JP2849028B2 - Drying equipment for clothes, etc. - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drying apparatus for drying clothes and the like, and more particularly to a drying apparatus for drying while collecting solvent from clothes washed with a petroleum-based cleaning solvent.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in dry cleaning,
Freon, which has less danger of fire and explosion and has excellent finish
Synthetic solvents such as ethane and perchlorethylene have been mainly used. However, since these synthetic solvents are harmful to humans and the like, their use is becoming impossible from the viewpoint of preventing environmental pollution. Therefore, in recent years, hydrocarbon solvents such as petroleum (hereinafter referred to as “petroleum-based cleaning solvents”) have been mainly used in place of the synthetic solvents.

[0003] However, this petroleum-based cleaning solvent is originally a flammable substance, and due to improper handling, a fire,
In addition to the danger of explosion, there is a problem that when released into the atmosphere, it causes environmental pollution and the solvent vapor produces an odor.

[0004] Therefore, in order to prevent the release of the petroleum-based cleaning solvent, dryers such as closed-type clothes have been used.

[0005] As such a closed-type dryer, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 59-73298, air heated in a heating chamber is sent to a drying chamber, and clothes are dried in the drying chamber. Air that is heated to evaporate the solvent contained in the clothing, cools the air exhausted from the drying chamber in the cooling chamber, liquefies the solvent vapor etc. contained in the exhaust air, and separates the solvent vapor Is heated again in a heating chamber and circulated so as to be sent to a drying chamber, a circulation path is formed, and drying is performed while collecting a solvent.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional closed-type dryer having a circulation path described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 59-73298, the inside of the dryer is evaporated due to evaporation of a solvent contained in clothes. Since the solvent vapor concentration gradually increases, the solvent vapor concentration must be controlled to be low, for example, so as not to exceed its explosive limit concentration (0.6% to 0.7%). For this reason, a control means is adopted in which the solvent vapor concentration in the circulation path is detected, and when a concentration that easily explodes is detected, outside air is sucked into the drying chamber and the air passing through the drying chamber is discharged to the atmosphere. To control the solvent vapor concentration,
There is a problem that control means for preventing explosion becomes complicated.

[0007] The plastic container of the gas lighter is 70 ° C
Considering the experimental data showing that the gas was destroyed at a temperature of about 80 ° C and the gas that had filled inside gushed out, clothes were accidentally placed in the dryer with the gas lighter in a pocket due to carelessness in handling. However, when the gas concentration in the dryer rises rapidly due to the gas ejected from the gas lighter, there is a problem that such a closed type dryer cannot cope with it and the explosion cannot be reliably prevented. ing.

On the other hand, in order to reliably prevent the danger of explosion,
There is also known a closed type dryer in which an inert gas such as nitrogen is sealed inside.However, this type of dryer requires a complicated structure for sealing the inert gas and significantly increases the manufacturing cost. There is a problem that it becomes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can reliably prevent explosion due to solvent vapor, can be used extremely safely, has a good solvent recovery rate, has a simple structure, and is low in manufacturing cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a drying device for clothes and the like.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for drying clothes or the like, comprising: a drying chamber provided with a drying drum;
An intake passage communicating with an upper portion of the drying chamber and having a heater;
An exhaust passage communicating with a lower portion of the drying chamber and disposed substantially vertically and having a blower, and an intake port for sucking outside air is provided on an introduction side of the intake passage, and an air outlet is provided on an outlet side of the exhaust passage. An open discharge port is provided to form an air path from the suction port of the intake path to the discharge port of the exhaust path through the drying chamber, and the exhaust path has a continuous refrigerant pipe above the blower. A plurality of coolers consisting of are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, the refrigerant cooled by the refrigerator is allowed to flow downward from the refrigerant pipe of the uppermost cooler, and the exhaust path It is connected to a solvent recovery path.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying apparatus for clothes or the like according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a connecting path is provided for connecting the outlet side of the exhaust path to the intake path. A circulating air path is formed by the chamber, the exhaust path, and the connection path, and a first switching damper that opens and closes the exhaust path to the connection path is provided on an outlet side of the exhaust path; An outside air inlet for introducing outside air is provided on the outlet side, and the outlet side of the intake path is selectively opened and closed between the outside air inlet and the heater side near the outside air inlet of the intake path. A second switching damper is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for drying clothes or the like according to the first or second aspect, wherein a heater is provided between the coolers in the exhaust path.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for drying clothes or the like according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a baffle plate for adjusting an air volume is provided in an exhaust path.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein an exhaust duct for discharging exhaust air to the outside is connected to an outlet of an exhaust path. Things.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the fifth aspect, wherein a heat insulating material is attached to the exhaust duct.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for drying clothes or the like according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, wherein a heater is provided near an outlet of an exhaust path.

