METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CLEANING ARTICLE BY VOLATILE SOLVENTS Russian patent published in 2001 - IPC

FIELD: mechanical engineering; cleaning and degreasing surfaces and cavities of articles. SUBSTANCE: proposed method consists in placing article in hermetic evacuated chamber and cleaning it with solvent, discharging solvent from chamber, drying article, discharging solvent from cleaning chamber due to preliminary condensation by method of compression with gas- condenser admitted to chamber. Drying is effected by heating the article by hot solvent vapor jet to temperature exceeding temperature of cooled side walls of chamber by 15 to 20 C. Delivery of gas-condenser to upper portion of cleaning chamber is effected by laminar flow of gas even in section of chamber. Density of gas-condenser being supercharged shall be no less than density of saturated vapor of solvent. Device proposed for realization of this method includes hermetic cleaning chamber with upper cover, reservoirs with clean and contaminated solvent pumps for handling solvents and vacuum pump and solvent vapor generator; all these components are interconnected by means of mains. Mounted on upper cover of cylindrical cleaning chamber is gas admitting unit which consists of throttle valve and permeable diaphragm. EFFECT: enhanced efficiency of cleaning; considerable reduction of losses of solvent in vapor phase.