JPH0143574B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus configured to clean electronic parts such as semiconductors, precision mechanical parts, etc. in an ultrasonic bath or a steam bath using an organic solvent in a high technology industry. This invention relates to an ultrasonic/distillation type solvent treatment device for cleaning dirty solvents. Conventional technology As a solvent processing device, a means for heating the solvent is provided at the bottom of a processing tank in which the solvent is stored, and a cooling means for condensing the vaporized solvent is provided at the top of the processing tank. A method of cleaning by distilling is used. Recently, as shown in FIG. 6, in a solvent treatment tank 2 composed of a casing 1, a refrigeration cycle condenser 4 is placed at the bottom of the treatment tank 2, and a refrigeration cycle condenser 4 is placed above the treatment tank 2. A heat pump type processing device has been put into practical use, in which an evaporator 6 is arranged to form a refrigeration cycle that is cyclically connected to a compressor 10, a condenser 4, an expansion valve 8, and an evaporator. In such a device, the solvent is heated using the latent heat generated when the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 10 is condensed, and the refrigerant is cooled and liquefied by exchanging heat between the solvent and the refrigerant. The liquefied refrigerant flows into the evaporator 6 of the refrigeration cycle, where the latent heat of evaporation cools the vaporized solvent through heat exchange and condenses it. The condensed solvent is recovered by a recovery tank 12 provided near the evaporator 6, becomes a clean solvent, and is sent to a cleaning tank for cleaning equipment such as semiconductors. Problems to be Solved by the Invention This conventional solvent treatment device heats the solvent in the condenser of the refrigeration cycle and condenses it in the evaporator, so it is highly energy efficient and practical during cleaning. . However, even after the work is finished and the machine is stopped, the solvent in the processing tank is relatively hot, so the solvent continues to evaporate, but since the refrigerant is not flowing to the evaporator, the evaporated solvent may be released outside the machine. There are some inconveniences. In order to prevent solvent vapor from evaporating outside the machine, it is necessary to cool the solvent after cleaning is completed, but if a separate refrigeration cycle evaporator for cooling is placed at the bottom of the storage tank, the entire machine will be cooled. There are some disadvantages when the size increases. Therefore, in view of the drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of distilling and cooling a solvent in a storage tank in one refrigeration cycle. Means for Solving the Problems In other words, the present invention is a refrigerating type in which a condenser for heating the solvent is arranged at the bottom of a processing tank made of a casing, and an evaporator for condensing the vaporized solvent is arranged at the top of the processing tank. In the heat pump, the heat pump includes an auxiliary evaporator and an auxiliary condenser installed in parallel between the condenser and the evaporator, and the auxiliary evaporator is directly connected to the compressor side, and there is A distillation/recovery circuit that circulates through the compressor, condenser, auxiliary condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator via a valve mechanism installed in This objective is achieved by a solvent treatment device configured to switch between a circuit and a cooling/cold storage circuit that circulates through a compressor, an auxiliary condenser, an auxiliary evaporator, an expansion valve, and a condenser. Embodiment The present invention will be explained in detail below according to an embodiment shown in the drawings. Figure 1 is a Mollier diagram for the refrigerant R-22, and the latent heat of condensation of the refrigerant released from the condenser for heating is normally 130 It can be around %. However, in the case of a heat pump, heat must be taken in from the evaporator, and furthermore, each part works in opposition to each other when switching to each stroke, making it difficult to achieve thermal balance. In FIG. 2, 20 is a compressor of the refrigeration cycle, and the refrigerant inlet side of the compressor 20 is connected to an accumulator 22, and the refrigerant outlet side is connected to a four-way valve 24. The refrigerant inlet of the accumulator 22 is connected to the four-way valve 24.
is connected to. 26 is a condenser serving as a heating coil, and its refrigerant inlet is connected to the four-way valve 24. The four-way valve 24 allows communication between the refrigerant inlet of the compressor 20 and the condenser 26 and between the accumulator 22 and the evaporator 28, or between the accumulator 22 and the condenser 26 and between the compressor 20 and the evaporator 28. It communicates. The other part of the condenser 26 is connected to the evaporator 28 via a check valve 30, a receiver 32, a dryer 34, a check valve 36, an auxiliary condenser 38, a solenoid valve 40, and an expansion valve 42, and further connected to the evaporator 28. 28 is check valve 4
It is connected to a four-way valve via 4. A four-way valve 24 is connected between the auxiliary condenser 38 and the solenoid valve 40.
The check valves 44 and 46 communicate with each other via a check valve 46. Between the four-way valve 24 and the check valve 44 and the dryer 34.
