Abstract: A liquified gas dry-cleaning system including a storage tank containing a liquified gas derived from a liquifiable gas, a pressure vessel for containing a liquid bath derived from the liquifiable gas, and a circulating system for transporting the liquified gas between the storage tank and the pressurized vessel. The pressurized vessel includes a compressor mounted in a wall structure of the vessel for use in evacuating a gaseous form of the liquifiable gas released from the liquid bath during a cleaning cycle. Positioning of the compressor in this manner allows heat generated during each compression stroke of the compressor to be directed to the interior of pressure vessel to minimize the effects of a temperature decrease incident to the gaseous evacuation.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an apparatus whereby a paint roller can quickly be cleaned, fluffed, and rendered damp-dry with the operator and cleaning area completely shielded from the splatter of solvent and paint. The washing and spin drying actions are produced by a high velocity single jet of water or other solvent delivered through a hand-held spray wand within the confines of a hand-held, tapered cylindrical enclosure.The enclosure is open at the top for insertion of both the paint laden roller and the spray wand, and for visual access into the cleaning process. It's in-rolled upper rim eliminates egress of random splatter. It's open bottom affords rapid exhaust, and being tapered throughout, permits enclosure elements to be nested for efficient quantity packaging. The detachable handle, when affixed to the enclosure and properly adjusted, accommodates nearly any paint roller handle design.

Abstract: A method and kit for cleaning jewelry and small paits to 95% and greater clean. A holding basket has a plurality of apertures formed therein, and is adapted to securely retain jewelry and small parts therein. Jewelry is placed in the holding basket and dunked into a container filled with cleaning solution to coat the jewelry with cleaning solution. The holding basket is removed from the container of cleaning solution, and is placed in an automatic dishwasher and run through a wash cycle and dry cycle, thereby exposing the jewelry to impinging water and the action of steam to remove the cleaning solution and grime from the jewelry and small parts. The steam helps prevents formation of water spots. The kit includes a hinged jewelry holding basket with handles and a container filled with cleaning solution. The hinged jewelry holding basket is sized to be dunked into the cleaning solution.

Abstract: A water lance blower for cleaning heating installations, wherein a water lance (6) is movably (5) arranged with its mouth on or in a hatch (2) and can blow a water jet through the heating installation, which is in operation and is flowed through with flames and/or smoke, onto wall areas which can be reached from the hatch (2), wherein the water lance (6) is movable by at least one movement element, wherein path sensors are provided for precise determination of the position of the water lance (6), and wherein at least the area of the hatch (2) is sealed by a housing (31) to which blocking and flushing medium can be admitted. The water lance blower (6) can be guided along certain pre-calculated or previously memorised lines of movement at pre-calculated or previously memorised speeds, in particular dependent upon the position, by means of the measured values. The supply of blocking and flushing fluid can be controlled by pressure and/or temperature.

Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate conveying device for loading/unloading a substrate to/from a processing section, including an arm for holding the substrate, an arm drive mechanism for driving the arm such as to load/unload the substrate to/from the processing section, a first suction pad provided on the arm, for suctioning the substrate, a second suction pad provided on the arm at a position adjacent to that of the first suction pad, for suctioning the substrate, and a projecting member provided between the first and second suction pads of the arm, so as to control a posture of the substrate to be suctioned one of the first and second suction pads as the projecting member abuts the lower surface of the substrate.

Abstract: A semiconductor manufacture apparatus extending chemical life and reducing chemical replenishing amounts, continuously removes excessive moisture content generated by reaction within the apparatus and can perform cleaning and stripping with stable cleaning performance and stripping performance as a result of removing moisture content in the chemicals. The semiconductor manufacture apparatus is adapted for cleaning a semiconductor substrate or stripping a photoresist applied on the surface of the semiconductor substrate by chemicals, with a moisture separating device preferentially separating moisture content from the chemicals being provided within a passage for recirculating the chemicals within the apparatus.