[0017]

In the drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the first aspect, when drying the object to be dried such as clothes washed by dry cleaning, the air heated by the heater is sent to the drying chamber to dry the drying chamber. Evaporate the solvent contained in the material to be dried contained in the drum and evaporate the water,
The air containing the solvent vapor and moisture is sent to a plurality of coolers by a blower, cooled by these coolers, and the solvent vapor is liquefied and separated together with the moisture. Then, the solvent is recovered by sequentially passing through an exhaust path, and discharged to the atmosphere from a discharge port to maintain a low solvent vapor concentration in the drying device.

The high-temperature air blown by the blower is gradually cooled by a plurality of coolers arranged at intervals in the vertical direction while ascending, so that the cooling efficiency is improved and Airway resistance is reduced. Further, by flowing the refrigerant cooled by the refrigerator downward from the refrigerant pipe of the uppermost cooler, the temperature gradient of the plurality of coolers is changed according to the temperature of the air passing through each cooler. As a result, cooling is performed economically and efficiently.

In the drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the second aspect,
In the drying step, the circulation path is closed by closing the outlet side of the exhaust path and the connection path with the first switching damper, the outside air inlet is closed with the second switching damper, and the heater is led out of the intake chamber. The air heated by the heater passes through the heater, the drying chamber, and the exhaust path sequentially, and is discharged from the discharge port to the atmosphere.

On the other hand, in the cooling step for finishing, the first switching damper is opened at a predetermined angle, the outlet side of the exhaust path is communicated with the connecting path to form a circulation path, and the second switching damper is used to open the outside air. The inlet is opened and the heater is cut off from the outlet side of the intake chamber. The air cooled by the uppermost cooler is divided into two directions by the first switching damper, and a part of the cooled air is connected. While sending it to the drying room through the road,
By sending outside air introduced from the outside air introduction port to the drying chamber, the drying chamber is efficiently cooled. At this time, a part of the air cooled by the uppermost cooler is discharged into the atmosphere from the discharge port, so that the solvent vapor concentration in the apparatus can be kept low.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying apparatus for clothes and the like.
The air cooled by the lower cooler is heated again by the heater provided between the coolers and then cooled by the upper cooler, so that the solvent recovery rate can be further improved.

In the drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the fourth aspect,
A baffle plate for adjusting the air volume is provided in the exhaust path, and the rotation speed of the blower is set with reference to the arrangement direction of the baffle plate to thereby adjust the air volume optimally.

In the drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the fifth aspect,
A work environment is improved by connecting an exhaust duct to an exhaust port of the exhaust path and exhausting the exhaust gas containing the residual solvent after solvent recovery to the outside.

In the drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, by attaching a heat insulating material to the exhaust duct, dew condensation of moisture in the exhaust cooled by the cooler in summer or the like is prevented.

