EP2478143B1

EP2478143B1 - Auxiliary group for water washing machines

Info

Publication number: EP2478143B1
Application number: EP09741468.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gino Biagi
Original assignee: F M B FABBRICA MACCHINE BOLOGNA SpA
Current assignee: F M B FABBRICA MACCHINE BOLOGNA SpA
Priority date: 2009-09-15
Filing date: 2009-09-15
Publication date: 2014-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 2029-09-15
Also published as: CN102575406B; CN102575406A; EP2478143A1; WO2011033535A1

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to an auxiliary group for water washing machines.

Background art

A washing machine is a machine used mainly to wash fabrics. To perform the washing cycle, it uses as a primary medium water in combination with detergents (water washing), but other washing devices exist which perform "dry" cleaning by using organic solvents and are usually used in specialized firms.
Specifically, in water washing machines a certain amount of water is introduced inside the washing machine (filling step) when it already contains the fabrics to be washed (for example clothes).
It is known that water is actually an excellent solvent for a very large number of substances; in any case, in order to increase washing quality (removal of the maximum quantity of residues and stains), at least one suitable detergent and additives with specific functions (stain remover, softener, etcetera) are also added to the water.
The clothes, which rotate within the basket of the washing machine, are immersed continuously and cyclically in the water deposit created previously on the bottom of the chamber within which the basket rotates (this water, in specific steps of the cycle, is appropriately mixed with detergents and/or additives).
At the end of the washing process (or of one of the operations performed by the washing machine during the entire washing cycle), the water is discharged to the outside (usually by gravity, without the use of pumps).
Throughout all of this step, the basket of the washing machine is kept turning at a lower speed.
The rotation rate of the basket of the washing machine undergoes an increase during the step known as "spin drying", for removing, by mechanical action, the water that impregnates the clothes: the clothes, as a consequence of the high-speed rotation of the basket, are forced against the internal surface thereof. This surface, being provided with a series of through holes, allows extraction of the water drops from the wet clothes (the drops, subjected to centrifugal acceleration caused by rotation of the basket at high speed, leave the fabrics to move away from the basket in a centrifugal direction through the holes).
The amount of water that is removed from the clothes collects on the bottom of the washing machine and is then discharged to the exterior.
Subsequently, the clothes and fabrics can be taken from the water washing machine by an operator and placed into a dryer, which dries them completely, making them suitable for the subsequent ironing steps.
If the items to be washed have particular characteristics (materials that are damaged by contact with water, combinations of materials that undergo changes if immersed in water simultaneously, etcetera), it is necessary to resort to dry-cleaning.
Dry-cleaning consists in subjecting the items to flows of organic solvents, which eliminate residues and stains without damaging the fibers.
This type of washing must be performed in specific dry-cleaning machines.
A cleaning laboratory, in order to be able to perform all possible types of washing, requires the presence of a water washing machine and of a dry-cleaning machine; in addition to these, a dryer must also be present.
The simultaneous presence of at least these three machines makes it necessary to have a considerable amount of space available.
Moreover, this space is not utilized constantly, because the types of service of the three machines have different requirements: whereas the water washing machine operates almost continuously (the number and the type of items that can be washed in this manner is greater), the dry-cleaning machine operates for a shorter time (further, the cost of dry-cleaning is higher than that of water washing and it is therefore not economically justified to dry-clean items that could be washed in water). The dryer operates for a considerable amount of time, but its activity is linked to the type of items to be dried and to their characteristics: some items might not need to pass through the dryer after they have undergone the spin-drying step of the water washing machine.
In many cases, therefore, the purchase of a large number of different machines is not justified, especially for small laboratories: it may be economically advantageous to renounce the dry-cleaning machine or the dryer because their use is marginal.
In this case, however, the operator of the laboratory cannot perform these activities and therefore limits his operating scope.

