JP2002239294A - Dry cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably cool a solvent even when temperature of the outlet of a cooler is elevated by decrease in cooling performance in a constitution in which a cooling medium is used for a drying cooler for concentrating the solvent and the solvent is cooled with cool air made by the drying cooler. SOLUTION: When the temperature of the outlet of the drying cooler 15 is elevated at the target temperature 12 deg.C or higher in a recovering and drying process, rotating speed of a blower motor 6 for circulating air is decreased to decrease amount of the air per unit time. Heat exchange efficiency between the cooling medium and the air is improved thereby in the drying cooler 15 and temperature on the outlet side of the drying cooler 15 is decreased. Then, amount of heat taken away from the solvent in a solvent cooler 28 is also increased and it is possible to stably decrease the temperature of the solvent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a dry cleaning apparatus for washing and drying using a petroleum solvent or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a dry cleaning device, there is provided a circulation channel for a solvent having an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the top of an outer tank having a rotating drum inside, and a pump and a filter installed in the circulation channel. Are known. In this dry cleaning apparatus, during the cleaning process, the solvent is circulated in the circulation flow path by a pump operation to purify the solvent with a filter, so that the solvent can be continuously used without being discharged outside the machine. Generally, petroleum solvents are
The highest cleaning performance is obtained when the temperature is around 25 ° C., and the cleaning performance deteriorates when the liquid temperature is higher or lower. In addition, petroleum solvents have high flammability, and there is a problem in terms of safety when the liquid temperature rises. In the configuration in which the solvent is circulated as described above, the temperature of the solvent changes due to heat conduction from the surrounding environment, and heat conduction from the pump during the circulation of the solvent and frictional heat generated when passing through the flow path, etc. The liquid temperature rises. Therefore, in the conventional dry cleaning apparatus, a cooler and a heater are provided in a circulation path of the solvent, and the operation of the cooler and the heater is controlled so that the solvent is maintained at around 25 ° C.

In the dry cleaning apparatus, a cooler is used separately from the cooler for cooling the solvent to collect and condense and liquefy the solvent that evaporates from the laundry in the drum during drying. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has proposed a dry cleaning apparatus having a novel configuration in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-317284. In this dry cleaning apparatus, a solvent cooler provided with a pipe for flowing a solvent is provided between a heater for heating air supplied to an outer tank during a drying process and a dry cooler for condensing a solvent gas. That is, in this configuration, the air cooled by the drying cooler exchanges heat with the solvent pipe in the solvent cooler, thereby cooling the solvent. Therefore, according to this configuration, there is a great cost advantage that a refrigerator for cooling the solvent, which has been conventionally required, is not required.

[0004]

In the above-described dry cleaning apparatus, as a dry cooler, water is cooled by a refrigerator installed outside, and the cooling water is circulated through a pipe disposed in an air passage. In general, the configuration is such that the air passing through the ventilation path is cooled by the cooling. However, in such a cooler using cooling water, water management is troublesome, rust is easily generated in the piping, and maintenance costs are high, or in a cold region, attention must be paid to freezing in winter. There was a problem. Further, a refrigerator for cooling water is large and requires a large space for installation.

Conventionally, some dry cleaning apparatuses employ a cooler using a refrigerant, such as that used in an indoor air conditioner (so-called air conditioner). A cooler that uses a refrigerant eliminates the need for water management, and requires a significantly smaller installation area for a refrigerator (corresponding to an outdoor unit with an air conditioner). However, even in such a cooler, the cooling capacity is limited, and it becomes difficult to sufficiently lower the temperature of the air on the outlet side when the temperature of the air on the inlet side of the cooler increases. There is also a specific problem that the cooling capacity is affected by the outside air temperature. These problems are not so serious when using this cooler only for condensing the solvent gas, but when the solvent is cooled by the air cooled by the dry cooler as described above,
When the outlet temperature of the drying cooler is high, there is a problem that the cooling of the solvent becomes insufficient.

Furthermore, in a cooler using a refrigerant, it is preferable not to repeatedly turn on / off the operation in a short time so as not to apply an excessive load to the compressor. On the other hand, there is a problem that unless an appropriate thermal load is applied when the operation is turned on, that is, unless high-temperature air is applied to the drying cooler to promote heat exchange, the refrigerant pipe is frosted and frozen. In the dry cleaning device, during the drying operation, collecting and drying the solvent while collecting the solvent, exhaust drying to blow off the remaining solvent, cool down to lower the temperature of the laundry, and volatilize the solvent odor remaining in the laundry. It is necessary to sequentially perform steps such as deodorization for a relatively short time, and the conventional dry cleaning apparatus cannot perform control that satisfies both of the above two problems.