In the drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a heater is provided near the outlet of the exhaust path, and the exhaust gas cooled by the cooler is re-heated, so that the exhaust air is discharged in the exhaust duct in winter or the like. Prevents moisture in the exhaust air from freezing,
Prevent condensation of moisture in exhaust gas during summer season.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a drying chamber, in which a substantially cylindrical drying drum 2 made of punching metal or the like and having a large number of ventilation holes on its peripheral surface is rotatably provided.
An object to be dried such as clothing can be put in and out of the drying drum 2 from the front opening / closing door (not shown). The drying drum 2 is provided with a stirring blade 3 for stirring an object to be dried.

A suction port 4 is opened in the upper part of the drying chamber 1, and a suction port 6 opening to the atmosphere is formed on the introduction side of a suction path 5 communicating with the suction port 4. 6
Is provided with a first heater 8 as a heater having a steam pipe 7 in the vicinity of.

Further, an exhaust port 9 is provided at a lower portion of the drying chamber 1.
An exhaust path 10 is communicated with the exhaust port 9, and the exhaust path 10 passes through a lower portion of the drying chamber 1 and passes through the drying chamber 1.
And in a substantially vertical shape in parallel. Also, this exhaust path
A discharge port 11 that opens to the atmosphere is formed on the outlet side of 10, and the vicinity of the discharge port 11 of the exhaust path 10 is connected to the intake path 5 via a connection path 12.

Further, a blower is provided on the introduction side of the exhaust path 10.
13, two coolers 15, 16 having a continuous refrigerant pipe 14 are arranged vertically between the blower 13 and the discharge port 11 with an interval L of, for example, 30 to 50 cm. ing.
The refrigerant pipes 14 of the coolers 15 and 16 are communicated with the refrigerator 17, and the water such as the water cooled by the refrigerator 17 or the frozen / compressed Freon is supplied to the refrigerant pipe 14 of the upper cooler 15. The refrigerant is supplied to the upper part, and circulates through the refrigerant pipe 14 from top to bottom, that is, in order from the upper cooler 15 to the lower cooler 16.

A solvent recovery passage is provided below the exhaust passage 10.
The solvent recovery path 18 is connected to a solvent water separator 19. The solvent water separator 19 has a solvent outlet 21 and a water outlet 22 which are separated from each other by a specific gravity of the solvent and water, and are formed vertically.

Further, the exhaust passage 10 is provided with a lington filter 23 on the suction side of the blower 13.

In the vicinity of the discharge port 11 of the exhaust path 10,
A first switching damper 24 that opens and closes the exhaust path 10 to and from the connection path 12 is provided. The first switching damper 24 is switched and opened and closed by an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, an electromagnetic device, or the like, and the connection path 12 is opened and closed. From the closed state, the opening is made to a predetermined angle α, for example, 45 °.

Further, an openable and closable outside air inlet 25 for introducing outside air is provided on the outlet side of the intake passage 5 from the first heater 8.
Is opened in the vicinity of the outside air inlet 25 of the intake path 5.
A second switching damper 26 for selectively opening and closing the outlet side of the air passage between the outside air inlet 25 and the first heater 8 side of the intake passage 5 is provided, and the second switching damper 26 is an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder. Alternatively, switching is performed by an electromagnetic device or the like.

The steam pipe 7 of the first heater 8 is provided with an adjusting valve 27. By adjusting the adjusting valve 27,
The first heater 8 heats the air to a temperature according to the material to be dried.

Further, a substantially L-shaped exhaust duct 28 for discharging exhaust gas to the outside is connected to the exhaust port 11 of the exhaust path 10,
The exhaust duct 28 is provided so as to penetrate the outer wall 29, and an exhaust port 30 opened to the outside air is provided on the outlet side of the exhaust duct 28.
Are formed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

An object to be dried such as clothes washed with a petroleum-based dry cleaning solvent is put into the drying drum 2 of the drying chamber 1. Further, the connection path 12 is closed by the first switching damper 24, the outlet side of the exhaust path 10 is cut off from the connection path 12, and the outside air inlet 25 for introducing outside air of the intake path 5 is connected to the second switching damper 26. As shown by the arrow A, an air path is formed from the suction port 6 of the suction path 5, through the drying chamber 1, through the discharge port 11 of the exhaust path 10, and to the exhaust port 30 of the exhaust duct 28. .

