US 2006/0130886 A1 · Method and apparatus for manufacturing cleaning material and cleaning system using the same

Abstract

A cleaning material for cleaning, for instance, a substrate by being sprayed onto and colliding with the substrate being in a sherbet-form (in which a solid and liquid are co-present) that contains ice particles and being manufactured by cooling a mixed liquid, which comprises pure water and an organic compound liquid having a solidification point lower than that of pure water, to a supercooled state, and generating ice crystals by applying an external force to supercooled liquid which consists of the cooled mixed liquid. The application of the external force to the supercooled liquid is accomplished by, for example, an abruptly expanded portion formed in a flow passage for the supercooled liquid. When the supercooled liquid flows into the abruptly expanded portion, a swirling stream is generated that dissolves the supercooled state of the supercooled liquid, thus solidifying the water in the supercooled liquid to form ice particles.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A method for manufacturing a cleaning material that cleans a cleaning object member by being sprayed onto said cleaning object member or being caused to collide with said cleaning object member, said method comprising the steps of:

cooling a mixed liquid, which is comprised of water and an organic compound liquid having a solidification point lower than that of water, to a supercooled state, and
generating ice crystals by applying an external force to the resulting supercooled liquid comprising said cooled mixed liquid, thus
producing a sherbet-form cleaning material in which a solid and liquid are co-present and which contains ice particles.

An apparatus for manufacturing a cleaning material that cleans a cleaning object member by being sprayed onto said cleaning object member or being caused to collide with said cleaning object member, said apparatus comprising:

a liquid feeding passage which causes a mixed liquid comprising water and an organic compound liquid having a solidification point lower than that of water to flow from a reservoir tank to a predetermined cleaning material use section,
a cooling mechanism which cools said mixed liquid flowing through said liquid feeding passage to a supercooled state, and
a supercooling release mechanism which causes ice crystals to be generated by applying an external force to a supercooled liquid which is a mixed liquid that has been cooled to a supercooled state and flows through a portion of said liquid feeding passage located on a downstream side of said cooling mechanism;
and
wherein a sherbet-form cleaning material, in which a solid and liquid are co-present with ice crystals contained, is obtained by causing said mixed liquid flowing through said liquid feeding passage to pass through said cooling mechanism and supercooling release mechanism.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing cleaning material and cleaning system using the same

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for manufacturing cleaning material and cleaning system using the same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15