Disclosure of the invention

The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, by proposing an auxiliary group for water washing machines that is suitable for enhancing their functions.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary group for water washing machines that allows drying of the washed items while they are still inside the basket of the water washing machine, making the water washing machine similar to a dryer.
Another object of the invention is to propose an auxiliary group for water washing machines that makes it possible to perform dry-cleaning of the items that are present in the basket of the water washing machine, making the water washing machine similar to a dry-cleaning machine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary group for water washing machines that has low costs, is relatively simple to provide in practice and safe in application.
This aim and these objects, as well as others that will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an auxiliary group having the features of claim 1.
EP 1980660 describes a washing machine having a drying function, an ozone generator and a control for an air wash, which is a treatment independant of washing and drying.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the auxiliary group for water washing machines according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an auxiliary group according to the invention associated with a respective water washing machine;
Figure 2 is a schematic circuit view of the conceptual layout of the auxiliary group according to the invention associated with a respective water washing machine.

Ways of carrying out the invention

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates an auxiliary group for water washing machines 2.
The water washing machine 2 adapted to be associated with the group 1 comprises a cabinet 3 provided with an internal chamber that is suitable for containing water.
A rotating basket is provided within the chamber.
The washing machine 2 is further provided with a duct 4a for introducing water from the water mains and a duct 4b for discharging the water: the water is introduced in the internal chamber for wetting and soaking the fabrics to be washed.
A motor element (generally an electric motor) is designed to move the basket: the motor element generally also supports a suitable flywheel that is designed to smooth the rotation of the basket (the load of items to be washed might become distributed unevenly in the basket during spin drying, creating a rotational imbalance, and the flywheel is designed to dampen these imbalances).
The group 1 comprises a duct 5 for delivery to the internal chamber and a duct 6 for return to such chamber.
The delivery duct 5 and the return duct 6 are intercepted by at least one of an element 7 for the forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying and an apparatus 8 for the forced circulation of washing solvents.
The auxiliary group 1 further comprises a control and management unit 9: the element 7 for the forced circulation of desiccation and drying gas and the apparatus 8 for the forced circulation of solvents are controlled by the control and management unit 9, which allows and establishes their clearance to operate and perform the operating steps according to cycles stored in an internal memory component thereof.
The water washing machine 2 with which the auxiliary group 1 is associated comprises its own controller (generally a memory and calculation component that contains all the software for management and control and the values of the corresponding electrical quantities suitable for driving the machine 2): therefore, the control and management unit 9 intervenes only when the group 1 is operating (during the drying step or during dry cleaning), and is instead disabled when the machine 2 performs water washing. The control panel of the group 1 is suitable for selecting and programming the dry-cleaning cycles and the drying cycles, whereas the water washing cycles are managed by means of the control panel of the machine 2.
According to one possible alternative embodiment, the group 1 can be provided with a control and management unit 9 that is suitable for controlling and driving the operation of the machine 2 during water washing as well: in this case, during installation of the group 1 on the machine 2 it is necessary to exclude the controller of the machine 2 and connect the cables that lead to its terminals to respective dedicated terminals of the control and management unit 9. In this case, simply by operating on a control panel of the group 1 it is possible to select and program any washing cycle (water or dry) and drying cycle.
The element 7 for forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying comprises a gas pump 10 for forced circulation of the desiccation and drying gas, at least one heater 11, upstream of the delivery duct 5, for increasing the temperature of the desiccation and drying gas, at least one filter 12 for gas and a condenser 13, downstream of the return duct 6, for removing the humidity and the vapors of solvents that are residues of the desiccation and drying gas.
