JPH0947599A - Dry cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method to reduce industrial toxic waste by organic solvents and to prevent washing from reverse-contamination, by heating and vaporizing the volatile solvent used for cleaning then cooling the vaporized solvent in an upper part of a treatment tub and storing the liquefied solvent temporarily and then re-feeding to the treatment tub. SOLUTION: A rotary drum 11 is rotated and clean solvent 4a is fed from a solvent tank 24a to a washing tub to clean clothes 2. The solvent used for cleaning is fed into a distiller 15a through a high or low valve according to the liquor level. Then a treatment drum 11 is rotated in high speed to centrifuge the solvent in the clothes 2 and naturally discharged into a distiller 15a. A heating means 15b of the distiller 15a is actuated to heat and to vaporize the solvent. The vaporized solvent is transferred into a condenser 27a to be cooled and condensed. Condensed liquified solvent is fed into a solvent tank 24a after removing moisture and stored for reusing. Water separated by a water separator is fed into a waste water evaporator 34 through a waste water pipe 33 and evaporated to be discharged outside.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dry cleaning method and apparatus using an organic solvent such as perchlorethylene, a petroleum solvent and a CFC alternative solvent.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional dry cleaning process will be described with reference to FIG. First, the processing drum 1 of the processing tank 10
The door 1 leading to the inside 1 is opened, the clothes 2 to be washed are put in, and the door 1 is closed to start the operation. Generally, the steps proceed in the following order.

.. The solvent 4 is pumped from the solvent tank 3 by the pump 6 via the valve 5, and the required amount of the solvent 4 is fed into the processing tank 10 through the path including the valve 7 and the filter 8 or the path including the valve 9.

[0004] The processing drum 11 is slowly rotated, and the solvent 4 is circulated in the circuit including the processing tank 10, the button trap 12, the valve 13, the pump 6, the valve 7, the filter 8 or the valve 9 to wash the clothes 2.

.. The treatment tank 10, the button trap 12, the valve 13, the pump 6, the valve 14, and the distiller 15 are used to drain the liquid, and then the treatment drum 11 is rotated at a high speed so that the clothes 2
The solvent 4 therein is centrifuged and drained in the same manner.

[0006] Item, step of item is repeated.

[0007] The solvent 4 is centrifuged and drained through a path of the processing tank 10, the button trap 12, the valve 13, and the valve 5.

[0008] Slowly rotate the processing drum 11 again,
Air is circulated in the direction of arrow 20 between the recovery air duct 19 including the fan 16, the air cooler 17, and the air heater 18 and the processing tank 10 to dry the clothing 2. The solvent gas evaporated from the clothing 2 is condensed by the air cooler 17, enters the water separator 22 via the recovery path 21, and enters the clean tank 24 through the solvent pipe 23.

[0009] When the drying is completed, the dampers 25, 26
Opens as shown by a broken line, fresh air is taken in from the damper 25, uncondensed solvent gas that cannot be recovered by the air cooler 17 is exhausted from the damper 26, and the solvent odor in the clothing 2 is deodorized.

[0010] The solvent 4 that has entered the distillation unit 15 in the process described in the item 3 is evaporated and condensed and recovered by the condenser 27, enters the clean tank 24 through the water separator 22 and the solvent pipe 23, and enters the solvent tank 3 from the overflow-equipped partition plate 28. Return to The water separated by the water separator 22 is discharged to the outside of the system by the water pipe 29.

[0011]

According to the conventional device described above, the filter 8a made of filter paper used in the filter circulation cleaning using the filter 8 is a hazardous industrial waste and is therefore sufficient for its handling. Be careful,
The solvent 4 is centrifugally separated from the garment 2 through the processing tank 10, the button trap 12, the valve 13, and the valve 5 and discharged into the solvent tank 3, so that the solvent tank 3 for dirt from the garment 2 is discharged.
However, there is a problem in that accumulation in the solvent 4 therein may occur, and in some cases, the laundry clothes of the next lot may be contaminated.

The present invention solves the above problems in the prior art, reduces harmful industrial waste from a dry cleaner using an organic solvent such as perchlorethylene, and always uses a clean cleaning solvent for washing. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a dry cleaning method and apparatus that can be washed with peace of mind without worrying about reverse contamination of clothing.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, in which a volatile solvent used in a cleaning process is heated and vaporized, and vapor of the vaporized solvent is directed to above the treatment tank. We provide a dry cleaning method that collects, cools and liquefies, and temporarily stores the liquefied solvent and supplies it to the post-treatment tank from above so that it can be used in a new cleaning process.The solvent used is purified by distillation. At the same time, it is collected and collected upward, liquefied and stored there, and is supplied to the processing tank by gravity falling.