Conventionally, in this type of dry cleaning apparatus, a liquid level monitoring apparatus is provided so that the amount of the solvent stored in the solvent tank can be easily checked visually. The simplest one is to provide a glass window on the side of the solvent tank so that the liquid level inside can be directly viewed. However, in recent years, it has become difficult to install such a glass window from the viewpoint of safety. I have. Further, since the flammability of the solvent is high, a configuration that requires electric wiring in the solvent tank is not preferable.

Therefore, conventionally, a hollow annular float is moved up and down along a guide rod inserted through the center of the float, and an arm connected to the upper portion of the float is taken out of the solvent tank to allow the arm to move. A configuration in which the scale is indicated accordingly is adopted. However, in this configuration,
Frequently, there is a problem that dust floating in the solvent is clogged in the gap between the float and the guide rod and the float does not move up and down. Further, if the seal (liquid sealing member) at the position where the arm is taken out of the solvent tank is deteriorated, there is another problem that the solvent leaks.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and one of the objects thereof is to provide a dry cleaning apparatus in which a solvent cooler is disposed downstream of a drying cooler.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dry cleaning device capable of stably and surely cooling a solvent. Another object of the present invention is to provide a dry cleaning device capable of reducing a failure of a drying cooler. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a high safety and less failure.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dry cleaning device provided with a liquid level monitoring device for a solvent tank.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer tub serving also as a washing room and a drying room, and a circulation air path including the outer tub. An air passage having an inlet and an outlet connected to the outer tub, air blowing means for circulating air through the circulation air passage, a drying cooler for condensing a solvent installed in the air passage, And a heater for air heating installed downstream of the drying cooler. A) disposing a part of the solvent flow path in an air passage between the drying cooler and the heater; A solvent cooler for cooling the solvent, b) a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature at an outlet side of the drying cooler, and c) a blower for changing an air flow according to a temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. Control means for controlling the blowing means It is characterized.

When drying the laundry, the drying cooler and the heater are operated to circulate the air in the circulation air path by the blowing means.
Cool air flows after being cooled by the drying cooler. The solvent flowing in the pipe in the solvent cooler is cooled by the heat taken by the surroundings by the cold air. That is, the solvent cooler functions as an air-cooling type cooling unit using the cool air generated by the drying cooler. When the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit is relatively high, the control unit controls the blowing unit so as to reduce the blowing amount. Then, the amount of heat taken from the unit volume of air per unit time in the drying cooler increases. That is, the heat exchange efficiency is improved, and the temperature of the air sent to the drying cooler outlet side is reduced. Therefore, the efficiency of cooling the solvent in the solvent cooler is also improved, and the temperature of the solvent can be further reduced. Thereby, even if the temperature of the air on the inlet side of the drying cooler increases, or even if the cooling capacity of the drying cooler itself decreases due to an increase in the outside air temperature, the solvent can be stably and reliably cooled. it can.

As an example of a specific configuration, the blowing means may include a fan and a motor for driving the fan, and the control means may control a rotation speed of the motor.

Further, the dry cleaning apparatus according to the first invention is particularly useful when the dry cooler has a configuration in which a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant cooled by a heat pump type refrigerator provided outside is disposed. is there. That is, in the dry cleaning apparatus having such a configuration, the cooling capacity of the dry cooler is easily changed by the influence of the outside air temperature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer tub serving also as a washing room and a drying room, and an inlet and an outlet provided in the outer tub so as to form a circulation air path including the outer tub. Is connected, a blowing means for circulating air in the circulation air path, a drying cooler for condensing the solvent installed in the ventilation path, and a downstream side of the drying cooler in the ventilation path. An installed heater for air heating, an openable / closable intake port provided in a ventilation path between the drying cooler and the heater, and an exhaust port provided in a ventilation path between the outer tub and the drying cooler. And a gate valve provided in the air passage between the drying cooler and the air inlet, the gate being capable of opening and closing the air passage.In a dry cleaning device, the gate valve is opened and the air inlet is closed, Activate the heater and drying cooler to flow through the circulating air path. The recovery and drying process of drying while collecting the solvent contained in the air to be removed, the gate valve and the intake port are both opened, and most of the air that has passed through the outer tank is discharged to the outside through the discharge port, and the heater And an exhaust drying process in which the drying cooler is operated to perform drying while collecting a solvent contained in a part of the air passing through the circulation air passage, and the gate valve is opened, the intake port is closed, and the heater is stopped. On the other hand, it is characterized by comprising a control means for sequentially executing a cool-down step of operating the drying cooler to lower the temperature of the laundry stored in the outer tub.