The desiccation gas is normally air, which is made to flow along the pneumatic circuit consisting of the components listed above and of the ducts 5 and 6: control of the temperature of the air stream and of the humidity contained therein ensure that such flow removes humidity from the items of fabric and clothes in general that are present within the basket of the washing machine.
In particular, the flow, suitably conditioned, reaches the basket (which is kept in constant rotary motion at low speed by the respective motor element) and flows over the fabrics and clothes that are present therein, passing through them as well, removing humidity from them (the hot and dry stream converts the water that soaks the fabrics into steam). The outgoing stream that passes through the duct 6 is therefore loaded with humidity: for this reason, this stream undergoes a first filtration, through the filter 12 which eliminates solid impurities (which might damage the subsequent components), and passes through the condenser 13 designed to remove steam.
In particular, the condenser 13 consists of a heat exchanger of a refrigeration cycle that intercepts the air stream that arrives from the filter 12: the stream, loaded with humidity, by flowing over the heat exchanger, is rapidly reduced in temperature, causing a rapid condensation of the steam; most of the steam further condenses directly on the surfaces of the exchanger.
A collector 14 designed to collect the condensed liquid and to optionally send it to an appropriate purification cycle is installed below the condenser 13.
The condensed liquid requires a purification cycle to prevent it from containing traces of detergents or other materials before being introduced in the drain ducts of the water system.
The purification criteria that can be adopted in the case of a specific embodiment will be described hereinafter.
The apparatus 8 for forced circulation of washing solvents comprises a solvent tank 15, a solvent pump 16 for forced circulation of the solvent, at least one filter 17 for solvents, downstream of the return duct 6, for the removal of foreign substances from the solvent.
The group 1 has been conceived mainly for the use of hydrocarbon-or silicon-based solvents: this type of solvent has a specific gravity slightly lower than 1 (approximately 0.8 for hydrocarbon-based solvents and 0.9 for silicon-based solvents). The particular specific gravity facilitates their separation from water inside true separators or in suitable settling tanks: whereas all the water goes to the bottom of the tank, the solvent stratifies on the upper part and a distinct division between the two liquids is created.
In the field of solvent washing, chlorinated solvents, above all tetrachloroethylene, are still widely used.
Chlorinated solvents, other than solvents based on hydrocarbons or silicon, have a specific gravity of more than 1, and therefore separation from water is performed in the manner opposite to what has been shown for the previously described solvents; they have higher KB values (aggressiveness on fabrics, capacity to remove fats and residues in general from fabrics) than hydrocarbon- or silicon-based solvents, but with respect to the latter they also have a higher toxicity.
The provision of a group 1 according to the invention that is suitable for operation with chlorinated solvents is not excluded.
Moreover, the provision of a group 1 according to the invention provided with a series of tanks 15, each containing a specific solvent, is also not to be excluded.
In this manner, the washing machine 2 associated with the group 1 can perform dry-cleaning cycles associated with different types of solvents: the advantage of this embodiment is linked to the specific treatment of some materials, which are incompatible with some types of solvents and with water washing; the washing machine 2 coupled to a group 1 of this type would therefore have maximum versatility, since it might operate by adopting any of the known types of washing (with water or with any one of the solvents contained within the specific tanks 15).
According to an embodiment of particular interest in practice and in application, the water washing machine 2 comprises a door 3a for accessing the internal chamber: in this configuration, the end mouth of the delivery duct 5 is coupled hermetically to a respective opening of the door 3a for direct access to the internal chamber.
Again with reference to this embodiment, the mouth of the return duct 6 must be associated with the duct 4b for discharging water from the chamber.
As noted, the hydraulic circuit that constitutes the apparatus 8 includes at least one filter 17 for solvents: such filter is of the type suitable for separating from the solvent, which arrives from the return duct 6, any solid objects (pieces of filaments of fabric, buttons, pins, etcetera) suspended therein. This filter 17 is therefore shaped like a net with a mesh size like the dimensions of the solid objects to be separated: in particular, it is possible to provide a filter 17 consisting of a sequence of nets with progressively finer meshes for trapping residues and separating them depending on their dimensions.
In particular, the at least one filter 18 for solvents of the apparatus 8 for the forced circulation of washing solvents is of a type suitable for blocking pins and other similar bodies: in this case it is shaped like a metal net with a fine mesh (smaller than the diameter of a pin).
