Degreasing apparatus

Abstract

To miniaturize the whole of a degreasing apparatus while securing its degreasing ability.SOLUTION: A degreasing apparatus comprises: a heating furnace 1 to be stored with a treatment object; a heater 2 which is installed in the heating furnace 1; a fan unit 3 for circulating a gas in the heating furnace; and a super-heated vapor generator for generating super-heated vapor and feeding the same into the heating furnace 1, and is configured so that a part or the whole of the super-heated vapor released from a release hole 5a for the super-heated vapor in the heating furnace 1 hits the heater 2 via the fan unit, and thereafter hits the treatment object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a degreasing device that performs a degreasing process on a processing object such as a ceramic material. [Background technology]

[0002] This type of degreasing device heats the material to be treated in a heating furnace, and discharges decomposition gases and the like released from the material together with the degreasing gas to the outside, as shown in Patent Document 1. Recently, it has been considered to use superheated steam as the degreasing gas, and for this reason, devices equipped with a superheated steam generator that supplies superheated steam to the heating furnace have been developed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-43704 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventionally used superheated steam generators supply a large volume of high-temperature superheated steam sufficient for degreasing to the heating furnace, which requires a large volume, resulting in an increase in the size of the entire equipment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and its main intended objective is to reduce the size of the superheated steam generator while maintaining degreasing capacity, and ultimately to reduce the size of the entire degreasing device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In other words, the degreasing device of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a heating furnace in which the object to be treated is housed, a heater installed in the heating furnace, and a superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam and supplies it into the heating furnace, and is configured so that part or all of the superheated steam released from the superheated steam outlet in the heating furnace hits the heater and then hits the object to be treated.

[0007] In addition, the degreasing device according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a heating furnace in which the object to be treated is housed, a heater installed in the heating furnace, and a superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam and supplies it into the heating furnace, and is configured so that the superheated steam output from the superheated steam generator is heated by the heater and then released into the heating furnace. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the above configuration, even if the temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator is set lower than the set temperature (first set temperature) required for degreasing the object to be treated, the superheated steam is heated by the heater in the heating furnace before hitting the object to be treated, so the temperature of the superheated steam when hitting the object to be treated can be the first set temperature. Therefore, the power of the superheated steam generator can be reduced, which can promote miniaturization and cost reduction of the superheated steam generator, and ultimately miniaturization and cost reduction of the degreasing device.

[0009] Conversely, since it is possible to supply superheated steam at a temperature higher than the maximum temperature that can be generated by the superheated steam generator to the object to be treated, it is also possible to increase the temperature range of the degreasing treatment compared to conventional methods. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a degreasing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal structure of the heating furnace in the embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the internal structure of the heating furnace in the same embodiment when the upper wall is removed, and is an explanatory diagram for explaining the flow of degreasing gas within the heating furnace when viewed from above. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the internal structure of the heating furnace in the embodiment when the front wall is removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A degreasing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the degreasing apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes a heating furnace 1 in which the object to be treated is housed, a heater 2 that heats the internal space of the heating furnace 1, a fan unit 3 that circulates gas within the heating furnace 1, a superheated steam generator 4 that generates superheated steam, a superheated steam supply pipe 5 that leads superheated steam from the superheated steam generator 4 into the heating furnace 1, and a controller 6.

[0013] Each part will be described in detail.

[0014] The heating furnace 1 is, for example, a roughly rectangular parallelepiped metal furnace as shown in Figures 2 to 4. Of the walls constituting the heating furnace 1, the front wall is provided with an opening / closing door 161 (shown in Figure 1) for putting in and taking out the object to be treated.

[0015] For ease of explanation, hereinafter, the direction perpendicular to the opening / closing door 161 will be referred to as the front-to-rear direction, with the opening / closing door 161 side defined as the front side and the opposite side defined as the rear side. Also, the horizontal direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction will be referred to as the left-to-right direction, and the vertical direction will be referred to as the up-down direction.

[0016] The heater 2 is a rod type heater arranged inside the heating furnace 1, and in this embodiment, is formed to have a wave shape. The heaters 2 having such a shape are arranged in a zigzag pattern over almost the entire surface of each of the inner surfaces 11a to 14a of the upper, lower, left, and right walls 11 to 14 of the heating furnace 1.

[0017] The fan unit 3 is made up of a sirocco fan 31 and a fan housing 32 that houses the sirocco fan 31.

