gas inside the front chamber 13 to lower the pressure inside the front chamber 13. Anteroom 13
When the internal pressure drops to the same level as in the steam tank 1 ', the opening / closing door 15 is opened, and the object to be cleaned 7a is sent to the steam tank 1'by the transporting means (FIG. 4 (b)). And open / close door 1
5 is closed, and the object to be cleaned 7a is cleaned with the vapor of the solvent 2 as in the above embodiment. At the same time, the opening / closing valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 connecting the communication pipes 17 and 18 is opened to move air from the inside of the rear chamber 14 having a high pressure to the anterior chamber 13 of a low pressure, so that the insides of the anterior chamber 13 and the posterior chamber 14 are Pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure,
At the same time, the pressure inside the steam tank 1'is set to a moderate level of reduced pressure (Fig. 4 (c)). Thereafter, the opening / closing valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 is closed, the pump 5 is operated, and the pressure inside the rear chamber 14 is reduced to the same level as that of the steam tank 1 ′. In this case, since the pressure inside the rear chamber 14 has already dropped to a medium level, it is possible to lower the pressure to the same level as that of the steam tank 1 ′ by a slight pull of the pump 5. On the other hand, the opening / closing valve 24 of the leak pipe 23 is opened, and the front chamber 13 that has sent out the cleaning object 7a.
The internal pressure is returned to atmospheric pressure (FIG. 4 (d)).

When the cleaning of the object 7a to be cleaned is completed, the open / close door 16 is opened, the object 7a to be cleaned is sent to the rear chamber 14 by the transport means, and the door open / close 16 is closed. On the other hand, the antechamber 13
Then, the next item to be cleaned 7b is carried in (FIG. 4 (e)).

Next, the opening / closing valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 connecting the communication pipes 17 and 18 is opened to open the front chamber 13 with high pressure.
Air is moved from the inside to the lower rear chamber 14 to bring the pressure inside the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 to a moderately reduced pressure state (FIG. 4).
(F)). Thereafter, the opening / closing valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 is closed, the pump 5 is operated, and the pressure inside the front chamber 13 is lowered to the same level as that of the steam tank 1 ′. In this case, since the pressure has already dropped to the middle level, the pressure can be lowered to the same level as that of the steam tank 1'by a slight pulling by the pump 5. When the pressure in the front chamber 13 drops to the same level as in the steam tank 1 ', the object to be cleaned 7b is sent to the steam tank 1'. On the other hand, the opening / closing valve 22 of the leak pipe 21 is opened to return the pressure inside the rear chamber 14 to the atmospheric pressure, the lid portion 14a is opened, and the article to be cleaned 7a is taken out (FIG. 5A).

Then, the object to be cleaned 7b is steam-cleaned in the same manner as described above. At the same time, the opening / closing valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 connecting the communication pipes 17 and 18 is opened to open the rear chamber 1 having a high pressure.
The air is moved from the inside of the chamber 4 to the lower front chamber 13 to bring the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 into a moderately decompressed state (FIG. 5 (b)).
After this, the opening / closing valve 20 of the communication pipe 19 is closed, and the pump 5
Is activated to lower the pressure inside the rear chamber 14 to the same level as in the steam tank 1 ′. In this case as well, the pressure has already dropped to a medium level, so with a slight pull of the pump 5, the steam tank 1 '
It can be lowered to the same level as (Fig. 5 (c)). If the pressure in the rear chamber 14 has dropped to the same level as in the steam tank 1 ′, the object to be cleaned 7 b is sent to the rear chamber 14 as described above.
On the other hand, the opening / closing valve 24 of the leak pipe 23 is opened, and the front chamber 1
The pressure inside 3 is returned to atmospheric pressure, the lid 13a is opened, and the next object to be cleaned 7c is carried in (FIG. 5 (d)). After this, exactly the same processing as in the case of FIG.
In (e), the transition and the same process are repeated, and the plurality of objects to be cleaned 7 ... Are sequentially cleaned.

On the other hand, when opening / closing the open / close doors 15 and 16,
The vapor of the solvent 2 leaking into the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 returns to a liquid when the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 are returned to the atmospheric pressure,
Storage space 13b provided in front chamber 13 and rear chamber 14
It is accumulated in 14b. Then, when a certain amount of the solvent 2 is accumulated, it is returned to the steam tank 1 ′ using a pump or the like. Further, the vapor of the solvent 2 contained in the gas drawn by the pump 5 is returned to the vapor tank 1 ′ by opening the opening / closing valve 9 of the communication pipe 6 as in the above-described embodiment.