As an alternative, the net that constitutes the filter 17 can be made of polymeric materials and the like: the possibility is noted to adopt a nylon membrane filter 20.
Also in the circuit related to the element 7 for forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying, the filter 12 for gas is of the type suitable for separating from the gas that arrives from the return duct 6 any solid objects suspended therein, and it, too, is shaped like at least one net (in relation to the possibility of providing a sequence of nets with progressively finer mesh) whose mesh has the dimensions of the solid objects to be separated.
According to a particularly effective specific embodiment, the apparatus 8 for forced circulation of washing solvents comprises a detergent dispenser 19 for mixing such detergents with the solvent, in order to increase its capacity to remove stains and residues from the items to be washed.
For optimizing the solvent's purification of substances released by the items being washed (dissolved residues and/or water), the apparatus 8 for forced circulation of washing solvents comprises an auxiliary filter 21 of the powder type, which operates by settling and is arranged downstream of the nylon membrane filter 20 along a disconnectable branch 22 of the hydraulic circuit through which the solvent flows.
The need for the auxiliary filter 21 is due to the fact that the filter 20
(with a polymeric membrane, for example made of nylon) that is used to filter the solvent after a certain time becomes dirty and has to be cleaned. A specific automatic procedure for cleaning the filter 20 is therefore provided: all the dirt that is present on the filter 20 is removed mechanically and ends in the filter 21. Inside the filter 21 there is a bag, which collects all the dirt and can therefore be extracted subsequently in order to be emptied.
It is noted that powder filtration can also be particularly selective, by adopting for example powders containing activated carbon that is capable of separating from the solvent even residues of chemical substances in the liquid state that are present in the mixture.
To prevent the solvent from being able to reach the items to be washed at such temperatures as to be excessively aggressive (it might potentially damage the clothes or some parts thereof), the apparatus 8 for forced circulation of washing solvents comprises a thermostatic device 23 for adjusting the temperature of the solvent, which is arranged upstream of the delivery duct 5.
According to a possible application which is particularly interesting from the point of view of efficiency of the drying cycle, there is at least one of an electric resistor-based heat exchanger, a steam circulation-based heat exchanger, and an electromagnetic induction-based heat exchanger downstream of the heater 15, which is arranged upstream of the delivery duct 5, for increasing the temperature of the desiccation.and drying gas.
In particular, attention is called to the high heat exchange efficiency that can be obtained by adopting a steam-based exchanger 24 in which the steam, heated by means of a suitable generator 25, passes through a coil through which the stream of gas passes before being introduced in the duct 5.
In water washing, which is typical of the operation of the washing machine 2, a certain quantity of water is introduced in the internal chamber (filling step). This is followed by actual washing, in which the clothes that rotate within the basket are continuously re-immersed in the level of water created previously (optionally mixed with appropriate detergents).
At the end of the washing process, the water is discharged to the exterior.
Throughout this step, the basket of the washing machine is kept turning at low speed. The rotation rate of the basket of the washing machine 2 is then increased for removing, by means of a mechanical action, the water that is soaked into the clothing (by utilizing centrifugal acceleration and the fact that the walls of the basket are provided with a plurality of distributed holes).
The amount of water removed from the clothes collects on the bottom of the internal chamber to be then discharged to the outside.
By using the washing machine 2 in combination with the group 1, in particular by activating the element 7 for forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying after the water washing step, a forced circulation of air is established between the internal chamber and the element 7 by means of the gas pump 10.
The air mixed with steam (water removed from the clothes) is aspirated from the internal chamber and passes through a very cold heat exchanger (condenser 13): here the steam condenses and becomes water and the liquid condensate is collected.
The liquid condensate, according to a particular application, can reach a separator 26: if there is an even minimal quantity of liquid residues other than water or solvents (residues of previous washes) in the condensate, they can be separated from the water because, due to the difference in specific gravity, distinct levels are created. The water then ends in a settling tank 27, a container from which it can then be discharged to the exterior.