[0018] As is well known, the sirocco fan 31 is an axial-flow fan that draws in gas from its center and expels it from its side periphery. The sirocco fan 31 in this embodiment is composed of a shaft 311 that penetrates the rear wall 15 of the heating furnace 1 in the front-to-rear direction, a fan body 312 attached to a portion of the shaft 311 that extends into the heating furnace 1, and a motor 313 that is attached to a portion of the shaft 311 that extends outside the heating furnace 1 and rotates the fan body 312.

[0019] The fan housing 32 has a truncated quadrangular pyramid shape and is attached to the inner surface of the rear wall 15 of the heating furnace so that its bottom plate 321 faces the inner surface 16a of the front wall.

[0020] A circular gas inlet 3a through which the sirocco fan 31 draws gas is formed in the center of the bottom plate 321. A gap is formed between the side peripheral plate 322 of the fan storage housing 32 and the side peripheral edge of the bottom plate 321, and this gap, which has a rectangular ring shape as a whole, serves as a gas outlet 3b of the fan unit 3. The bottom plate 321 is attached to the side peripheral plate 322 at multiple points by stays or the like (not shown).

[0021] The superheated steam generator 4 is, for example, an induction heating type that heats water supplied thereto to a temperature exceeding 100°C to produce superheated steam and outputs the superheated steam. The superheated steam generator 4 here is provided with a temperature controller (not shown) and is configured to be able to set the temperature of the superheated steam that is output to a predetermined set temperature (hereinafter referred to as the second set temperature).

[0022] The superheated steam supply pipe 5 is composed of an external supply pipe 51 (shown in FIG. 1) that connects the output port 4a (shown in FIG. 1) of the superheated steam generator 4 and an input port 1a formed in the wall of the heating furnace 1 (here, the rear wall 15), and an internal supply pipe 52 that extends from the input port 1a into the interior of the heating furnace 1.

[0023] In this embodiment, the internal supply pipe 52 rises from the inlet 1a, passes through a preheating space formed between the upper wall inner surface 11a and the upper heater 2 installed along it, and descends from the upper part of the partition wall 17, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, and is installed so that the discharge port 5a at its tip is located at a position that enters the interior from the gas inlet 3a of the fan unit 3. In the preheating space, the internal supply pipe 52 is formed in a zigzag waveform, and is configured to increase the path length therebetween so that superheated steam can be preheated for a long period of time.

[0024] The controller 6 (shown in Figure 1) is a computer equipped with a CPU, memory, I / O ports, communication ports, etc., and performs functions such as controlling the temperature inside the heating furnace 1 by the CPU and its peripheral devices working together in accordance with a predetermined program stored in the memory.

[0025] More specifically, the controller 6 receives an output signal from a temperature sensor (not shown) installed in the heating furnace 1, and feedback controls the power supplied to the heater 2 so that the measured temperature indicated by the output signal approaches a first set temperature determined, for example, by a degreasing recipe.

[0026] In this embodiment, the second set temperature of the superheated steam generator 4 is set to be lower than the first set temperature.

[0027] Next, the temperature control operation of the heating furnace 1 in the above-described degreasing apparatus 100 and the flow of superheated steam within the heating furnace 1 will be described.

[0028] When the object to be treated is placed in the heating furnace 1, the controller 6 controls the heater 2 to raise the temperature inside the heating furnace 1 and control it to the first set temperature. At this time, the controller 6 also sends an operation start signal to the fan unit 3 to start its operation.

[0029] Next, the controller 6 sends a supply start signal to the superheated steam generator 4 to start supplying the superheated steam adjusted to the second set temperature to the heating furnace 1.

[0030] In addition, the timing for starting to supply superheated steam to the heating furnace 1 is set so that it occurs after the temperature of the heating furnace 1 exceeds 100 degrees or after it reaches the first set temperature or the second set temperature, since if the temperature inside the heating furnace 1 is below 100 degrees, the temperature of the introduced superheated steam will drop and condensation may occur.

[0031] The superheated steam output from the superheated steam generator 4 passes through the external supply pipe 51 and the internal supply pipe 52 and is discharged into the heating furnace 1 from the discharge port 5a.

[0032] Since the superheated steam is further preheated by the heater 2 while passing through the internal supply pipe 52, the superheated steam immediately after being released from the outlet 5a has a temperature higher than the first set temperature.

[0033] The superheated steam thus released from the outlet 5a of the internal supply pipe 52 is almost completely absorbed into the fan unit 3 through the gas inlet 3a without diffusing, as shown in Figure 3, and is then discharged from the gas outlet 3b of the fan unit 3.

