Process for preparing sorptive substrates, and integrated processing system for substrates
First Claim
1. A treating system for receiving a roll of sorptive material as a substrate and treating the sorptive material, the treating system comprising:
- an acoustic energy washing section configured to expose each of a front side and a back side of the substrate to energy pulses from acoustic energy generators within a tank of a washing solution, with at least one of the acoustic energy generators being a tubular resonator that operates at a frequency of between about 20 and 50 kHz, thereby producing a cleaned sorptive material;
a drying section configured to apply warmed and HEPA-filtered air to the cleaned sorptive material after the substrate has passed through the washing section;
a cutting section configured to continuously cut the substrate into individual wipers after the substrate has passed through the drying section, and to place the wipers into a horizontal stack;
a packaging section configured to continuously receive each stack of wipers, and place them into a bag substantially without need of human hands for use in wiping surfaces in a cleanroom environment; and
wherein after having been cleaned and dried, the sorptive material uniformly has less than 150 contaminant fibers per square meter that are greater than 100 μ
m in length wherein the acoustic energy washing section comprises;
a first set of rollers for guiding the substrate around a first transducer such that the front side of the substrate is directly exposed to ultrasonic energy from a first transducer; and
a second set of rollers for guiding the substrate around a second transducer such that the back side of the substrate is directly exposed to ultrasonic energy from the second transducer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A process for treating a substrate comprised of sorptive material is provided herein. The sorptive material may be an absorbent synthetic material such as polyester. The material is designed to be used for cleaning surfaces in an ultraclean environment. The process first comprises unwinding a roll of sorptive material as a substrate into a cleaning system. The cleaning system utilizes several sections. These include a pre-washing section, an acoustic energy washing section, and a drying section. Preferably, the process of moving the substrate through the cleaning system is continuous. The acoustic energy washing section employs one or more acoustic energy generators. In one aspect, the process also includes cutting the substrate into sections to form wipers after moving the substrate through the drying section. Thereafter, the wipers are placed into a bag and the bag is sealed. An integrated treating system for a sorptive material is also provided herein.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A treating system for receiving a roll of sorptive material as a substrate and treating the sorptive material, the treating system comprising:
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an acoustic energy washing section configured to expose each of a front side and a back side of the substrate to energy pulses from acoustic energy generators within a tank of a washing solution, with at least one of the acoustic energy generators being a tubular resonator that operates at a frequency of between about 20 and 50 kHz, thereby producing a cleaned sorptive material; a drying section configured to apply warmed and HEPA-filtered air to the cleaned sorptive material after the substrate has passed through the washing section; a cutting section configured to continuously cut the substrate into individual wipers after the substrate has passed through the drying section, and to place the wipers into a horizontal stack; a packaging section configured to continuously receive each stack of wipers, and place them into a bag substantially without need of human hands for use in wiping surfaces in a cleanroom environment; and wherein after having been cleaned and dried, the sorptive material uniformly has less than 150 contaminant fibers per square meter that are greater than 100 μ
m in length wherein the acoustic energy washing section comprises;
a first set of rollers for guiding the substrate around a first transducer such that the front side of the substrate is directly exposed to ultrasonic energy from a first transducer; and
a second set of rollers for guiding the substrate around a second transducer such that the back side of the substrate is directly exposed to ultrasonic energy from the second transducer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification