Gas dissolved water producing apparatus and method thereof and ultrasonic cleaning equipment and method thereof

Abstract

A gas dissolved water producing apparatus includes a gas dissolving section, a gas channel for guiding a gas into the dissolving section, a first water channel for guiding water into the dissolving section, a gas dissolved water discharge channel, and a second water channel for guiding the water without passing through the dissolving section. The second water channel joins the gas dissolved water discharge channel to control the solution gas dissolved in the gas dissolved water can be controlled to a prescribed level of concentration.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an aqueous solution producing apparatus, in which the aqueous solution contains a gas dissolved therein, (hereafter referred to as gas dissolved water producing apparatus) and a method thereof. In particular, the invention relates to a gas dissolved water producing apparatus and a method of producing a gas dissolved water used in precision machineries, electronic industries and medical and food industries. BACKGROUND OF ART [0002] As shown in FIG. 10, in a prior art gas dissolved water producing apparatus 201, a gas to be dissolved (hereafter referred to as solution gas) 103 is typically introduced into an outer side of a hollow fiber membrane 102 incorporated in a processing tank 111, and the gas is then dissolved through the hollow fiber membrane 102 into water to be treated 104 introduced into an inner side of the hollow fiber membrane 102, so as to produce a gas dissolved water 105. [0003] The water to be treated 104 is fed...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] In the configuration described above, the apparatus includes the solution gas supply channel 12, the first supply channel for the water to be treated 13, the second supply channel for the water to be treated 15, and the gas dissolved water discharge channel 14, in which the second supply channel for the water to be treated 15 joins the gas dissolved water discharge channel 14. Thus, the solution gas dissolved in the gas dissolved water 5 can be diluted to a prescribed level of concentration with the water to be treated 4 which has been guided through the second supply channel for the water to be treated 15. As a result, the apparatus is able to produce a gas dissolved water 31 having a concentration of dissolved solution gas not greater than a saturated concentration, both rapidly and efficiently.

[0011] With this configuration, since the second supply channel for the water to be treated 15 branches-off from the first supply channel for the water to be treated 13 to form the bypass channel 15 for bypassing the dissolving section 11, it is possible to simplify the channel configuration.

[0015] By the configuration described above, since the apparatus comprises either the first flow rate regulating means 23 or the second flow rate regulating means 24, the dissolved solution gas concentration measuring means 26, and the second control means 28, the second control means 28 controls either the first flow rate regulating means 23 or the second flow rate regulating means 24 based on a dissolved solution gas concentration measured by the dissolved solution gas concentration measuring means 26 so that a dissolved solution gas concentration can be controlled to a prescribed level. Thus, the apparatus can produce the gas dissolved water 31 having a dissolved solution gas concentration not greater than a saturated concentration both rapidly and efficiently. It is to be understood that the gas dissolved water producing apparatus 1 may comprise both of the means 23, 24 (the first flow rate regulating means 23 and the second flow rate regulating means 24) and in such a case both of means 23 and 24 can be controlled in such a way that the dissolved solution gas concentration, as measured, can be controlled to a prescribed level.

[0019] With such a configuration, since the apparatus includes the gas dissolved water producing apparatus 1, and the ultrasonic wave transmitting device 157, and ultrasonic energy is imparted to the gas dissolved water 31, which has been produced by the gas dissolved water producing apparatus 1, when the workpiece to be cleaned W1 is to be cleaned with the gas dissolved water 31, the gas dissolved water 31 to which ultrasonic energy has been imparted can be used as a cleaning liquid, and the gas dissolved water 31 having a concentration controlled to the saturated concentration is suitable for use as a cleaning liquid, whereby the workpiece to be cleaned W1 can be more effectively cleaned. To accomplish the object described above, there is provided an ultrasonic cleaning method comprising: a producing step of producing the gas dissolved water according to the gas dissolved water producing method described above; an energy imparting process for imparting the ultrasonic energy to the gas dissolved water which has been produced by the producing process; and a cleaning process for cleaning the workpiece to be cleaned, by using the gas dissolved water to which the ultrasonic energy has been imparted in the energy imparting process, as the cleaning water.

Problems solved by technology

However, disadvantageously, it takes a long time for pressure in the outer side of the hollow fiber membrane to reach the above-described pressure which is lower than ambient pressure.

Besides, there is also a fear that a gas other than the targeted solution gas may become mixed with the solution gas under a pressure lower than ambient pressure.

Images