In the dry cleaning apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the exhaust drying step, the gate valve is conventionally closed and the entire warm air that has passed through the outer tank is exhausted from the exhaust port to the outside. By opening it and guiding some warm air to the drying cooler, and keeping the drying cooler running, the solvent contained in the warm air can be condensed and liquefied and recovered. ing.

The second invention is also particularly useful when applied to a dry cleaning apparatus having a configuration in which a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant cooled by a heat pump type refrigerator provided with a drying cooler outside is circulated. That is, even when the drying cooler is operated during the exhaust drying process, heat is appropriately removed from the refrigerant, so that a problem such as excessive cooling of the refrigerant pipe and a large amount of frost does not occur. As a result, the drying cooler can be operated continuously from the start of the recovery drying process to the end of the cooling down process, so that the on / off state of the refrigerator is not switched in a short time, and the failure of the refrigerator is reduced. can do. Further, since the solvent can be recovered even in the exhaust drying step, the effect of improving the solvent recovery efficiency is also achieved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dry cleaning apparatus for storing a solvent in a storage tank and circulating the solvent stored in the storage tank to a washing room for washing. A liquid level monitoring device that externally monitors the liquid level of the solvent stored in the storage tank,
The liquid level monitoring device includes: a) a float that moves up and down in conjunction with a liquid level; b) a float guide portion provided to sandwich the float between the float and a wall surface of the storage tank; And d) a scale including a movable body made of a magnet or a magnetic material, which is provided outside the wall surface of the storage tank and opposed to the float and is attracted to the magnet or the magnetic material. And a display unit.

In the dry cleaning apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the float moves up and down in conjunction with the vertical movement of the liquid level of the solvent in the storage tank, the magnet or magnetic material attached to the float is moved accordingly. The movable body to be attracted moves up and down in the scale display section. Thereby, the movable body indicates a position corresponding to the liquid level. According to this configuration, there is no need to take out the mechanical members, electric wires, and the like connected to the float from the float inside the storage tank to the outside of the tank. Further, since there is no need to provide a transparent window made of glass or the like in the storage tank, there is no possibility that the solvent may flow out due to breakage of the glass. Also, since the float guide is located outside the float,
Unlike the conventional liquid level monitoring device, there is no possibility that dust floating in the solvent is clogged between the float and the float guide rod, and the float does not easily malfunction.

If the magnet or the magnetic material is provided above the liquid level of the solvent in the float, the minute metal material mixed in the solvent is attracted to and adhered to the magnet. Can also be prevented.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a dry cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a main part of the present dry cleaner centered on a piping path. First, the mechanical configuration of the present dry cleaner will be described with reference to FIG.

A cylindrical drum 2 having a large number of holes around it is rotatably supported in the outer tub 1, and the wall of the outer tub 1 has an inlet-side air passage 3 a and an outlet-side air passage 3 b. , And a drain line 4 for the solvent. Inlet side ventilation path 3
a, the outer tub 1, the outlet side ventilation path 3b, and the upper ventilation path 3c form a circulating air path, and the air flows through the circulating air path by the suction force of the fan 5 driven to rotate by the blower motor 6. A gate valve 7 that can open and close the ventilation path is provided between the upper ventilation path 3c and the inlet-side ventilation path 3a, and an intake port that has an intake valve 9 that can be opened and closed immediately downstream of the gate valve 7. 8 are arranged. An exhaust port 10 is provided between the outlet side ventilation path 3b and the upper ventilation path 3c.

In this configuration, when the fan 5 is rotated in a state where the intake valve 9 is opened and the gate valve 7 is closed, the air flowing from the intake port 8 causes the inlet side ventilation passage 3a, the outer tub 1, and the outlet. The air is discharged from the exhaust port 10 to the outside through the side ventilation path 3b (this air path is referred to as an “exhaust method”). When the fan 5 is rotated in a state where the intake valve 9 and the gate valve 7 are both opened, the air flowing from the intake port 8 passes through the inlet side ventilation path 3a, the outer tank 1, and the outlet side ventilation path 3b, Part of the air is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust port 10 and the rest is
The air circulates to the inlet-side ventilation path 3a via c (this air path is referred to as “circulation exhaust method”). Furthermore, when the fan 5 is rotated with the intake valve 9 closed and the gate valve 7 opened, the inlet-side air passage 3a, the outer tub 1, and the outlet-side air passage 3
b, air circulates through the upper ventilation path 3c (this air path is referred to as "sealed exhaust system").