After the condenser 13, the air, without steam and humidity, passes through suitable heaters 11 and 24 and then reenters the internal chamber of the washing machine 2 and passes through the clothes, removing further water from them.
Throughout this step, the basket of the washing machine is kept turning at low speed.
By using the washing machine 2 in combination with the group 1, in particular by activating the apparatus 8, a certain quantity of solvent will be aspirated from the tank 15 and, by means of the pump 16, will be sent to the internal chamber (filling step).
At the end of this partial filling of the internal chamber there is recirculation: the solvent must therefore be aspirated from the internal chamber always by means of the pump 16, pass through the filter 20 and then return into the internal chamber (forced circulation of the solvent).
At the end of the recirculation step, the solvent is aspirated from the internal chamber of the washing machine 2 by means of the pump 16 and is again sent to the tank 15.
Throughout this step, the basket of the washing machine 2 is kept turning at low speed.
At this point, in order to complete the dry-cleaning operations with the machine 2 and the group 1, it is necessary to start the spin drying step: the rotation rate of the basket increases for removing by mechanical action the solvent that is soaked into the clothes.
The amount of solvent that is removed from the clothes collects on the bottom of the internal chamber and is then sent to the tank 15.
At the end of spin drying, dry-cleaning might require drying of the items of clothing: a circulation of air is created in the pneumatic circuit defined by the machine 2 and by the element 7 for forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying.
The air, mixed with the solvent vapors, is aspirated from the internal chamber and passes through a very cold heat exchanger (condenser 13): here, the solvent vapors condense and the liquid condensate is collected by the appropriately provided collector 14.
The liquid condensate, according to a particular application, can go to a separator 26:' if there is an even minimal quantity of water in the condensate, it is separated from the solvent because two distinct levels are created due to the difference in specific gravity. The water then ends in a settling tank 27, a container from which it can then be discharged to the exterior.
At the output from the condenser 14, the air, which lacks solvent, passes through one or two very hot exchangers (heaters 11 and 24) to be then returned into the washing machine 2 in order to flow through the clothes, removing further solvent from them.
Throughout this step, the basket of the washing machine 2 is kept turning at low speed.
It should be noted conveniently that the control and management unit 9 is also capable of controlling diverters 28 and 29 arranged upstream and downstream of the pneumatic circuit of the element 7 and of the hydraulic circuit of the apparatus 8: these valve diverters 28 and 29 allow isolation of the two circuits, connecting them one at a time to the washing machine 2 or optionally isolating completely the group 1 from the machine 2 if it is necessary to perform water washing.
Moreover, the possibility of associating the group 1 with several washing machines 2 is not excluded: in this case, it is possible to combine their cycles, increasing the overall efficiency of the system.
For example, while the first machine 2 performs water washing, the second machine can perform a drying cycle (subsequently to water washing and/or dry-cleaning) by means of the group 1: at the end of the washing process, the first machine 2 can perform the drying cycle as soon as the cycle of the second machine 2 has ended.
In this manner, downtimes in the operation of the washing system are minimized.
Positively, therefore, the auxiliary group 1 for water washing machines 2 is perfectly suited for enhancing the functions of such machines.
Conveniently, the auxiliary group 1 for water washing machines 2 makes it possible to dry the washed items while they are still inside the basket of the water washing machine 2, making the water washing machine 2 similar to a dryer.
Advantageously, the auxiliary group 1 for water washing machines 2 allows dry-cleaning of the items that are present in the basket of the water washing machine 2, making the water washing machine 2 similar to a dry-cleaning machine.
It is not secondary to note that the overall space occupation and cost of a washing system consisting of a machine 2 and a group 1 are much lower than the space occupation and cost of a system consisting of a machine 2, a dryer and a dry-cleaning machine.
It is further appropriate to note that the condenser 13 and the thermostatic device 23 are controlled by a respective refrigerating apparatus A designed to supply a refrigerated fluid that is suitable for circulation in specific heat exchangers contained in the condenser 13 and in the device 23.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In the exemplary embodiments shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.
In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