When the steam is circulated through the steam pipe 7 of the first heater 8 and the blower 13 is driven, the intake passage 5
The air heated by the first heater 8 is introduced into the drying chamber 1, and the petroleum-based dry cleaning solvent adhering to the object to be dried in the rotating drying drum 2 evaporates and the water is also removed. Evaporated.

Next, the evaporated solvent and water are led to the lower cooler 16 and the upper cooler 15 of the exhaust path 10 together with the air, and the solvent and water are cooled and liquefied, and the liquefied solvent and water are cooled. Is discharged to the solvent recovery path 18, the solvent introduced into the solvent water separator 19 from the solvent recovery path 18 is separated by a specific gravity difference with water and recovered from the upper solvent discharge port 21, and the water is The water is discharged from the water outlet 22. Then, the air from which the solvent and the water are separated is discharged from the exhaust port 30 of the exhaust duct 28 to the outside air via the exhaust port 11, and the drying process is sequentially repeated to dry the object to be dried. At the same time, the solvent is recovered.

In the drying process, the air is finally discharged into the outside air from the exhaust port 30, so that the concentration of the solvent vapor in the apparatus can be kept low, and the explosion can be reliably prevented. Further, since the exhaust air discharged into the outside air from the exhaust port 30 in this drying step is cooled to a low temperature of, for example, about 5 ° C., even if the exhaust air contains some solvent vapor, there is little odor.

Furthermore, the temperature of the air containing solvent vapor and water passing through the lower cooler 16 is as high as, for example, about 60 ° C., and is cooled and liquefied by the lower cooler 16, for example, at 20 ° C. After being passed through the gap between the coolers 15 and 16, it is further cooled and liquefied by the upper cooler 15, and has a low temperature of, for example, about 5 ° C., and is discharged through the exhaust duct 28 through the outlet 11. Is discharged from the exhaust port 30. Thus, the exhaust path
Air containing solvent vapor and water led to 10 is cooled and liquefied in two stages in coolers 15 and 16, so cooling efficiency is improved,
For example, a good solvent recovery rate of 80% or more can be obtained, and since the coolers 15 and 16 are arranged at intervals L, the air path resistance is reduced, and the exhaust air flows smoothly.

Further, since the refrigerant from the refrigerator 17 flows downward from the top of the continuous refrigerant pipe 14, the temperature of the lower cooler 16 becomes higher than that of the upper cooler 15. Since the temperature gradient is formed according to the temperature of the air passing through the upper cooler 15 (eg, 60 ° C.) and the temperature of the air passing through the lower cooler 16 (eg, 20 ° C.)
The circulating refrigerant can be efficiently and economically used for cooling air.

When the cooling capacity of the refrigerator 17 is high, the coolers 15, 16 are used for the purpose of further increasing the solvent recovery rate.
A second heater 31 may be provided therebetween. For example, when air can be cooled to about 5 ° C. by the lower cooler 16, the air cooled to about 5 ° C. is reduced to about 10 ° C. to 20 ° C. by the second heater 31 as a heater. By heating again,
The amount of the solvent cooled and liquefied by the upper cooler 15 can be increased.

Further, depending on the length of the exhaust duct 28 connected to the exhaust port 11 of the exhaust path 10, windage may occur, and the amount of air passing through the exhaust path 10 may fluctuate. Therefore, exhaust path 10
A baffle plate 32, one end of which is pivotally supported at the discharge side of the blower 13 and is rotated in the vertical direction according to the magnitude of the amount of air, is provided, as shown in FIG. Peephole 35 with two marked lines 33 and 34 indicating the direction in which the baffle 32 is located
By adjusting the frequency, resistance, and the like by inverter control so that the baffle plate 32 is disposed in the middle of the marked lines 33, 34 at the time of installation of the apparatus, the rotation speed of the blower 13 is set. The air volume can be adjusted optimally. For example, in FIG. 2, when the baffle plate 32 is arranged below the mark line 34, the air volume is too small, and the rotation of the blower 13 is adjusted so that the baffle plate 32 is arranged between the mark lines 33 and 34. Set the number to ensure the optimal air volume.

