초록 ▼

A closed system and method for cleaning articles by means of a volatile cleaning solvent is disclosed herein. The system generally comprises a cleaning chamber having a doorway which, when opened allows access to the interior of the chamber, and when closed seals the chamber interior from the ambien

A closed system and method for cleaning articles by means of a volatile cleaning solvent is disclosed herein. The system generally comprises a cleaning chamber having a doorway which, when opened allows access to the interior of the chamber, and when closed seals the chamber interior from the ambient atmosphere, a solvent nozzle disposed within the cleaning chamber for discharging a jet of volatile cleaning solvent on an article within the chamber incident to a cleaning operation, a solvent sump for collecting liquid solvent from the chamber that includes a quantity isolating fluid, which may be water, for forming a liquid curtain over the collected solvent that isolates the solvent from the ambient atmosphere when the chamber door way is opened, and a solvent condenser system connected to the interior of the cleaning chamber for condensing vaporized and atomized solvent discharged by the solvent nozzle into liquid form, and circulating the liquid solvent into the sump.

대표청구항 ▼

A closed system for cleaning articles by means of a volatile cleaning solvent, comprising: a cleaning chamber having a doorway means for allowing access to the interior of the chamber and for sealing the chamber interior from the ambient atmosphere; a nozzle means disposed within said chamber for se

A closed system for cleaning articles by means of a volatile cleaning solvent, comprising: a cleaning chamber having a doorway means for allowing access to the interior of the chamber and for sealing the chamber interior from the ambient atmosphere; a nozzle means disposed within said chamber for selectively discharging vaporized and atomized volatile cleaning solvent on an article within said chamber incident to a cleaning operation; a closed loop solvent condenser system for liquefying vaporized and atomized cleaning solvent at the same rate that said nozzle means discharges said vaporized and atomized solvent including a vaporized solvent condenser assembly having a heat exchanger, a housing that encloses the heat exchanger and serves as an air reservoir, inlet and outlet conduits connected between said housing and said chamber, and a vacuum pump means for circulating the air within said cleaning chamber through said heat exchanger in order to remove vaporized solvent therefrom and for creating a negative pressure in said chamber and a positive pressure in said housing when said nozzle means discharges solvent, and a solvent sump for collecting liquid solvent from said cleaning chamber, wherein said sump includes a quantity of isolating fluid for forming a film over the top surface of the collected solvent that isolates the collected solvent from the ambient atmosphere when said chamber doorway means is opened.