[0034] The superheated steam discharged from the gas discharge port 3b flows from back to front along the inner surfaces 11a to 14a of the upper, lower, left, and right walls of the heating furnace 1, hitting each heater 2 installed there, and is further heated there.Then, this superheated steam hits the inner surface 16a of the front wall, turns around, and hits the object to be treated in the heating furnace 1, heating it.

[0035] This superheated steam then circulates within the heating furnace 1 together with decomposition gases and the like released from the material to be treated, and as new superheated steam is supplied from the superheated steam generator 4, it is discharged to the outside of the heating furnace 1 from an outlet (not shown) located along the circulation path.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0037] For example, the set temperature (second set temperature) of the superheated steam generator may be configured to be adjustable by a command signal from the controller. In this way, when the set temperature (first set temperature) of the heating furnace changes over time, the second set temperature can be configured to change in accordance with the change in the first set temperature.

[0038] In the above embodiment, superheated steam is sent from the gas outlet 3b of the fan unit 3 to all of the inner surfaces 11a to 14a of the upper, lower, left, and right walls where the heater 2 is installed, but it is also possible to send superheated steam from the gas outlet to only a part of the wall, such as only the inner surface of the upper wall.

[0039] The heaters may be installed not only on the inner surfaces of the top, bottom, left and right walls, but also on parts of the walls or on the inner surfaces of other walls, for example, the front and rear walls.

[0040] The superheated steam outlet may be located near the outside of the gas inlet of the fan unit. The locations of the fan unit, its gas outlet, and gas inlet may also be changed as appropriate.

[0041] In addition, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0042] The features of the degreasing device described above can be summarized as follows:

[0043] (1) A degreasing device comprising: a heating furnace in which an object to be treated is housed; a heater installed in the heating furnace; and a superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam and supplies it into the heating furnace, wherein a part or all of the superheated steam released from a superheated steam outlet in the heating furnace hits the heater and then hits the object to be treated.

[0044] With this configuration, even if the temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator is set lower than the set temperature (first set temperature) required for degreasing the objects to be treated, the superheated steam is heated by the heater in the heating furnace before hitting the objects to be treated, so the temperature of the superheated steam when hitting the objects to be treated can be the first set temperature. Therefore, the power of the superheated steam generator can be reduced, which can promote miniaturization and cost reduction of the superheated steam generator, and ultimately miniaturization and cost reduction of the degreasing device. Conversely, since it is possible to supply superheated steam at a temperature higher than the maximum temperature that can be generated by the superheated steam generator to the object to be treated, it is also possible to increase the temperature range of the degreasing treatment compared to conventional methods.

[0045] (2) The degreasing apparatus according to (1), further comprising a fan unit for circulating gas within the heating furnace, wherein the outlet faces the gas inlet of the fan unit or is positioned inside the gas inlet, and the gas discharge port of the fan unit is positioned facing the heater.

[0046] With this configuration, most of the superheated steam released from the outlet is sucked into the fan unit through the gas inlet and then discharged toward the heater from the gas outlet of the fan unit, so that the superheated steam can be reliably heated by the heater before it hits the object to be treated.

[0047] (3) The degreasing device according to (2), wherein the heater is installed along a peripheral surface, which is the inner surface of the heating furnace excluding the two opposing inner surfaces, the fan unit is disposed along the inner surface of one of the opposing inner surfaces, and the outlet of the fan unit is opened so that superheated steam flows from one of the peripheral surfaces along the peripheral surface.

[0048] With this configuration, superheated steam can be circulated from the peripheral surface, and the temperature inside the heating furnace can be raised in a uniform distribution.

[0049] (4) A degreasing device comprising: a heating furnace in which an object to be treated is housed; a heater installed in the heating furnace; and a superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam and supplies it into the heating furnace, wherein the superheated steam output from the superheated steam generator is heated by the heater and then released into the heating furnace.

[0050] With this configuration, as described above, even if the temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator is set lower than the set temperature (first set temperature) required for degreasing the objects to be treated, the superheated steam is heated by the heater in the heating furnace before hitting the objects to be treated, so the temperature of the superheated steam when hitting the objects to be treated can be the first set temperature. Therefore, the power of the superheated steam generator can be reduced, which can promote miniaturization and cost reduction of the superheated steam generator, and ultimately miniaturization and cost reduction of the degreasing device. Conversely, since it is possible to supply superheated steam at a temperature higher than the maximum temperature that can be generated by the superheated steam generator to the object to be treated, it is also possible to increase the temperature range of the degreasing treatment compared to conventional methods.