Further, a concentration sensor (not shown) for detecting the concentration of the solvent vapor is provided in the exhaust passage 10, and the rotation speed of the blower 13 is inverter-controlled by a signal from the concentration sensor, and the drying chamber 1 is controlled. The amount of exhaust air may be adjusted according to the degree of drying of the object to be dried in the inside, that is, the amount of solvent vapor sent from the drying chamber 1.

On the other hand, when performing a cooling step for finishing clothes or the like after the drying step, the first switching damper 24 is opened to a predetermined angle α and the outlet side of the exhaust path 10 is connected to the connecting path.
12 and open the outside air inlet 25 with the second switching damper 26, and connect the outlet side of the intake path 5 to the first side of the intake path 5.
From the heater 8 side, and the supply of steam to the steam pipe 7 of the first heater 8 is stopped.

At this time, the outlet side of the exhaust passage 10 is connected to the intake passage 5 through the connecting passage 12 so as to be connected as shown by the arrow B.
A circulating air path is formed by the intake path 5, the drying chamber 1, the exhaust path 10, and the connection path 12, and the air cooled to, for example, 5 ° C. on the outlet side of the exhaust path 10 Direction, and a part of the cooled air
And the outside air introduced from the outside air introduction port 25 is sent to the drying chamber 1, whereby the drying chamber 1 can be cooled efficiently. Furthermore, the cooling efficiency of the drying chamber 1 can be increased by blocking the outlet side of the intake path 5 from the first heater 8 side. Further, a part of the cooled air on the outlet side of the exhaust path 10 is discharged from the exhaust port 30 of the exhaust duct 28 to the outside air outside through the exhaust port 11, so that the solvent vapor concentration in the apparatus is reduced. Can be maintained and explosions can be reliably prevented.

In the summer or the like, when the exhaust air cooled by the cooler 15 in the upper stage passes through the exhaust duct 28, moisture in the exhaust air is dewed to form water droplets and drops from the exhaust port 30. On the other hand, on the other hand, in winter or the like, moisture in the exhaust air cooled in the exhaust duct 28 may freeze. Therefore, by attaching a heat insulating material (not shown) to the exhaust duct 28, dew condensation in summer may be prevented. In addition, exhaust path 10
As a heater having a steam pipe 36 near the discharge port 11
By heating the exhaust air cooled by the third heater 37 again, for example, an adjustment valve 38 is provided in the steam pipe 36, and cooling is performed by adjusting the adjustment valve 38. By maintaining the exhaust air at a constant temperature of, for example, about 20 ° C., it is possible to prevent freezing in winter and reliably prevent dew condensation in summer.

Although the above embodiment has been described with respect to the case where the coolers 15 and 16 are arranged vertically, the present invention is not limited to this. Can be arranged.

