Degreasing Equipment

Abstract

To provide a degreasing device capable of reliably preventing condensation even when superheated steam is used as a degreasing gas.SOLUTION: A degreasing device includes: a heating furnace 1 that houses an object W to be treated, which is an object to be degreased; a first introduction channel 21 that introduces superheated steam, which is degreasing gas, into the furnace 1; a furnace-connecting space 9 which is separate from the first introduction channel 21 and is connected to the heating furnace 1; and a steam inflow-preventing mechanism 8 that prevents the superheated steam from flowing into the furnace-connecting space 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a degreasing apparatus that accommodates objects to be treated, such as ceramic materials, in a heating furnace and performs a degreasing process on the objects. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a degreasing device is known in the art that uses superheated steam as a degreasing gas and introduces the superheated steam into a heating furnace to degrease an object to be treated therein.

[0003] However, the degreasing gas can be not only superheated steam, but also N2 or air, and in a structure where these are led to the heating furnace through separate pipes, there is a risk that the superheated steam will flow into the separate pipes that are not being used during the degreasing process with superheated steam, causing condensation. If condensation occurs in such a place, it will affect the next process, so a drain or the like must be provided to drain it, but this requires a dedicated mechanism and can cause problems such as the time required for draining. This condensation problem occurs not only in the separate pipe, but also in all structural parts that communicate with the heating furnace but do not rise in temperature in the same way as the heating furnace and are therefore at a lower temperature than the heating furnace. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-148941 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made with an eye on the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a degreasing apparatus which can reliably prevent condensation even when superheated steam is used as the degreasing gas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] That is, the degreasing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising a heating furnace that accommodates the object to be treated, a first inlet passage that communicates with the heating furnace and introduces superheated steam, which is a degreasing gas, a furnace communication space that is provided separately from the first inlet passage and communicates with the heating furnace, and a steam inflow prevention mechanism that prevents the superheated steam from flowing into the furnace communication space. Effect of the Invention

[0007] With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent superheated steam from entering the furnace communication space, which is not heated to the same extent as the heating furnace and may be at a lower temperature, and causing condensation, thereby eliminating the need for a dedicated mechanism or time for draining condensation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a degreasing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the degreasing apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes a heating furnace 1 in which the object to be treated W is housed, a heater (not shown) for heating the heating furnace 1, a degreasing gas supply mechanism 2 for supplying a degreasing gas into the heating furnace 1, a fan 3 for circulating the degreasing gas within the heating furnace 1, and a gas exhaust passage 4 for exhausting volatile decomposition gases and the like separated from the object to be treated W together with the degreasing gas outside the heating furnace 1.

[0011] Each part will be explained. The heating furnace 1 is, for example, made of metal and provided with a door 11 for inserting and removing the object W to be treated. The heater is, for example, rod-shaped and inserted into the heating furnace 1, and maintains the interior of the heating furnace 1 at a predetermined degreasing temperature by means of temperature control means such as a thermocouple (not shown).

[0012] The degreasing gas supply mechanism 2 here is capable of supplying multiple types of degreasing gas, namely, three types, namely, superheated steam, nitrogen gas, and air, either alone or in combination of two or more of these, to the heating furnace 1.

[0013] More specifically, the degreasing gas supply mechanism 2 includes a first inlet passage 21 for introducing superheated steam into the heating furnace 1, a second inlet passage 22 for introducing the nitrogen gas and / or air (hereinafter, these are also referred to as the second degreasing gas) into the heating furnace 1, and a gas control device for switching and adjusting the flow rate of the gas flowing through these inlet passages 21, 22. The first inlet passage 21 has an upstream end connected to the superheated steam generator 6 and a downstream end connected to a superheated steam inlet port 13 provided in the heating furnace 1 .

[0014] The second inlet passage 22 is provided separately from the first inlet passage 21, and its downstream end is connected to a gas inlet port 12 provided in the heating furnace 1. On the other hand, its upstream side branches into a nitrogen supply passage 221 to which nitrogen gas is supplied from a nitrogen supplier such as a cylinder (not shown), and an air supply passage 222 to which air is supplied from an air supplier such as an air compressor (not shown).

[0015] The gas control devices are specifically flow rate regulators 231, 232 such as speed controllers and opening / closing valves 241, 242 provided on the nitrogen supply path 221 and the air supply path 222, respectively.