A drying heater 11 of a steam heating system is provided in the inlet side ventilation path 3a, and a drum inlet temperature sensor 12 and a drum inlet overheating prevention sensor 13 are provided downstream of the drying heater 11. In the pipe of the drying heater 11, a high temperature (usually 100
〜120 ° C.) is supplied via a first steam valve VS1, and this steam is returned to the boiler 30 via a third steam valve VS3. As a result, the air passing through the inlet-side ventilation path 3 a is heated by the drying heater 11 and is sent into the outer tank 1. Further, a drum outlet temperature sensor 14 is provided in the outlet side ventilation path 3b, and detects the temperature of the air passing through the inside of the drum 2.

On the other hand, a drying cooler 15 of a refrigerant system is provided in the upper ventilation path 3c, and a cooler temperature sensor 16 is provided downstream of the drying cooler 15. Dry cooler 1
The refrigerant cooled by the refrigerator 31 installed outside the machine is circulated through the pipe 5. When the air sent from the outlet side ventilation path 3b side is rapidly cooled by the drying cooler 15, the solvent gas contained in the air is condensed, liquefied and dropped. The liquefied solvent flows out of the drain port 17 and reaches the water separator 18 where water is removed and only the solvent is collected in the solvent tank 20. The refrigerator 31 is a so-called heat pump refrigerator equipped with a compressor, and corresponds to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

The drainage line 4 connected to the bottom of the outer tank 1 is
Connected to a button trap 19 having a standard liquid level sensor 19a for detecting that the solvent in the drum 2 is at a predetermined liquid level, and a drain liquid level sensor 19b for detecting that the solvent in the outer tank 1 has been discharged. Have been. The button trap 19
This is a kind of filter for removing solid matter such as buttons on clothes mixed into the discharged solvent. Solvent tank 2
0 liquid supply port 20a and drain port 19 of button trap 19
c is connected to the suction port of the pump 21 via a liquid supply valve VL1 and a liquid discharge valve VL2, respectively. This pump 21
Is connected to either the inlet or the outlet of the filter 23 by a first three-way switching valve VL3 via a check valve 22. The filter 23 includes a paper filter, an activated carbon filter, and the like, and removes impurities such as fine dust mixed in the solvent.

The outlet of the filter 23 is connected to a solvent heater 24. The solvent heater 24 has a configuration in which a high-temperature steam pipe line 24a is provided in a solvent flow path, and the high-temperature steam is controlled by a second steam valve VS2. A liquid temperature sensor 25 and a liquid temperature overheating prevention sensor 26 are provided on the downstream side of the solvent heater 24, and a soap concentration sensor 27 is further provided downstream thereof. The downstream flow path is connected to a solvent cooler 28 disposed in the upper ventilation path 3 c and between the drying cooler 15 and the drying heater 11. The solvent cooler 28 circulates the solvent through the pipe, and cools the solvent by heat exchange with cooled air flowing around the pipe. That is, the solvent cooler 28 is a type of air-cooled cooler that utilizes the air cooled by the drying cooler 15. The outlet of the solvent cooler 28 is connected to either the outer tank 1 or the solvent tank 20 by a second three-way switching valve VL4. Further, a soap storage tank 29 is connected to the suction port of the pump 21 via a soap supply valve VL5.

When the solvent is supplied into the outer tank 1 in the solvent circulation path configured as described above, the drain valve V
L2 is closed, the liquid supply valve VL1 is opened, the outlet of the solvent cooler 28 is connected to the outer tank 1 by the second three-way switching valve VL4, and the discharge port side of the pump 21 is connected to the first three-way switching valve VL3.
The filter 21 is connected to the inlet of the filter 23 to drive the pump 21. Then, the solvent stored in the solvent tank 20 is supplied to the liquid supply valve VL1, the pump 21, and the first three-way switching valve VL.
3, filter 23, solvent heater 24, solvent cooler 28,
It is supplied into the outer tank 1 via the second three-way switching valve VL4 (hereinafter, this is referred to as “solvent supply path”).

On the other hand, when discharging the solvent stored in the outer tank 1, the drain valve VL2 is opened, the liquid supply valve VL1 is closed, and the discharge port side of the pump 21 is filtered by the first three-way switching valve VL3. The pump 21 is connected to the inlet of the solvent cooler 28 and the outlet of the solvent cooler 28 is connected to the solvent tank 20 by the second three-way switching valve VL4. Then, the solvent is discharged from the outer tank 1 to the drain line 4, the button trap 19,
The liquid returns to the solvent tank 20 via the drain valve VL2, the pump 21, the first three-way switching valve VL3, the filter 23, the solvent heater 24, the solvent cooler 28, and the second three-way switching valve VL4 (hereinafter, referred to as "the solvent tank 20").
This is referred to as a “solvent discharge path”). In this case, the solvent can be purified by the filter 23 in the process of collecting the solvent in the solvent tank 20.