An auxiliary group (1) for association with at least one washing machine (2) of a washing system, said group (1) comprising:
- a duct (5) suitable to deliver to an internal chamber of a washing machine (2), and a duct (6) suitable to return from said internal gas chamber gas for desiccation and washing solvents;

- at least one of an element (7) for the forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying intercepting said delivery duct (5) and said return duct (6);

- an apparatus (8) for the forced circulation of washing solvents, comprising a solvent tank (15), a solvent pump (16) for the forced circulation of the washing solvents, and at least one filter for solvents (17), arranged downstream of said return duct (6), for removing foreign substances from the solvent; and

- a control and management unit (9), said element (7) and said apparatus (8) being controlled by said control and management unit (9) that enables their operation and execution of the operating steps according to cycles stored within said control and management unit (9).
The auxiliary group according to claim 1, characterized in that said element (7) for forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying comprises a pump for gases (10) for the forced circulation of the desiccation and drying gas, at least one heater (11, 24), upstream of said delivery duct (5), for increasing the temperature of the desiccation and drying gas, at least one filter for gas (12) and a condenser (13), downstream of the return duct (6), for removing humidity and vapors of residual solvents from the desiccation and drying gas.
The auxiliary group according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one filter for solvents (17, 18, 20) of said apparatus (8) for the forced circulation of washing solvents is of a type that is suitable for separating from the solvent that arrives from said return duct (6) any solid objects suspended therein, being formed as at least one net whose mesh has the size of the solid objects to be separated.
The auxiliary group according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one filter (18) for solvents of said apparatus (8) for the forced circulation of washing solvents is of the type suitable for blocking pins and other similar objects, being shaped like a fine-mesh metallic net.
The auxiliary group according to claim 2 , characterized in that said filter for gas (12) of said element (7) for forced circulation of gas for desiccation and drying is of a type suitable for separating from the gas that arrives from said return duct (6) any solid objects suspended therein, being formed as at least one net whose mesh has the size of the solid objects to be separated.
The auxiliary group according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said apparatus (8) for the forced circulation of washing solvents comprises a dispenser of detergents (19) for mixing them with said solvent.
The auxiliary group according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said apparatus (8) for the forced circulation of washing solvents comprises an auxiliary filter (21) of the powder type, which operates by decantation and is arranged downstream of said filter for solvents (20) along a disconnectable branch (22) of said hydraulic circuit through which said solvent flows.
The auxiliary group according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said apparatus (8) for the forced circulation of washing solvents comprises a thermostatic device (23) for regulating the temperature of the solvent, which is arranged upstream of said delivery duct (5).
The auxiliary group according to claim 2, characterized in that said at least one heater (11, 24), arranged upstream of said delivery duct (5), for increasing the temperature of the desiccation and drying gas, comprises at least one of an electric resistor-based heat exchanger, a steam circulation-based heat exchanger, and an electromagnetic induction-based heat exchanger.
A washing system comprising an auxiliary group (1) for water washing machines according to claim 1, and at least one washing machine (2) of the type that comprises a cabinet (3) provided with an internal chamber suitable for containing water, a basket that can rotate within said chamber, a duct (4a) for introducing water in said chamber and a duct (4b) for discharging said water from said chamber, and a motor element designed to move said basket.
The washing system according to claim 10, characterized in that the water washing machine (2) comprises a door (3a) for access to the internal chamber, an end mouth of said delivery duct (5) being coupled hermetically to a respective opening of said door (3a) for direct access to said internal chamber.
The washing system according to claim 11, characterized in that the mouth of said return duct (6) is associated with said duct (4b) for discharging water from said chamber.