As described above, in the steam cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, the front chamber 13 for containing the object to be cleaned 7 before being carried into the steam tank 1'and the object discharged from the steam tank 1 '. A rear chamber 14 for accommodating the cleaning product 7 is provided, and the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 are in communication with the steam tank 1 ′ through the open / close doors 15 and 16, respectively, and the operation of the pump 5 is performed. Since the pressure can be adjusted independently by means of, the cleaning target 7 is once put in the front chamber 13 at the time of cleaning, the pressure in the chamber is lowered to the same level as that of the steam tank 1 ', and then the open / close door 15 is opened to steam. After carrying in the tank 1 ', the opening / closing doorbill 15 is closed for cleaning, and after the cleaning, the opening / closing doorbill 16 is opened and the object to be cleaned 7 is lowered in advance to the same degree as the steam tank 1'to the rear chamber 14. After that, the pressure in the rear chamber 14 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and the cleaning target 7 is taken out. Rukoto in, 'it is possible to keep the pressure almost constant, every time for each object to be cleaned 7 vapor reservoir 1' steam tank 1 is not necessary to draw the gas. Therefore, a large amount of the solvent 2 is not released into the atmosphere together with the drawn gas every time the pressure in the steam tank 1'is reduced, and it is possible to reduce the consumption amount of the solvent 2 and reduce the running cost. Become.

Further, the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 are connected by a communication pipe 17
By connecting 18 and 19 so as to be able to communicate with each other, the pressure difference between the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 is used to reduce the pressure in the chamber to be reduced. Therefore, the air drawing operation by the pump 5 can be performed in a short time, is efficient, and can continuously perform the processing.

Further, when the opening / closing doors 15 and 16 are opened and closed, the liquefied vapor of the solvent 2 leaking into the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14 is stored in the storage space 13b provided in the front chamber 13 and the rear chamber 14, respectively.・ When it is accumulated in 14b and a certain amount is accumulated, it is returned to the steam tank 1'by using a pump or the like, which also reduces the consumption of the solvent 2 and the running cost. Can be reduced.

[0044]

As described above, the steam cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention accommodates the object to be cleaned and has a bottom portion in which the solvent can be stored in the sealable steam cleaning chamber and the steam cleaning chamber. The heating means for heating the solvent to generate steam and the depressurizing means for depressurizing the inside of the steam cleaning chamber are provided, and the object to be cleaned is steam cleaned using the solvent vapor.

Therefore, the set temperature of the heating means can be made lower than that of the conventional structure that generates steam under the atmospheric pressure, and the risk of fire or the like can be reduced and the safety can be improved. Moreover, since the set temperature at the time of heating the solvent can be lowered, the power consumption can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

The steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention comprises:
As described above, in the steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, the solvent cleaning means is provided for recovering the solvent contained in the gas drawn by the pressure reducing means from the steam cleaning chamber to reduce the pressure in the steam cleaning chamber. Is.

Therefore, when decompressing the inside of the steam cleaning chamber, the solvent contained in the gas drawn by the decompression means can be recovered, the consumption amount of the solvent can be reduced, and the running cost can be reduced. There is an effect that becomes.

The steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention comprises:
As described above, in the steam cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, the pressure can be adjusted independently and the steam cleaning chamber is brought into the steam cleaning chamber which is in communication with each of the steam cleaning chambers through the opening / closing means. This is a configuration including a front chamber for accommodating the object to be cleaned before being cleaned and a rear chamber for accommodating the object to be cleaned carried out from the steam cleaning chamber.

As a result, the pressure in the steam cleaning chamber can be kept substantially constant, and it is not necessary to operate the decompression means every time for each object to be cleaned. Therefore, every time the solvent is depressurized in the steam cleaning chamber, the solvent is not released into the atmosphere together with the drawn gas, and it is possible to reduce the consumption amount of the solvent and reduce the running cost. Play.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 I used as a solvent in the above vapor cleaning device
It is a graph which shows the relationship between the boiling point of PA and pressure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a steam cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a cleaning process in the steam cleaning apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a cleaning process in the steam cleaning apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional steam cleaning apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 steam tank (steam cleaning room) 1'steam tank (steam cleaning room) 2 solvent 3 heater (heating means) 5 pump (decompression means) 6 communication pipe (solvent recovery means) 7 object to be cleaned 8 storage tank (solvent recovery) Means) 13 front chamber 14 rear chamber 15 open / close door (open / close means) 16 open / close door (open / close means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vapor cleaning chamber which accommodates an object to be cleaned and has a bottom portion in which a solvent is stored, a heating means for heating the solvent stored in the vapor cleaning chamber to generate vapor, and a vapor cleaning chamber. A vapor cleaning apparatus comprising: a decompression unit for decompressing, and vapor-cleaning an object to be cleaned by using vapor of a solvent. 2. The solvent recovery means for recovering the solvent contained in the gas drawn by the decompression means from the vapor cleaning chamber in order to reduce the pressure inside the vapor cleaning chamber.
The steam cleaning device described. 3. The pressure can be adjusted independently of each other, and each is communicated with the steam cleaning chamber via each opening / closing means.
The front chamber for accommodating the object to be cleaned before being carried into the steam cleaning chamber, and the rear chamber for accommodating the object to be cleaned carried out from the steam cleaning chamber. Steam cleaning device.