When the solvent is not supplied to the outer tank 1, the supply valve VL1 is opened, the drain valve VL2 is closed, and the discharge port of the pump 21 is connected to the inlet of the filter 23 by the first three-way switching valve VL3. And the outlet of the solvent cooler 28 is connected to the solvent tank 20 by the second three-way switching valve VL4, and the pump 21 is driven. Then, the solvent is supplied from the solvent tank 20 through the liquid supply valve VL1, the pump 21, the first three-way switching valve VL3, the filter 23, the solvent heater 24, the solvent cooler 28, and the second three-way switching valve VL4.
(Hereinafter referred to as “solvent purification temperature control route”)
). Therefore, the solvent can be purified by the filter 23 in the course of circulation.

When the solvent is circulated in this manner, the drying heater 11 and the drying cooler 15 are operated, the blower motor 6 is driven, and the fan 5 generates an air flow in the circulation air passage. The cooler 28 can function as cooling means. That is, the drying cooler 15
The air flow cooled in step (1) comes into contact with the solvent pipe of the solvent cooler 28 to remove heat. As a result, the temperature of the solvent is lower at the outlet side of the solvent cooler 28 than at the inlet side. If the temperature of the solvent is lower than the target temperature (eg, about 25 ° C.), the second
Open the steam valve VS2 to supply steam to the solvent heater 24,
What is necessary is just to heat a solvent moderately. In this way, it is possible to manage so that the temperature of the solvent is maintained near the target temperature.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an electric system of the present dry cleaner. The control unit 40 is configured by a microcomputer or the like, and includes, in addition to the CPU, a ROM in which an operation control program is stored, a RAM for reading and writing data necessary for operation and the like. The control unit 40 includes an operation unit 42 having a key input switch and the like, a display unit 43 having a display panel for numerical values and the like, and the above-described drum inlet temperature sensor 12, drum outlet temperature sensor 14, cooler temperature sensor 16 , A liquid temperature sensor 25, a standard liquid level sensor 19a, a drain liquid level sensor 19b, a soap concentration sensor 27, and a water detection sensor 45.

The control unit 40 receives a detection signal from each of the above sensors, outputs a control signal to the load driving unit 41 according to an operation control program, and outputs the drum motor 2a, the blower motor 6, the pump 21, Valve 9, gate valve 7, supply valve VL1, drain valve VL2, first three-way switching valve V
L3, the second three-way switching valve VL4, the soap supply valve VL5, and the first to third steam valves VS1 to VS3 are respectively driven. Note that a thermistor is used as a temperature sensor connected to the control unit 40.

The drum inlet overheat prevention sensor 13 and the liquid temperature overheat prevention sensor 26 are also thermistors, but are connected not to the control unit 40 but to an operation detection circuit 44 for detecting a resistance change by each sensor in hardware. The load drive unit 41 is controlled according to the output of the operation detection circuit 44. Thus, even when the control unit 40 is not operating normally, when abnormal overheating is detected by the drum inlet overheating prevention sensor 13 and the liquid temperature overheating prevention sensor 26, the heating by the drying heater 11 and the solvent heater 24 is stopped. I can do it.

Next, the entire washing process of the dry cleaner having the above configuration will be schematically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In addition, about the process after the recovery drying process,
Reference is also made to the time chart shown in FIG. 4 showing the operating states of the refrigerator, the intake valve and the gate valve.

(1) Cleaning Step (Step S1) When the operator operates the start key of the operation section 42 to instruct the start of operation, the control section 40 controls the drum motor 2
a to drive the drum 2 intermittently at a low speed (30 to 50 rpm).
m) rotate forward and reverse (reverse). At the same time,
The solvent supply path described above is formed, and the solvent is supplied from the solvent tank 20 until a predetermined amount of the solvent is accumulated in the outer tank 1.

When the standard liquid level sensor 19a detects that a predetermined liquid level has been reached, the liquid supply valve VL1 is closed and the drain valve VL2 is opened. As a result, the solvent stored in the outer tank 1 is discharged to the drain pipe 4, the drain valve VL2, the pump 2
1, circulating through the first three-way switching valve VL3, the filter 23, the solvent heater 24, the solvent cooler 28, and the second three-way switching valve VL4 into the outer tank 1. Therefore, at the time of the tap washing by the reverse rotation of the drum 2, the solvent is circulated and supplied as described above, the solid matter coming out of the laundry is collected by the button trap 19, and the solvent is further purified by the filter 23. In addition,
During the washing operation, a soap is introduced so as to have an appropriate soap concentration in order to improve the washing performance and to prevent electrification as described later. The soap supply operation can be achieved by opening the soap supply valve VL5 while the pump 21 is operating.

