JP-7857255-B2 - Cleaning method

Inventors

• 内山 具典
• 笹木 宏格

Assignees

• 美的集団股▲フン▼有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230703

Claims (1)

1. A cleaning method comprising: a microbubble generator having a throttling section on the input side where the inner diameter of the flow path is reduced, a straight section on the output side where the inner diameter of the flow path does not change, and a protruding section that locally reduces the cross-sectional area of the flow path , wherein when ultrapure water is passed through the microbubble generator once at an applied dynamic water pressure of 0.1 MPa , the ratio of microbubbles with a particle diameter of 100 nm ± 30 nm to the total number of microbubbles with a particle diameter of 500 nm or less is 50% or more, and the microbubble water contains 1 × 10^5 or more microbubbles with a particle diameter of 500 nm or less per 1 ml; and a cleaning solution which is a mixture of the microbubble water containing microbubbles generated by passing tap water through the microbubble generator once at an applied dynamic water pressure of 0.1 MPa or more to reduce the pressure of the liquid and precipitate dissolved air in the liquid ; and a surfactant.

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a washing method, a washing machine, a dishwasher, and a toilet. In recent years, microbubbles and nanobubbles, which are tiny bubbles with particle sizes ranging from tens of nanometers to several micrometers, have attracted attention, and technologies have been proposed to clean objects using microbubble water containing a large number of these microbubbles. For example, when cleaning oil stains, it is common to use surfactants such as detergents. However, in conventional configurations, the interaction between microbubbles and surfactants has not been sufficiently investigated, and the effects of this interaction have not been fully realized. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-43103 This figure shows a graph of the number distribution of microbubbles of different particle sizes contained in the microbubble water used in the washing method according to one embodiment.This figure shows the relationship between the particle size and number of microbubbles contained in the microbubble water used in the washing method according to one embodiment.A table showing the evaluation results of the cleaning performance of a cleaning method according to one embodiment.This figure shows the evaluation results of the cleaning performance of a cleaning method according to one embodiment, as a graph.A schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a microbubble generator used in a cleaning method according to one embodiment.A cross-sectional view of a microbubble generator used in a cleaning method according to one embodiment, shown along the line X6-X6 in Figure 5.This diagram schematically shows the configuration of a measurement system for measuring the number distribution of microbubble water particles by particle size used in a washing method according to one embodiment.This figure shows the results of measurements taken by a measurement system for the microbubble water used in the cleaning method according to one embodiment, as a graph.A diagram (part 1) conceptually illustrating the interaction between microbubbles and surfactant in a cleaning method according to one embodiment.A diagram (part 2) conceptually illustrating the interaction between microbubbles and surfactants in a cleaning method according to one embodiment.A diagram (part 3) conceptually illustrating the interaction between microbubbles and surfactant in a cleaning method according to one embodiment.Figure (4) conceptually illustrating the interaction between microbubbles and surfactant in a cleaning method according to one embodiment.Figure (5) conceptually illustrates the interaction between microbubbles and surfactant in a cleaning method according to one embodiment.A diagram showing the schematic configuration of a washing machine according to one embodiment. One embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this embodiment is a cleaning method in which an object to be cleaned is cleaned with a cleaning solution, i.e., a surfactant solution, which is a mixture of microbubble water containing 1 × 10^5 or more microbubbles with a particle size of 500 nm or less per 1 ml, more preferably microbubble water containing 1 × 10^5 or more microbubbles with a particle size of 250 nm or less per 1 ml, and a surfactant. In this embodiment, the surfactant can be a naturally derived surfactant such as soap, or a synthetic surfactant contained in synthetic detergents, etc. The soap or synthetic detergent may be in solid, liquid, or powder form. Microbubble water refers to water or a solution containing a large amount of microbubbles with a diameter on the nanoscale. That is, the microbubble water used in the cleaning method of this embodiment contains a larger amount of microbubbles with a particle size on the nanoscale compared to tap water. Microbubbles can be generated, for example, by locally reducing the cross-sectional area of a channel through which a liquid such as water flows, thereby rapidly reducing the pressure of the liquid passing through the channel and causing dissolved air in the liquid to precipitate. Alternatively, microbubbles can also be generated, for example, by rapidly mixing external air into a liquid such as water passing through a channel. The microbubble water used in the cleaning method of this embodiment is set, as shown in Figure 1, so that the maximum peak P1 of the number distribution for each particle size of microbubbles with a particle diameter of 500 nm or less falls within the range of 100 nm ± 70 nm, more preferably within the range of 100 nm ± 50 nm, and even more preferably within the range of 100 nm ± 30 nm. In this case, the maximum peak P1 of the number distribution for each particle size of microbubbles appears around a particle diameter of 80 nm. Furthermore, the second peak P2 appears around a particle diameter of 140 nm, and the third peak P3 appears around a particle diameter of 110 nm. The fourth peak P4 app