Abstract: In order to reuse dishes, cutlery, glassware and other food service utensils onboard an aircraft, a washing apparatus is provided as a part of the food service system onboard the aircraft. The apparatus includes a service trolley and a washing unit that may be coupled together to form a washing chamber within the trolley. The washing unit is installed within a trolley parking bay in a galley of the aircraft and is connected to a water supply and a power supply. The trolley is equipped with racks for receiving the dirty utensils, and the washing unit is equipped with water spray arms that reach into the trolley into clearance spaces between the racks. The dirty utensils are collected from passengers directly into the service trolley, which is then wheeled into position in the trolley parking bay, and coupled to the washing unit. Thereby, the utensils may be collected, cleaned, stored, and reused, with only minimal handling, cost, and space requirements.

Abstract: A detector tube with a rod-shaped reagent carrier placed into a transparent tube, which reagent carrier is provided with a detection substance, such that the reagent carrier can be placed into the detector tube in a simple manner and that defined flow conditions become established around the reagent carrier. The cross-sectional contour of the reagent carrier is designed as a polygon in such a way that at least some of the outer edges of the reagent carrier are in contact with the inner side of the tube.

Abstract: An improved mandrel device (100) and method. The mandrel device (100) has an elongated member (117) for supporting a plurality of hard disks, for example. The elongated member (117) includes an inner member (107) that is defined between a pair of outer members (105), where each of the members have ridges (103) defined thereon. The combination of these members and ridges are used to support a plurality of disks that do not touch each other during, for example transportation.

Abstract: A miniaturized integrated sensor (50) useful for indicating the presence of a sample analyte is disclosed. The sensor (50) has a platform (52) with an upper surface (53) and a detector (62), light source (60), waveguide (58), and reflective fixtures (60,62) embedded in the platform (52). The light source (60) is preferably a light emitting diode and sits in a cup-shaped dimple (68) that directs light from the light source (60) toward one of the reflective fixtures (64) to uniformly distribute light across the waveguide (58). The waveguide (58) is coupled to an upper surface (53) of the sensor platform (52) and is coated with a thin film of indicator chemistry (70) which interacts with the sample analyte to produce optic signal changes that are measurable by the detector (62). A lead frame (51) in the platform (52) has pins (54, 55, 56) which provide the interface to the outside world.

Abstract: The invention is concerned with a device and a method for cleaning and disinfecting medical instruments, in particular instruments of minimal invasive surgery (MIS). Instead of the rigid connection of cleaning tubings to instrument connections and exits which has been used up to now and which have the disadvantage that certain contaminated regions remain inaccessible for a secure cleaning, there is suggested a docking of injector nozzles in defined chronological intervals, the injector nozzles being fixed in a centric position to the openings of the instrument connections. At the same time various types of injector nozzles are applied for adaptation to various instrument connections and openings. By measuring the rinsing fluid quantity flowing to the instrument connections and the total discharging rinsing fluid quantity, the quality of preparation may be evaluated and documented.

Abstract: In a sensor layer for quantitative determination of at least one chemical component in a gaseous or liquid sample medium containing a chromophore which is directly or indirectly responsive to the component being determined by changing its absorption spectrum, and a luminophore which is not responsive to the component being determined, where there is an at least partial overlap between the emission spectrum of the luminophore and the absorption spectrum of the chromophore, and where the energy transfer between luminophore and chromophore produces a measurable change in at least one luminescence characteristic of the luminophore, the luminophore L and the chromophore .GAMMA. are ionic substances with differing electrical charges, which are incorporated in a matrix material that is permeable to the chemical component being determined.

Abstract: A microwave-excitation cleaning and rinsing apparatus includes a cell having an inlet for supplying pure water or cleaning chemical solution to the cell and an outlet for exhausting the pure water or cleaning chemical solution from the cell, and a microwave oscillator for generating microwaves and irradiating the pure water or cleaning chemical solution within the cell with the microwaves.