[0016] The on-off valves 241, 242 are solenoid valves and configured to be remotely controlled from a controller 7 such as a computer or a sequencer. The controller 7 is also connected to the superheated steam generator 6 so as to be able to control it.

[0017] The fan 3 is for circulating gas within the heating furnace 1, and its drive shaft 31 penetrates the outer wall of the heating furnace 1 and is connected to a motor M provided on the outside.

[0018] The gas exhaust passage 4 discharges decomposition gases and the like generated from the treatment object W in the heating furnace 1 together with the degreasing gas, and the decomposition gases and the like discharged from the gas exhaust passage 4 are sent to a treatment mechanism (not shown) for filtering and / or burning.

[0019] Therefore, the degreasing apparatus 100 of this embodiment further includes a steam inflow prevention mechanism 8 that maintains the furnace communication space 9 at a higher pressure than the heating furnace 1 by supplying a predetermined purge gas into the furnace communication space 9, which is a space that communicates with the heating furnace 1 and extends to the outside of the heating furnace 1, and prevents superheated steam in the heating furnace 1 from flowing into the furnace communication space 9. The vapor inflow prevention mechanism 8 will now be described in more detail.

[0020] In this embodiment, the furnace communication space 9 is the second inlet passage 22 and a shaft peripheral gap 31a formed around the drive shaft 31. In addition, nitrogen gas, which is also the second degreasing gas, is used as the purge gas here.

[0021] The nitrogen supply passage 221 is connected to the second inlet passage 22, which is one furnace communication space 9, and the axial surrounding gap 31a, which is the other furnace communication space 9, via the first inlet passage 81 and the second inlet passage 22, respectively, so that nitrogen gas, which is a purge gas, can be supplied to each furnace communication space 9, as described above.

[0022] That is, on each of the feed paths 81, 82, flow rate regulators 831, 832 such as speed controllers and on-off valves 841, 842 are provided, respectively, in the same manner as the nitrogen supply path 221 and the air supply path 222, and when these on-off valves 841, 842 are opened, purge gas (nitrogen gas) at flow rates set by the flow rate regulators 831, 832, respectively, is fed into each of the furnace communication spaces 9 (22, 31a), and the internal pressure is set to be higher than the internal pressure of the heating furnace 1. As a result, the purge gas also flows into the heating furnace 1, but in order to eliminate the temperature effect on the degreasing gas due to this, the flow rate of the purge gas is set here to be very smaller than the flow rate of the degreasing gas (superheated steam), for example, 1 / 10 or less. Next, the degreasing process performed by the degreasing apparatus 100 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described with attention to each gas flowing into the heating furnace 1.

[0023] In the initial state, the on-off valves 241 , 242 , 841 , 842 are closed, and the superheated steam generator 6 is not in operation, so that no gas flows into the heating furnace 1 .

[0024] From this initial state, the fan 3 is driven and the steam inflow prevention mechanism 8 is driven. That is, the on-off valves 841 and 842 are opened to open the first feed passage 81 and the second feed passage 22, and the purge gas (nitrogen gas) flows into the furnace communication space 9, which is the second introduction passage 22 and the shaft periphery gap 31a.

[0025] After that, or at the same time, the superheated steam generator 6 is operated, and superheated steam is introduced into the heating furnace 1 via the first introduction path 21. This starts the degreasing treatment of the treatment object W therein.

[0026] When the degreasing process is completed, first, the superheated steam generator 6 is deactivated and the supply of superheated steam to the heating furnace 1 is stopped. Then, after the superheated steam remaining in the heating furnace 1 is exhausted from the gas exhaust path 4, the steam inflow prevention mechanism 8 is stopped and the operation returns to the initial state.

[0027] When air or nitrogen gas is used as the degreasing gas, the superheated steam generator 6 is put into a non-operating state and the on-off valve 241 or 242 is opened. In this case, the condensation problem is not significant, so the steam inflow prevention mechanism 8 may be stopped.

[0028] According to the degreasing apparatus 100 described above, the pressure in the furnace communication space 9 (22, 31a) is maintained higher than the pressure in the heating furnace 1 when superheated steam is introduced, thereby preventing superheated steam from entering the furnace communication space 9 (22, 31a) and causing condensation. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. As the inflow prevention mechanism, an opening / closing member such as a valve that mechanically closes the opening of the furnace communication space into the heating furnace may be used.

[0029] The furnace communication space is not limited to the above embodiment, and the present invention can be applied to any space that is connected to a heating furnace but has a lower temperature than the heating furnace 1 and may cause condensation, thereby achieving the same effect.