Further, according to the present invention, a liquefied solvent storage tank provided above a processing tank containing a rotary drum, a distiller for distilling a solvent provided below the processing tank, the liquefied solvent storage tank and a distiller are provided. A condenser provided above the liquefied solvent storage tank by communicating the outlet and the inlet with each other, and a valve means provided in each of the communication sections for communicating the processing tank with the liquefied solvent storage tank and the distiller respectively. The following dry cleaning device is provided, and the solvent vapor distilled and cleaned by the distiller below the treatment tank is cooled and liquefied by the condenser above the liquefied solvent storage tank, and this is gravity dropped into the liquefied solvent storage tank. Further, it is arranged so that it is gravity-fallen further below and supplied to the processing tank by gravity.

The present invention also provides the above liquefied solvent storage tank,
A dry cleaning device is provided in which at least a part of the bottom plate is configured so as to partially surround the outer periphery of the treatment tank from above, and the arrangement of the liquefied solvent storage tank with respect to the treatment tank is devised.

The present invention also provides the above liquefied solvent storage tank,
A partition wall extending upward from the bottom plate is provided between the communication part to the treatment tank and the side wall, and a communication part to the drain pipe is provided above the side wall to provide a dry cleaning device also serving as a water separator. , It was devised to effectively utilize the narrow space.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a dry cleaning device in which the drain pipe connected to the water separator of the liquefied solvent storage tank is connected to the evaporator, and the water mixed in the solvent vapor is forced. It was designed to be vaporized and eliminated.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

This embodiment is largely different from the conventional one shown in FIG. 2 in that a large distiller 15a is arranged at the position of the solvent tank 3 and the clean tank 24 in the conventional one. In addition, the solvent stored in the solvent tank 24a is changed from vapor, including the solvent tank 24a corresponding to the liquefied solvent storage tank that temporarily stores the clean solvent 4a that is distilled and regenerated by the distiller 15a and is cleaned. Condenser 27a and solvent tank 2 for cooling and liquefying
That is, the water separator 22a configured as a part of 4a is disposed above the treatment tank 10.

That is, the processing tank 1 containing the rotating drum 11
0 is provided with a distiller 15a, and above the processing tank 10 is a solvent tank 24 which is a liquefied solvent storage tank.
a is provided.

Since the treatment tank 10 has a circular cross section following the shape of the rotary drum 11, the bottom plate of the solvent tank 24a has a shape in which a part of the bottom plate partially surrounds the treatment tank 10 along the circle. ing.

Further, a condenser 27a is provided above the solvent tank 24a. The condenser 27a has an inlet communicating with the distiller 15a to receive the solvent vapor vaporized by the distiller 15a, while the outlet has an outlet. The solvent tank 2 is communicated with the solvent tank 24a, and the solvent liquefied by the condenser 27a is liquefied.
4a is gravitationally dropped and stored.

The solvent tank 24a has a valve 3 at the bottom.
A partition wall 22c that extends from the bottom plate upward is provided at a position closer to the side wall 22b of the solvent tank 24a than the communication portion, and the side wall 22b and the partition wall 2 are connected to each other.
A water separator 22a partitioned by 2c is formed. This water separator 22a is provided with a drain pipe communicating portion 22d on its upper part,
A drain pipe 33 extending downward is connected. This drain pipe 3
The lower part 3 communicates with the drainage evaporator 34, and the water falling through the drainage pipe 33 is heated and evaporated by the heater 34a of the drainage evaporator 34.

Reference numeral 19a is a recovery air duct, which is not shown in the drawing, but has a fan, an air cooler, an air heater, etc. built therein, and these are the same as the conventional ones, and therefore their explanations are omitted. Further, other parts that are the same as those of the conventional one are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and duplicate description is omitted.

The cleaning process of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described step by step. First, when the door 1 is opened, the clothes 2 are put in, the door 1 is closed, and the operation is started, thereafter, the washing process proceeds in the following order.

.. The rotary drum 11 is slowly rotated, and the cleaning solvent 4a is used in a circuit including the solvent tank 24a, the valve 30, the processing tank 10, the valve 31, or the valve 32 to remove the cleaning solvent 4a due to the height difference between the solvent tank 24a and the processing tank 10. Rinse one way to wash clothes 2.

When the liquid level formed at the bottom of the processing tank 10 is high, at least one of the valve 31 having a high inlet and the valve 32 having a low inlet is passed, and when the liquid is low, the valve 32 is passed. After that, the solvent in the processing tank 10 is a distiller 15a.
Flow into.

