Patent ID: 8562753

Claim:
A nozzle cleaning method that cleans a nozzle for discharging a process liquid to a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: accommodating a nozzle in a cleaning container defining a cleaning chamber therein, the cleaning container having an inner surface of a funnel-like shape and a supply port opening into the cleaning chamber through the inner surface, the supply port having a center axis extending substantially horizontally such that an extension of the center axis of the supply port does not intersect with the nozzle accommodated in the cleaning chamber, as viewed from above; positioning the nozzle such that the inner surface is located around a tip of the nozzle; and supplying a solvent as a cleaning liquid through the supply port into the cleaning chamber along the inner surface, thereby forming a vortex of the solvent whirling around the nozzle in the cleaning chamber, and cleaning the nozzle by exposing the nozzle to the vortex.