A solenoid valve 48 , an expansion valve 50 , and an auxiliary evaporator 52 are connected in series between the check valves 36 . Between the auxiliary condenser 38 and the check valve 36 and the auxiliary evaporator 5
2 and the solenoid valve 50 are connected via the solenoid valve 54. Also, between the auxiliary evaporator 52 and the solenoid valve 50 and the check valve 3
0 and the receiver 32 are connected via a check valve 56, and between the dryer 34 and the check valve 36 and the check valve 3.
0 and the condenser 26 are connected to an expansion valve 58. The directionality of each check valve 30, 36, 44, 46, 56 is as shown by the arrow in the figure. The auxiliary evaporator 52 and the auxiliary condenser 38 are arranged in parallel with each other and are ventilated by a ventilation fan 60. The solenoid valves 40, 48, 54 and the ventilation fan 6
0 is controlled by a control device (not shown) and operates as shown in Table 1.

[Table] The condenser 26 of the refrigeration cycle configured as described above is placed at the bottom of the processing tank 64 made up of the casing 62, and the evaporator 28 is placed above. Reference numeral 66 is a recovery tank provided around the evaporator to recover the condensed solvent. In addition, 68 is a sensor provided at the bottom of the vapor layer near the evaporator 28, 70 is a sensor provided at the top of the vapor layer, and 72 is a thermostat provided at the bottom of the processing tank 64. , the control device 74 controls the ventilation fan 6 based on the detection results from these detection means.
0 and the operation of the compressor 20. In the refrigerating heat pump of the solvent processing apparatus according to the present invention with the above-described configuration, the startup, heating,
Distillation/recovery, cooling/cold storage, and refrigerant circulation circuit switch to three stages. Each stage will be explained below. a. Startup/Heating In the startup process, the solvent solution is heated by heat pump action, but for this purpose thermal energy must be taken in from another source. Therefore, the solenoid valves 40, 48, and 54 are opened and closed as shown in the heating process in Table 1, and the refrigerant circulation circuit is connected to the compressor 20, condenser 26, expansion valve 50, and auxiliary evaporator 52 so that the refrigerant circulates. (Figure 3). Then, the refrigerant evaporated by the auxiliary evaporator 52 having the ventilation fan 60 draws up heat from the surrounding air. This is because the boiling point of the solvent is relatively high, so unless the heat transfer area of the evaporator is reduced, overload operation will occur.
Evaporation is performed using an auxiliary evaporator 52 that has an area about half that of a normal one. At this time, the auxiliary condenser 38 and the evaporator 28 are closed by the solenoid valves 40 and 54 and the check valves 44 and 46. The refrigerant liquefied in the condenser 26 is transferred to the auxiliary evaporator 5.
When vaporizing in step 2, the attached ventilation fan 60 takes in heat energy from the surrounding air and supplies it to the compressor 2.
Return to 0. The high-pressure high-temperature refrigerant sent out from the compressor 20 heats and evaporates the solvent in the condenser 26, and the refrigerant is condensed and liquefied, passes through the receiver 32, and returns to the auxiliary evaporator 52 again. Heat to boil. As a result, the solvent vapor layer, which is heavier than air, gradually pushes up the air layer and rises. b Distillation/Recovery When the solvent vapor layer reaches the lower sensor 68,
Upon sensing the solvent saturated vapor, the solenoid valves 48 and 54 are closed as shown in the distillation process in Table 1, and when the solenoid valve 40 is opened, the auxiliary evaporator 52 is closed, and the auxiliary condenser 38 and evaporator are closed. The compressor 20, the condenser 26, the auxiliary condenser 38, and the expansion valve 4 are opened.
2. Switch to a circuit that circulates with the evaporator 28 (Fig. 4). The refrigerant liquefied in the condenser 26 is transferred to the auxiliary condenser 3.
8, the solvent vapor is evaporated as it passes through the expansion valve 42 and the evaporator 28, and the solvent vapor is cooled and condensed and recovered. In this way heating energy is transferred to the evaporator 28
By utilizing the latent heat generated when solvent vapor condenses in
A condenser 26 heats and evaporates the solvent. The air volume of the ventilation fan 60 is adjustable, and the air volume is set so that when the sensor 70 installed at the upper limit of the vapor layer detects solvent vapor, sufficient heat is radiated to prevent the solvent vapor from evaporating. To increase. However, the amount of heat released from the auxiliary condenser 38 depends on the refrigerating capacity.