[0028] Next, the liquid is naturally drained through the processing tank 10, the valve 31, or the valve 32, and the distiller 15a, and then the processing drum 11 rotates at a high speed to centrifuge the solvent 4b in the garment 2 and similarly distill the same. Drain naturally.

[0029] In the case of the two-bath cleaning method, repeat the steps in and.

[0030] The solvent 4b having entered the distiller 15a in the step of the above item is heated and evaporated by the heating means 15b such as steam or electricity, condensed and recovered by the condenser 27a, and is integrated with the solvent tank 24a to form a water separator 22a. And enters the solvent tank 24a for storage.

The water separated by the water separator 22a passes through the drainage pipe 33, is evaporated by the dedicated drainage evaporator 34, and is discharged to the outside of the system.

[0032] The drying process performed using the path of the recovery air duct 19a for drying is the same as the conventional one, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the washing steps are carried out in order as described above, but the solvent used for washing the clothes is all one-way cleaned and distilled by the distiller 15a. By doing so, it is possible to wash clothes of consistent quality in any case, and 1
The stains washed off from the clothes after the cycle is promptly discharged from the processing tank 10 to the distiller 15a, so that there is concern about reverse contamination due to redeposition on other clothes even if the filter function such as a filter paper filter is not provided. It becomes possible to do dry cleaning.

Further, the clean solvent does not have to be supplied with energy from the outside, such that the clean solvent moves upward due to the phenomenon of evaporation, drops after being liquefied and is supplied by gravity. As described above, since the evaporator 15a, the condenser 27a, the solvent tank 24a that is a storage tank for the liquefied solvent, etc. are skillfully arranged with respect to the processing tank 10, there is no need for equipment such as a pump or a filter, and the piping system is simplified. It is possible to obtain a low-priced dry cleaning device including the above.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
It goes without saying that various modifications may be made to the specific structure within the scope of the present invention.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, all the solvents used for washing clothes are distilled, cooled, and liquefied to be a clean solvent. Distillation, liquefaction, and re-supply are also caused by ascent due to evaporation and gravity. Since the washing process is carried out in a one-way flow along the path of dropping, it is possible to always perform a clean washing without the dirt once dropped from the clothing reattaching to other clothing.

Moreover, a pump for pumping up the solvent, a filter for circulating and filtering the dirty solvent, etc. are not required, and the simplification of the associated piping makes it possible to provide a much lower cost machine than the conventional system machine. It is a thing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the route of the solvent, which is the basis for performing the above-mentioned clean washing, is that the distiller is below the processing tank and the liquefied solvent storage tank is above the processing tank. However, the condenser is completed only by the positional relationship in which the condenser is arranged further above the liquefied solvent storage tank. That is, the intended purpose could be achieved by such a route.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the relative relationship between the liquefied solvent storage tank and the processing tank is determined in consideration of the shapes and positional relationships of the tank and the processing tank. In addition, I was able to obtain something that was lean from the perspective of space.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, the water separator is integrally incorporated in the liquefied solvent storage tank, and the compactification of the entire apparatus can be further promoted.

Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 5, the water collected by the water separator is forcibly removed by the evaporator, and the functional stability of the entire apparatus is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a conventional dry cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Processing Tank 11 Rotating Drum 15, 15a Distiller 24, 24a Solvent Tank 22, 22a Water Separator 27, 27a Condenser

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A post-treatment in which the volatile solvent used in the cleaning step is heated and vaporized, the vapor of the vaporized solvent is collected above the treatment tank and cooled to be liquefied, and the liquefied solvent is temporarily stored. A dry cleaning method characterized in that it is supplied to the tank from above and used in a new cleaning process. 2. A liquefied solvent storage tank provided above a processing tank accommodating a rotating drum, a distiller for distilling a solvent provided below the processing tank, and an outlet and an inlet to the liquefied solvent storage tank and the distiller. And a condenser provided above the same liquefied solvent storage tank, and a valve means provided in each of the communication sections for communicating the processing tank with the liquefied solvent storage tank and the distiller, respectively. And a dry cleaning device. 3. The dry cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquefied solvent storage tank is configured such that at least a part of a bottom plate partially surrounds the outer periphery of the processing tank from above. 4. The liquefied solvent storage tank is provided with a partition wall extending upward from the bottom plate between a communication section to the treatment tank and a side wall, and a communication section to a drain pipe is provided above the side wall to separate water. The structure which doubles as a container is also provided.
The dry cleaning device described in. 5. The dry cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein a drain pipe connected to the water separator of the liquefied solvent storage tank is connected to an evaporator.