(2) Dewatering Step (Step S2) When a predetermined cleaning operation time (for example, 7 minutes) has elapsed, the solvent discharge path is formed as described above, and the solvent stored in the outer tank 1 is removed. Collected in tank 20. Then, when the drainage liquid level sensor 19b detects that the drainage is completed, the drum 2 is then driven at a high speed (400 to 600 rpm).
m) to rotate forward. At this time, the draining operation as described above is continuously performed, and the solvent discharged from the laundry is transferred to the solvent tank 2.
Return to 0. Then, when a predetermined drainage operation time has elapsed, the drum 2 is stopped and the drainage process is terminated.

(3) Recovery Drying Step (Step S3) After the liquid removal step is completed, the process proceeds to the recovery drying step as the first stage of drying. In the recovery and drying process, the control unit 40 intermittently rotates the drum 2 forward and reverse at a low speed, and drives the blower motor 6, the drying cooler 15, and the drying heater 11.
At this time, the intake valve 9 is closed and the gate valve 7 is opened. Thereby, the dried hot air is supplied to the outer tank 1,
The air containing the solvent gas volatilized from the laundry after passing through the ventilation holes of the drum 2 is circulated to the drying cooler 15. Since the solvent gas is cooled and condensed and liquefied by the drying cooler 15, the drying air from which the solvent has been removed returns to the drying heater 11, is reheated, and circulates to the outer tank 1.

In the recovery and drying process, the concentration of the solvent in the circulating air is set to a safe value (for example, 0.6 vol% when the solvent is gasoline No. 5) in order to reliably prevent accidents such as ignition.
The following temperature management is performed to keep the temperature below.
That is, the solvent gas concentration in the drum 2 is determined by the hot air temperature detected by the drum entrance temperature sensor 12 and the air after the temperature is reduced by evaporating the solvent from the laundry, detected by the drum exit temperature sensor 14. Depends on the difference from the temperature. Therefore, if the steam supplied to the drying heater 11 is controlled so as to maintain this temperature difference at or below the predetermined temperature difference, specifically, if the opening and closing of the first and third steam valves VS1 and VS3 are controlled, Drying can be performed while maintaining the solvent gas concentration in the drum 2 at a safe value or less.

During the drying operation as described above, the solvent purification temperature control path is formed to purify the solvent and to control the temperature so that the temperature of the solvent becomes about 25 ° C. Be executed. If such temperature control is not performed, the temperature of the solvent usually becomes higher than 25 ° C. mainly due to heat conduction from the pump 21, and the temperature rise accumulates especially when washing is repeated. By controlling the temperature of the solvent during the drying process, the temperature of the solvent can be maintained at around 25 ° C. However, in this apparatus, since the cooling performance of the solvent in the solvent cooler 28 depends on the temperature of the air at the outlet of the drying cooler 15, the solvent temperature must be low to some extent. To 25 ° C. or less. Since the refrigerator 31 has a cooling limit, the drying cooler 1
If the air temperature on the inlet side of No. 5 is too high, the outlet temperature must be high, and the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 31 decreases as the outside air temperature increases. Therefore, in the present dry cleaner, characteristic control is performed so that the solvent can be stably cooled in the solvent cooler 28 during the recovery drying process. The control will be described later in detail.

(4) Exhaust Drying Step (Step S4) After the recovery drying step is performed for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to the exhaust drying step. In the exhaust drying process, the intake valve 9 is opened while the drying cooler 15 is operated. Since the purpose of the exhaust drying process is not to recover the solvent in the first place, the drying cooler 15 does not need to be operated. However, in the cooler using the refrigerant, it is not preferable to repeat the on / off operation in a short time, and once the drying cooler 15 is turned off in this exhaust drying process, it is turned on in the next cool-down process. Time is too short. Therefore, the drying cooler 15 is continuously operated during the exhaust drying process. In this case, unless a certain amount of thermal load is applied to the drying cooler 15, there is a problem that heat is not taken from the refrigerant and a large amount of frost is formed on the refrigerant pipe. Therefore, even when the intake valve 8 is open, the gate valve 7 is not closed.
Is circulated to the drying cooler 15, and most of the remaining hot air is discharged from the exhaust port 10 to the outside of the machine. Thus, an appropriate thermal load can be applied to the drying cooler 15, and it is possible to prevent frost from being formed even when the drying cooler 15 is operated. Also,
At this time, although the solvent contained in the warm air is small, it can be recovered by condensing and liquefying it in the drying cooler 15.