The heat transfer area may be around 30%, and the heat transfer area can be correspondingly small, and the auxiliary evaporator 5
The heat transfer area is equivalent to 2. As described above, the vapor layer is maintained between the sensor 68 and the sensor 70, and wasteful evaporation of the solvent can be prevented. Furthermore, in the apparatus of this embodiment, each step from heating to distillation can be switched extremely smoothly. The condenser 26 works as a condenser both during heating and distillation, but during heating the auxiliary evaporator 5
The refrigerant in No. 2 is in a vaporized state, and the parallel auxiliary condenser 38 is closed by the solenoid valves 40 and 54 and the check valve 46, so the inside is filled with high-pressure liquefied refrigerant. Therefore, when switching to the distillation recovery process, the solenoid valve 48 at the inlet of the auxiliary evaporator 52 closes and the solenoid valve 40 opens, so that the liquefied refrigerant accumulated in the auxiliary condenser 38 is
Evaporation begins immediately and a cooling effect is performed. At that time, the terminal port of the auxiliary evaporator is connected to the suction side of the compressor, so it is still in a gaseous state, and the conditions of the circulating refrigerant in the circuit are almost the same as during the heating stroke, so the heating power at the time of stroke switching is There are very few fluctuations. c. Cooling/Cold Storage After the distillation process is completed, as shown in the cooling process in Table 1, the solenoid valves 40 and 48 are closed, the solenoid valve 54 is opened, and the four-way valve 24 is switched in the opposite direction, and the compressor 20, Auxiliary evaporator 52/auxiliary condenser 3
8, the expansion valve 58, and the condenser 26 (as an evaporator) to circulate (Fig. 5). The evaporator 28 is closed by the check valve 44 and the solenoid valve 40, and the auxiliary evaporator 52 and the auxiliary condenser 38 are connected in parallel to function as an integrated condenser. It has double the capacity of each auxiliary heat exchanger (auxiliary evaporator, etc.) and works as a condenser with sufficient heat transfer area to cool high-temperature solvent liquids, allowing efficient cooling operation. . In addition, the solenoid valve 5 at the gathering part of both heat exchangers 38 and 52
4 and the check valve 36 may be omitted since they do not affect the performance much even if they are not provided. When the solvent is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the thermostat 72 detects this and stops the compressor 20 of the refrigeration cycle. Effects As described above, the solvent processing device according to the present invention has a simple circuit configuration with a small number of additional circuit components, making it possible to perform each of the heating, distillation, and cooling steps in one refrigeration cycle. , passenger journeys can be switched without causing thermal imbalance, and the device can be downsized. In addition, the heat source for heating the solvent is taken in from the outside air using a heat pump, and the latent heat generated when the solvent vapor condenses is circulated and reused, so it consumes less power than conventional equipment. Furthermore, with conventional devices, it was not possible to cool and heat the solvent in the same refrigeration cycle, but in the present invention, an auxiliary heat exchanger is installed in parallel and the flow of refrigerant is switched via a valve mechanism. The heating, distillation, and cooling steps can be performed in the same refrigeration cycle.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a Mollier diagram of refrigerant R-22, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the outline of the device, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic diagram of the apparatus showing the heating process, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus showing the distillation process, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus showing the cooling process, and Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus showing the prior art. be. 1,62...Casing, 2,64...Treatment tank, 4
...Condenser, 6...Evaporator, 8...Expansion valve, 10...Compressor, 12,66...Recovery tank, 20...Compressor, 22...
Accumulator, 24...four-way valve, 26...condenser,
28... Evaporator, 30, 36, 44, 46, 56...
Check valve, 32...Receiver, 34...Dryer, 3
8... Auxiliary condenser, 40, 48, 54... Solenoid valve, 4
2, 50, 58...expansion valve, 52...auxiliary evaporator, 6
0... Ventilation fan, 68, 70... Sensor, 72... Thermostat, 74... Control device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerating heat pump in which a condenser for heating a solvent is disposed at the bottom of a processing tank consisting of a casing, and an evaporator for condensing vapor solvent at the top of the processing tank, wherein the heat pump is configured to connect the condenser and the evaporator. An auxiliary evaporator and an auxiliary condenser are installed in parallel between the heat pump and the auxiliary evaporator is connected directly to the compressor. A distillation/recovery circuit that circulates through the evaporator, auxiliary condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator; a startup/heating circuit that circulates through the compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and auxiliary evaporator; and a compressor, auxiliary condenser, and auxiliary evaporator. A solvent processing device characterized by being configured to switch to a cooling/cold storage circuit that circulates through a container, an expansion valve, and a condenser.