[0051] (5) The degreasing apparatus according to (4), further comprising an internal supply pipe arranged in the heating furnace along the heater, wherein the superheated steam supplied from the superheated steam generator passes through the internal supply pipe and is discharged into the heating furnace from a discharge port provided at the tip of the internal supply pipe.

[0052] With this configuration, the superheated steam is heated by the heater within the limited space of the internal supply pipe, thereby improving the heating efficiency.

[0053] (6) The degreasing apparatus according to (5), wherein the heater is installed along the inner surface of the heating furnace, and the internal supply pipe is arranged to pass between the heater and the inner surface of the heating furnace on which the heater is installed.

[0054] With this configuration, the superheated steam can be heated more efficiently, and since the internal supply pipe does not interfere with the space for accommodating the objects to be treated inside the heating furnace, the volume of the space for accommodating the objects to be treated can be ensured without increasing the size of the heating furnace.

[0055] (7) 7. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a fan unit for circulating gas within the heating furnace, wherein the outlet of the internal supply pipe is located facing the gas inlet of the fan unit or located further inward than the gas inlet.

[0056] With this configuration, most of the superheated steam released from the outlet is sucked into the fan unit through the gas inlet and then discharged toward the heater from the gas outlet of the fan unit, so that the superheated steam can be reliably heated by the heater before it hits the object to be treated.

[0057] (8) A degreasing device according to any one of (1) to (7), further comprising a controller that controls the heater to control the temperature in the heating furnace to a predetermined first set temperature, and a second set temperature, which is the set temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator, is set lower than the first set temperature.

[0058] With this configuration, the set temperature (second set temperature) of the superheated steam generated in the superheated steam generator is set lower than the set temperature (first set temperature) inside the heating furnace, so the power of the superheated steam generator can be reduced, which in turn can promote miniaturization and cost reduction of the superheated steam generator and, ultimately, miniaturization and cost reduction of the degreasing device. Conversely, since superheated steam at a temperature higher than the maximum temperature that can be generated by the superheated steam generator can be supplied to the treatment object, the temperature range of the degreasing treatment can be increased compared to conventional methods. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 100 Degreasing equipment 1...Heating furnace 11a: Inner surface of upper wall (one of the surrounding surfaces) 12a: Inner surface of lower wall (one of the surrounding surfaces) 13a: Inner surface of left wall (one of the surrounding surfaces) 14a: Right wall inner surface (one of the surrounding surfaces) 2. Heater 3. Fan unit 3a Gas inlet 3b Gas outlet 4. Superheated steam generator 5a...Discharge port 52...Internal supply pipe 6. Controller

Claims

1. a heating furnace in which the object to be treated is accommodated; a heater installed in the heating furnace; a superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam and supplies the superheated steam into the heating furnace; A degreasing device characterized in that a part or all of the superheated steam released from the superheated steam outlet in the heating furnace hits the heater and then hits the object to be treated.

2. The heating furnace further includes a fan unit for circulating gas within the heating furnace. the outlet is disposed facing the gas inlet of the fan unit or inside the gas inlet, 2. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas discharge port of the fan unit is arranged facing the heater.

3. The heater is installed along a peripheral surface that is an inner surface of the heating furnace excluding two opposing inner surfaces, the fan unit is disposed on one of the opposing inner surfaces, 3. The degreasing device according to claim 2, wherein the outlet of said fan unit is open so that the superheated steam flows from one side of said peripheral surface to the other side thereof along said peripheral surface.

4. a heating furnace in which the object to be treated is accommodated; a heater installed in the heating furnace; a superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam and supplies the superheated steam into the heating furnace; 10. A degreasing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the superheated steam output from the superheated steam generator is heated by the heater and then released into the heating furnace.

5. an internal supply pipe disposed within the heating furnace along the heater; 5. A degreasing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the superheated steam supplied from the superheated steam generator passes through the internal supply pipe and is discharged into the heating furnace from a discharge port provided at the tip of the internal supply pipe.

6. The heater is installed along the inner surface of the heating furnace, 6. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the internal supply pipe is arranged to pass between the heater and the inner surface of the heating furnace in which the heater is installed.

7. The heating furnace further includes a fan unit for circulating gas within the heating furnace.

6. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the outlet of said internal supply pipe is disposed facing the gas suction port of said fan unit or located inside said gas suction port.

8. The heating furnace further includes a controller that controls the heater to control the temperature in the heating furnace to a predetermined first set temperature, 5. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second set temperature, which is a set temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator, is set lower than the first set temperature.

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