(5) Cool-down process (Step S5) After performing the exhaust drying process for a predetermined exhaust drying operation time (for example, about 1.5 minutes), the intake valve 9 is closed again,
While inverting the drum 2, the first and third steam valves VS1,
The VS 3 is closed to stop the operation of the drying heater 11, and cool-down is performed by supplying the air cooled by the drying cooler 15 to the outer tub 1.

(6) Deodorization Step (Step S6) After performing the above-mentioned cool-down for a predetermined cool-down operation time, the operation of the drying cooler 15 is stopped, the intake valve 9 is completely opened, and fresh air is supplied from outside. Is supplied to the outer tub 1 to remove the solvent odor remaining in the laundry, and then the rotation of the drum 2 is stopped to end the entire washing process.

In the present dry cleaner, as described above,
In order to stably cool the solvent, characteristic control is performed in the recovery and drying process. Next, this will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the recovery and drying operation is started, it is determined whether or not one minute has elapsed since the start of the operation (step S10).
If 1 minute has not passed, blower output frequency is 55Hz
And drives the blower motor 6 (step S1).
2). At this time, the rotation speed of the blower motor 6 becomes the highest, and as a result, the wind speed becomes the highest. Then, it is determined whether or not a predetermined recovery drying operation time has elapsed (step S16), and if not, the process returns to step S10. Therefore, until one minute has passed since the start of operation,
By repeating steps S10 → S12 → S16 → S10 →..., The wind speed of the fan 5 is kept at the maximum.

When one minute has elapsed from the start of the recovery and drying operation, the process proceeds from step S10 to S11, where the cooler temperature sensor 1
6 to determine whether the detected temperature is 12 ° C. or more,
If the temperature is lower than 12 ° C., the process proceeds to step S12, and the blower motor 6 is driven with the blower output frequency set to 55 Hz. If the detected temperature is equal to or higher than 12 ° C., it is next determined whether the detected temperature is equal to or higher than 15 ° C. (step S1).
3). If it is lower than 15 ° C., the detected temperature is not lower than 12 ° C. and lower than 15 ° C. At this time, the blower motor 6 is driven with the blower output frequency set to 50 Hz (step S14). Therefore, the wind speed decreases by one step. When the wind speed decreases, the flow of air passing through the circulating air passages slows down, so that the amount of heat taken from a unit volume of air per unit time in the drying cooler 15 increases. That is, the heat exchange efficiency is improved, and the temperature of the air on the outlet side of the drying cooler 15 can be reduced. As a result, the amount of heat removed from the solvent by the solvent cooler 28 also increases, and the temperature of the solvent decreases.

The temperature detected by the cooler temperature sensor 16 is 1
If it is 5 ° C. or higher, the blower output frequency is set to 45 Hz and the blower motor 6 is driven (step S1).
5). Therefore, the wind speed further decreases. This allows
Since the heat exchange efficiency in the drying cooler 15 is further improved, the temperature of the air on the outlet side of the drying cooler 15 can be reduced. In this way, in the present dry cleaner, by changing the wind speed (air volume per short time) of the circulating air in accordance with the temperature of the air on the outlet side of the drying cooler 15,
As a result, the temperature of the air on the outlet side of the drying cooler 15 can be reliably kept low, and the solvent can be cooled stably.

Next, a liquid level monitoring device for the solvent tank 20, which is another characteristic of the present dry cleaner, will be described. FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid level monitoring device, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG.

In this liquid level monitoring device 200, an annular magnet 203 is attached to an upper part of a float 202 which is a hollow body. The float 202 is vertically movable within a predetermined range so as to be surrounded by a gauge wall surface 204 which is one side wall surface of the solvent tank 20 and three guide rods 201 provided upright. Guide rod 201
And the gauge wall 204 are both made of a non-magnetic material,
For example, the guide rod 201 is made of synthetic resin, the gauge wall 204
May be made of a stainless steel plate (such as SUS304). For this reason, the magnet 203 is
1 and the gauge wall 204 are not attracted, and the vertical movement of the float 202 is not hindered.

Float 202 with gauge wall 204 interposed
On the other side (outside of the solvent tank 20), there is a gauge case 20 containing a spherical pointer 206 made of a magnetic material.
5 are provided. The magnetic force generated by the magnet 203 penetrates through the gauge wall surface 204 and reaches the inside of the gauge case 205, and the pointer 206 is attracted to the gauge case 205.
And it is almost always held at a position where the distance is the shortest. And
When the float 202 moves up and down in accordance with the rise and fall of the solvent level in the solvent tank 20, the pointer 2
06 also slides up and down. In the gauge case 205 (or outside), a scale indicating an appropriate liquid level position and an appropriate display are drawn, and the pointer 206 indicates the scale and the display to indicate the solvent liquid level in the solvent tank 20. Inform. The user can check the gauge to see how much the solvent has been reduced, and take appropriate measures such as arranging the purchase of the solvent if necessary.