[0030] The gas path configuration and the gas control device are not limited to those in the above embodiment. For example, the first feed path 81 may be omitted, and the set flow rate of the flow regulator 231 provided on the second inlet path 22 may be a mass flow controller that can change the set flow rate by an external signal, and when degreasing treatment is performed using superheated steam, the set flow rate of the flow regulator 231 may be reduced to purge the second inlet path 22 with a second degreasing gas (nitrogen gas). In addition, the present invention may be modified within the scope of the invention, for example by combining parts of the above-mentioned modifications.

[0031] The features of the present embodiment described above can be summarized as follows.

[0032] (1) This degreasing apparatus 100 is characterized by comprising a heating furnace 1 that accommodates a treatment object W that is the object of the degreasing treatment, a first inlet passage 21 that introduces superheated steam, which is a degreasing gas, into the heating furnace 1, a furnace communication space 9 that is provided separately from the first inlet passage 21 and communicates with the heating furnace 1, and a steam inflow prevention mechanism 8 that prevents the superheated steam from flowing into the furnace communication space 9.

[0033] (2) An example of a steam inflow prevention mechanism 8 that can be realized simply by improving the gas system outside the heating furnace is one that supplies a specified purge gas to the furnace communication space 9 to maintain the pressure in the furnace communication space 9 at a higher pressure than the pressure in the heating furnace 1. (3) The steam inflow prevention mechanism may generate a flow of purge gas in the furnace communication space to suppress inflow of superheated steam from within the heating furnace.

[0034] (4) As a specific embodiment, there can be mentioned one further including a second inlet passage 22 for introducing a second degreasing gas (here, nitrogen gas and / or air), which is a type of degreasing gas different from the superheated steam, into the heating furnace 1, and a degreasing gas supply mechanism 2 for opening the first inlet passage 21 or the second inlet passage 22 to introduce the superheated steam or the second degreasing gas into the heating furnace 1. In the case of this configuration, there is a risk that superheated steam will flow into the second inlet passage 22 and cause condensation during degreasing treatment using superheated steam, so it is desirable to regard the second inlet passage 22 as the furnace communication space 9 and to configure the purge gas to be sent into the second inlet passage 22 during degreasing treatment using superheated steam.

[0035] (5) In order to simplify the configuration without using a dedicated purge gas, it is preferable to use the second degreasing gas as a purge gas during the degreasing treatment using superheated steam.

[0036] (6) In the case where the furnace further includes a fan 3 for circulating gas in the furnace 1 and the drive shaft 31 of the fan 3 extends to the outside of the furnace 1 by penetrating the furnace 1, it is preferable to regard the shaft periphery gap 31a formed around the drive shaft 31 as the furnace communication space 9 and to configure the purge gas to be fed into the shaft periphery gap 31a. In particular, with such a configuration, the seal member attached around the drive shaft 31 can be cooled by the purge gas, and deterioration of the seal member due to the heat of the furnace 1 can be reduced. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 100 Degreasing equipment W: Processing object 1...Heating furnace 2. Degreasing gas supply mechanism 21...1st introduction route 22...Second introduction path (furnace communication space) 3. Fan 31 Drive shaft 31a: Shaft periphery clearance (furnace communication space) 8. Steam inflow prevention mechanism 9...Furnace communication space

Claims

1. a heating furnace for accommodating a treatment object that is a target of a degreasing treatment; a first introduction passage for introducing superheated steam, which is a degreasing gas, into the heating furnace; a furnace communication space provided separately from the first introduction passage and communicating with the heating furnace; a steam inflow prevention mechanism for preventing the superheated steam from flowing into the furnace communication space, the steam inflow prevention mechanism supplies a predetermined purge gas to the furnace communication space to make the pressure in the furnace communication space higher than the pressure in the heating furnace, A second introduction passage for introducing a second degreasing gas, which is a type of degreasing gas different from the superheated steam, into the heating furnace; A degreasing gas supply mechanism that opens the first introduction path or the second introduction path to introduce the superheated steam or the second degreasing gas into the heating furnace, the second inlet passage is the furnace communication space, and the purge gas is fed into the second inlet passage by the steam inflow prevention mechanism.

2. 2. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the steam inflow prevention mechanism creates a flow of purge gas in the furnace communication space to suppress inflow of superheated steam from within the heating furnace.

3. 2. The degreasing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second degreasing gas is used as a purge gas.

Images