Patent ID: 8795436

Claim:
A cleaning and drying method, comprising: pressurizing and superheating a cleaning liquid using a pressurizing and superheating device to a temperature that is higher than an atmospheric boiling point of the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid being lyophobic to oil; injecting the pressurized and superheated cleaning liquid into a cleaning and drying chamber of a cleaning and drying container so that a product arranged in the cleaning and drying chamber is cleaned and dried, the injected cleaning liquid being changed to vapor when injected; circulating a circulation liquid by a circulation pump through a circulation pipe in order to generate a negative pressure at a suction port of a suction device, the circulation liquid being insoluble to the cleaning liquid and having a smaller specific gravity than that of the cleaning liquid; sucking the vapor of the cleaning liquid into the suction port of the suction device via a vapor discharging container having a vapor collecting opening; collecting the vapor of the cleaning liquid together with the circulation liquid through the circulation pipe; separating the cleaning liquid from the circulation liquid in a tank; and re-using the cleaning liquid that is separated from the circulation liquid, wherein the cleaning and drying method is performed in a cleaning and drying apparatus comprising: the tank, which pools the cleaning liquid and the circulation liquid; the cleaning and drying container including the cleaning and drying chamber for arranging the product therein; a cleaning-liquid pipe provided between the cleaning and drying container and a lower portion of the tank; the pressurizing and superheating device, which is provided in the cleaning-liquid pipe, for pressurizing and superheating a part of the cleaning liquid from the tank to the temperature that is higher than the atmospheric boiling of the cleaning liquid; an injection device provided in the cleaning and drying container for injecting the pressurized and superheated cleaning liquid toward the product arranged in the cleaning and drying chamber of the cleaning and drying container; the vapor discharging container, which is provided adjacent to the cleaning and drying container and has the vapor collecting opening that communicates with the cleaning and drying chamber; the circulation pipe, which is provided between an upper portion of the tank and another portion of the tank; the circulation pump, which is provided in the circulation pipe so that a part of the circulation liquid is sucked from the upper portion of the tank and returns to the tank via the circulation pipe; and the suction device, which is provided in the circulation pipe and has the suction port connected to the vapor discharging container for sucking the vapor of the cleaning liquid injected into the cleaning and drying chamber via the suction port in order to collect the cleaning liquid and then return the cleaning liquid into the tank.