For example, even if the pointer 206 falls in the gauge case 205 due to vibration or the like, if the liquid level drops next and the float 202 descends to the lowest position, the pointer 206
Is again attracted to the magnet 203, so that the next time the liquid level rises, monitoring that reflects the liquid level becomes possible.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and it is apparent that changes and modifications can be appropriately made within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a dry cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, centering on a piping path;

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an electric system of the dry cleaner according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the entire washing process of the dry cleaner according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing operating states of a drying cooler, an intake valve, and a gate valve after a recovery drying step in the dry cleaner of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a control flowchart of a recovery drying process in the dry cleaner according to the embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a vertical cross-sectional view and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′, respectively, showing a configuration of a liquid level monitoring device in the dry cleaner according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Outer tank 3a ... Inlet side airway 3b ... Outlet side airway 3c ... Upper airway 5 ... Fan 6 ... Blower motor 7 ... Partition valve 8 ... Intake port 9 ... Intake valve 10 ... Exhaust port 11 ... Drying heater 15 ... Drying Cooler 20 ... Solvent tank 28 ... Solvent cooler 31 ... Refrigerator 40 ... Control unit 200 ... Liquid level monitoring device 201 ... Guide rod 202 ... Float 203 ... Magnet 204 ... Gage wall surface 205 ... Gage case 206 ... Pointer

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuru Nagana 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3B155 CC09 CC11 MA02 MA03 MA06 MA07 MA08

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An outer tub serving also as a washing room and a drying room, an air passage having an inlet and an outlet connected to the outer tub so as to form a circulating air passage including the outer tub, and air flowing through the circulating air passage. And a drying cooler for condensing the solvent installed in the ventilation path, and a heater for air heating installed downstream of the drying cooler in the ventilation path. A cleaning device comprising: a) a solvent cooler for cooling a solvent, in which a part of a solvent flow path is disposed in an air passage between the drying cooler and a heater; and b) a temperature at an outlet side of the drying cooler. A dry cleaning apparatus, comprising: a temperature detecting means for detecting; and c) a control means for controlling the blowing means so as to change a blowing amount according to a temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. 2. The dry cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blower includes a fan and a motor for driving the fan to rotate, and the controller controls a rotation speed of the motor. 3. The dry cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying cooler is provided with a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant cooled by a heat pump type refrigerator installed outside is circulated. apparatus. 4. An outer tub serving also as a washing room and a drying room, an air passage having an inlet and an outlet connected to the outer tub so as to form a circulation air passage including the outer tub, and air flowing through the circulation air passage. And a drying cooler for condensing the solvent installed in the ventilation path, a heater for air heating installed downstream of the drying cooler in the ventilation path, and the drying cooler. An openable and closable intake port provided in a ventilation path between the heater, an exhaust port provided in a ventilation path between the outer tub and the drying cooler, and a ventilation path between the drying cooler and the intake port. A gate valve that is capable of opening and closing the ventilation path provided in the dry cleaning apparatus, wherein the gate valve is opened and the intake port is closed, and a heater and a drying cooler are operated to circulate the circulation air path. Drying while collecting the solvent contained in the air With the recovery drying process, the gate valve and the suction port are both opened, and most of the air that has passed through the outer tank is discharged to the outside through the discharge port, and the heater and the drying cooler are operated to pass through the circulation air passage. An exhaust drying step for drying while collecting a solvent contained in a part of the air, the gate valve is opened and the intake port is closed, the heater is stopped, and the drying cooler is operated to be housed in the outer tank. A dry-cleaning device comprising: a cooling-down process for lowering the temperature of the laundry; 5. The dry cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the drying cooler is provided with a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant cooled by a heat pump type refrigerator provided outside is disposed. 6. A storage tank for storing a solvent, and a dry cleaning device for circulating the solvent stored in the storage tank to a washing room to perform washing, wherein a liquid level of the solvent stored in the storage tank is determined. A liquid level monitoring device for monitoring from the outside, the liquid level monitoring device comprising: a) a float which moves up and down in conjunction with the liquid level; and b) the float is provided so as to be sandwiched between a wall surface of the storage tank. C) a magnet or a magnetic body attached to the float; and d) a magnet or a magnetic body provided outside the wall surface of the storage tank and facing the float and attracted to the magnet or the magnetic body. A scale display unit including a movable body made of a magnet or a magnetic material. 7. The dry cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the magnet or the magnetic material is provided on the float above a liquid level of the solvent.