[0051]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by discharging exhaust air to the atmosphere, the solvent vapor concentration can be kept low, explosion can be reliably prevented, and the device can be used extremely safely. In addition, the high-temperature air sent by the blower is gradually cooled by a plurality of coolers arranged at intervals in the vertical direction while rising, so that the cooling efficiency is improved and a good solvent is obtained. It is possible to obtain a recovery rate and reduce the wind path resistance. Furthermore, by flowing the refrigerant cooled by the refrigerator downward from the refrigerant pipe of the uppermost cooler,
Since the temperature gradient of the plurality of coolers is formed according to the temperature of the air passing through each cooler, the cooling can be performed economically and efficiently. Furthermore, the structure of the device is simpler than that of the conventional closed type device, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by switching between the first switching damper and the second switching damper, the circulation path is cut off during the drying step, and the air heated by the heater is heated. , While sequentially passing through a drying chamber and an exhaust path, and discharging to the atmosphere from a discharge port, at the time of a cooling step for finishing, a circulation path is formed, and a part of the air cooled by the uppermost cooler is formed. The drying chamber can be efficiently cooled by sending the outside air introduced from the open outside air introduction port to the drying chamber while sending the drying chamber to the drying chamber via the connection path. Also, in this cooling step, part of the air is discharged into the atmosphere from the discharge port, so that the solvent vapor concentration can be kept low and the explosion is reliably prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the air cooled by the lower cooler is reheated by the heater provided between the coolers, and then cooled by the upper cooler. Solvent recovery can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a baffle plate for adjusting the amount of air is provided in the exhaust path, and the number of rotations of the blower is set with reference to the direction of arrangement of the baffle plate, so that the amount of air is optimally adjusted. it can.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the working environment can be improved by connecting the exhaust duct to the exhaust port of the exhaust path and discharging the exhaust containing the residual solvent after the recovery of the solvent to the outside.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, by attaching a heat insulating material to the exhaust duct, it is possible to prevent condensation of moisture in the exhaust cooled by the cooler in summer or the like.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a heater is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port of the exhaust passage, and the exhaust gas cooled in the cooler is reheated, so that the exhaust gas in the exhaust duct in winter or the like can be obtained. It is possible to prevent freezing of water and to surely prevent dew condensation of water in exhaust air in summer and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a drying apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drying room 2 Drying drum 5 Intake path 6 Intake port 8 First heater as a heater 10 Exhaust path 11 Outlet 12 Connection path 13 Blower 14 Refrigerant pipe 15, 16 Cooler 17 Refrigerator 18 Solvent recovery path 24 1 switching damper 25 outside air inlet 26 second switching damper 28 exhaust duct 31 second heater as heater 32 baffle plate 37 third heater as heater L interval

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drying chamber provided with a drying drum, an intake passage communicated with an upper part of the drying chamber and having a heater, and a blower arranged substantially vertically and communicated with a lower part of the drying chamber. An exhaust path, an intake port for sucking outside air is provided on an inlet side of the intake path, and an exhaust port opened to the atmosphere is provided on an outlet side of the exhaust path, and the exhaust port passes through the drying chamber from the intake port of the intake path. Forming an air path leading to the discharge port of the exhaust path, and a plurality of coolers formed of continuous refrigerant pipes are disposed in the exhaust path above the blower at intervals in the vertical direction, A drying device for clothes or the like, characterized in that a refrigerant cooled by a refrigerator is caused to flow downward from a refrigerant pipe of a cooler in the uppermost stage, and the exhaust path is communicated with a solvent recovery path. 2. A connection path for connecting a discharge side of an exhaust path to an intake path is provided, and a circulation air path is formed by the intake path, the drying chamber, the exhaust path, and the connection path. A first switching damper that opens and closes the exhaust path to the connection path, an outside air introduction port that introduces outside air to the outlet side of the intake path from a heater, and the outside air introduction port of the intake path. 2. The drying device for clothes or the like according to claim 1, further comprising a second switching damper that selectively opens and closes the outlet side of the intake path between the outside air inlet and the heater near the mouth. 3. 3. The apparatus for drying clothes or the like according to claim 1, wherein a heater is provided between the coolers in the exhaust path. 4. The drying apparatus for clothes and the like according to claim 1, wherein a baffle plate for adjusting the air volume is provided in the exhaust path. 5. The drying apparatus for clothes or the like according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust duct for exhausting exhaust air is connected to an exhaust port of the exhaust path. 6. The apparatus for drying clothes or the like according to claim 5, wherein a heat insulating material is attached to the exhaust duct. 7. The drying device for clothes or the like according to claim 5, wherein a heater is provided near an outlet of the exhaust path.