Cleaning device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10486202-B2
Application number	US-201615541834-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2016
Priority date	Mar 19, 2015
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

A cleaning device is configured to include a first cleaning tank that holds water to which a small amount of an additive is added as a first cleaning fluid, a second cleaning tank that holds water, a water-based cleaning agent, an alkaline cleaning fluid, or a hydrophilic organic solvent as a second cleaning fluid, a first microscopic air bubble generation device, a first circulating pump, an ultrasonic wave emitting device, and a carrier device. Hydrophobic oil is removed by a cleaning target being exposed to the first cleaning fluid including microscopic air bubbles sprayed from a nozzle in an interior of the first cleaning tank, after which hydrophilic oil is removed by ultrasonic cleaning in the second cleaning tank.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cleaning device, comprising:
a first cleaning tank that holds a first cleaning fluid;
a first microscopic air bubble generation device that generates microscopic air bubbles in the first cleaning fluid;
a first circulating pump that causes the first cleaning fluid to circulate and supplies the first cleaning fluid including microscopic air bubbles to the first cleaning tank;
a second cleaning tank that holds a second cleaning fluid;
an ultrasonic wave emitting device that irradiates an interior of the second cleaning tank with an ultrasonic wave;
a carrier device that holds a cleaning target, conveys the cleaning target to the first cleaning tank, and subsequently continues by conveying the cleaning target to the second cleaning tank;
a first collecting tank that holds the first cleaning fluid caused to overflow from a wall face of at least one portion of the first cleaning tank;
a first supply regulation unit that regulates an amount of the first cleaning fluid supplied from the first cleaning tank to the first microscopic air bubble generation device; and
a second supply regulation unit that regulates an amount of the first cleaning fluid supplied from the first collecting tank to the first microscopic air bubble generation device, wherein
water, to which an additive that prevents air bubble coalescence is added, is used as the first cleaning fluid, one of water, a water-based cleaning agent, an alkaline cleaning fluid, or a hydrophilic organic solvent is used as the second cleaning fluid, the first cleaning tank has a partitioning plate that divides a surface of the first cleaning fluid held in an interior of the first cleaning tank into two regions, those being a cleaning target introduction region into which the cleaning target is introduced and a cleaning target removal region from which the cleaning target is removed, the partitioning plate is installed leaving a gap with a bottom portion of the first cleaning tank through which the cleaning target can pass, the first circulating pump supplies the first cleaning fluid including microscopic air bubbles to the first cleaning tank, and the carrier device introduces the cleaning target from the cleaning target introduction region of the first cleaning tank, causes the cleaning target to pass below the partitioning plate, and removes the cleaning target from the cleaning target removal region.

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the first circulating pump supplies the first cleaning fluid including microscopic air bubbles to a bottom portion of the cleaning target introduction region in the first cleaning tank.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , comprising a first collecting groove that collects the first cleaning fluid caused to overflow from a wall face of at least one portion of the first cleaning tank.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the first circulating pump supplies the first cleaning fluid held in the first cleaning tank and the first cleaning fluid held in the first collecting tank to the first cleaning tank via the first microscopic air bubble generation device.

5. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , comprising:
a second collecting tank that holds the second cleaning fluid caused to overflow from a wall face of at least one portion of the second cleaning tank;
a second microscopic air bubble generation device that generates microscopic air bubbles in the second cleaning fluid; and
a second circulating pump that causes the second cleaning fluid to circulate.

6. The cleaning device according to claim 5 , comprising a second collecting groove that collects the second cleaning fluid caused to overflow from a wall face of at least one portion of the second cleaning tank.

7. The cleaning device according to claim 5 , wherein the second circulating pump supplies the second cleaning fluid held in the second collecting tank to the second cleaning tank, and returns the second cleaning fluid held in the second collecting tank to the second collecting tank via the second microscopic air bubble generation device.

8. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein a rust-preventive agent is added to either or both of the first cleaning fluid and second cleaning fluid.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp
• Mitsubishi Electric Corporaion

Inventors

• Shibata Yohei
• Masuda Akio

Classifications

• B08B3/102

  with means for agitating the liquid (by agitating the container B08B3/042, B08B3/044, B08B3/045, B08B3/06) · CPC title

• B08B3/10

  with additional treatment of the liquid or of the object being cleaned, e.g. by heat, by electricity or by vibration · CPC title

• B08B3/14

  Removing waste, e.g. labels, from cleaning liquid · CPC title

• C23G3/00

  Apparatus for cleaning or pickling metallic material (with organic solvents C23G5/04) · CPC title

• B08B3/022

  Cleaning travelling work (B08B3/042 takes precedence) · CPC title