Abstract: A cleaning method and related apparatus for cleaning semiconductor screening masks using an aqueous alkali detergent solution applied under high pressure simultaneously from both sides of the mask, followed by a drying step that uses air knives to blow off the mask surface any residual cleaner solution.

Abstract: The invention provides an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus capable of radiating ultrasonic waves effectively over the entire cleaning face of a wafer and thus having an improved cleaning effect. Supporting members 28a, 28b for holding wafers 7 in a fixed attitude in a cleaning liquid 6 are disposed at different heights, and ultrasonic wave protection plates 24a, 24b are respectively provided in front of ultrasonic wave generators 23a, 23b mounted on opposite walls of an ultrasonic wave tank 2 and are each movable between a position in front of the respective ultrasonic wave generator and a standby position retracted from in front of that ultrasonic wave generator. Each of the ultrasonic wave protection plates 24a, 24b is moved into position in front of its respective ultrasonic wave generator when ultrasonic waves are being radiated from the other side.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for cleaning and rinsing the interior surfaces of a railway tank car with a single, high-pressure fluid spray. The apparatus is inserted into a tank car through its manway and secured using a lockdown assembly. The swivel assembly includes a swivel shaft which is disposed longitudinally through a swivel housing and is interconnected with a rotor motor and with a hollow spindle assembly. A fluid channel communicates the fluid to the spindle assembly where the fluid is sprayed through a single nozzle onto the interior surfaces of a tank car. Control of fluid spray orbit is accomplished by two perpendicular axes for causing rotation and actuation of the nozzle affixed to the spindle assembly, through the cooperation of an idler gear.

Abstract: A modular cleaning system is provided generally comprising at least one modular wash rack having a drainage fitting and a coupling means to allow one modular wash rack to be fastened to another modular wash rack, a tube connected to the drainage fitting, and a filtering system generally comprising a vacuum pump for pumping a liquid through the tube from the drainage fitting to the filtering system, and at least one filter, the filter being operably associated with the vacuum pump.

Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for rinsing a wafer after chemically treating the wafer includes a spin chuck for holding the wafer, a first supply nozzle located above the spin chuck and a second nozzle connected to a lower end of the spin chuck. First and second chemical fluid supply pipes are connected at one end to a chemical fluid supply and at the other end to respective ends of the first and second supply nozzles. First and second deionized water supply pipes are connected at one end to a deionized water supply and at the other end to respective ends of the first and second supply nozzles. A hydrophilic-making fluid supply pipe is connected at one end to hydrophilic-making fluid supply and at the other end to the end of the first supply nozzle. It is thus possible to prevent the generation of watermarks at the boundary between hydrophobic material and hydrophilic material by performing a rinsing operation after changing the hydrophobic material into hydrophilic material.

Abstract: This invention concerns a novel pickling apparatus for removing oxides from the surface of a plurality of parallel laterally spaced wires, continuously moving axially through an enclosed pickling area. The pickling area encompasses one or more sections of turbulent hot acid (hydrochloric or other) pickling liquor submerging the wires. Each section essentially comprises a flooded turbulent processing tray, corrosion resistant centrifugal re-circulating pump, lower reservoir tank and wire wiping components. The pickling fluid is pumped from the lower reservoir tank into the processing tray through laterally (with respect to wire direction) mounted headers. Each header has a plurality of holes to discharge the fluid into the process tray in highly turbulent manner. Weirs at each end of the tray support the wires and flood the tray.

Abstract: A temperature control system 10 is used to control the temperature of a chamber surface 15, such as a convoluted external surface, of a process chamber 25 that is used to process a semiconductor substrate 30. The temperature control system 10 comprises a vapor chamber 100 that forms an enclosure adjoining or surrounding the process chamber surface 15. A fluid distributor 115 in the vapor chamber 100 applies a fluid film 130 onto the process chamber surface 15. Vaporization of the fluid film 130 from the chamber surface 15 controls the temperature of the chamber surface. Optionally, a vent 165 in the vapor chamber 100 can be used to adjust the vaporization temperature of the fluid in the vapor chamber.