JPH01116417A - Method and apparatus for measuring and displaying consumption of solvent - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately measure the consumption of the solvent in the tank of a dry cleaning apparatus by detecting the up and down operation of the float mounted in the tank by means of an ultrasonic distance sensor. CONSTITUTION:A float 52 moving up and down along with the liquid level of a solvent 4 is provided in a tank 3 filled with the solvent 4 and a metal plate 53 is mounted to the end part of the float 52 to be arranged outside the tank 3. An ultrasonic distance sensor 55 measures the distance up to the metal plate 53 and the output voltage of the sensor 55 is converted to a digital signal by an A/D converter 57 to be sent to a CPU 58. The CPU 58 performs operational processing on the basis of the configurational dimensions of a solvent tank 3 preliminarily stored in a ROM 59 to calculate the amount of the solvent in the solvent tank 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to dry cleaning equipment (hereinafter referred to as dry cleaner) that uses organic solvents such as perchloroethylene, 1.1.1 trichloroethane, Freon R113, and Freon R111. This invention relates to a method and device for measuring and displaying solvent consumption applied to

(Prior Art) Fig. 4 shows an outline of a dry cleaner that cleans clothing and the like using an organic solvent such as perchlorethylene. door 1
When the clothing 2 is loaded, the door 1 is closed, and the operation is started, the process generally proceeds in the following order.

(2) Pump up the solvent 4 from the solvent tank 3 through the valve 5 with the pump 6 and feed the required amount of the solvent 4 into the processing tank 10 through the path consisting of the valve 7 and filter 8 or the path consisting of the valve 9.

■, slowly rotate the processing drum 11 with the cleaning motor 44;
Solvent 4 is transferred to treatment tank 10, button trap 12, valve 13
, a circuit consisting of a pump 6, a valve 7, and a filter 8 (
Hereinafter, this will be referred to as a filter circuit. ) or a circuit consisting of a valve 9 (hereinafter referred to as a pump circuit) to wash the clothes 2.

(2) The liquid is drained through the processing tank IO, button trap 12, valve 13, pump 6, valve 14, and distiller 15, and then the processing drum 11 is rotated at high speed by the liquid removal motor 45 to remove the solvent 4 in the clothing 2. The pre-washing of the first step is completed when the liquid is centrifuged and the liquid is drained in the same manner.

01 Next, the second step is main washing, and the above steps 1 and 2 are repeated.

(2) The liquid is drained into the solvent tank 3 through the processing tank 10, button trap 12, valve 13, and valve 5, and then the processing drum 11 is rotated at high speed by the liquid removal motor 45 to centrifuge the solvent 4 in the clothing 2. and drain. This completes the main washing.

00 Next, the drying of the third step begins, and the processing drum 11 is slowly rotated again by the cleaning motor 44, and air is pumped in the direction of the arrow 20 between the recovery air duct 19, which consists of the fan 16, the air cooler 17, and the air heater 18, and the processing tank 10. It circulates and dries the clothes 2. The solvent gas evaporated from the clothing 2 is condensed in the air cooler 17, enters the water separator 22 through the recovery path 21, and enters the clean tank 24 through the solvent pipe 23.

② Once the drying is completed, the final step of deodorization begins, where dampers 25 and 26 take in fresh air from the damper 25, as shown by the broken lines, and exhaust uncondensed solvent gas that cannot be recovered by the air cooler 17 from the damper 26. , to deodorize the solvent odor in the clothing 2.

(2) The solvent 4 that entered the distiller 15 in the step of item 3 evaporates and is condensed and recovered in the condenser 27, passes through the water separator 22 and the solvent pipe 23, enters the clean tank 24, and enters the clean tank 24 from the overflow partition plate 28. Return to solvent tank 3. Note that the water separated by the water separator 22 is discharged to the outside of the system through a water pipe 29.

The above is an example of a dry cleaner process from cleaning to drying and deodorizing. A control block diagram for controlling these is shown in FIG. 5, and an example of an operation panel is shown in FIG. 6.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a dry cleaner for washing clothes, and has, for example, the configuration described in the description of the process above. 32 is an operation panel for operating the dry cleaner 31, and 33 is a control device for controlling the operation of the dry cleaner 31. The operation panel 32 includes, for example, a program selection switch 34 that selects eight operating programs (explanation omitted), process omission switches 35a to 35d that are used to omit a process included in the operating program, and operating time of the operating program. Time setting devices 36a to 36d used for correction, time indicator 37 to display the required operating time, number indicator 38 to display the number of washings, and display lamps 39a to 39i to display the washing process and the operating method of each process. , a start switch 40 for operating the dry cleaner 31, and a liquid expansion thermometer 41 for determining the drying temperature of the clothing 2 during the drying process.

The control device 33 includes a central control device 47 consisting of an electronic circuit that plays a central role in controlling the dry cleaner 31. An electronic storage device 48 stores eight operating programs; There is an output circuit 49 for operating a predetermined device. As shown in FIG. 7, the solvent tank 3 and the clean tank 24 are each equipped with a sight glass 50 for viewing the amount of solvent in the tank or the degree of contamination of the solvent. sight glass 5
0 is made of transparent glass so that the internal condition can be seen through the glass, and a sticker 51 with a scale printed on it is pasted on the surface so that the amount of solvent can be read.

In a dry cleaner equipped with such a control device, if you put the clothes 2 in through the door 1, select the program number with the program selection switch 34 on the operation panel 32, set the drying temperature with the thermometer 41, and press the start switch 40, the washing process will automatically start. has been determined, and the operations of the process exemplified above are automatically performed.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, even if the driving operation is automated as described above,
Maintenance, especially solvent management, still largely relies on visual inspection. One of these is solvent consumption, as described in the process example above, the solvent gas evaporated from the clothing 2 during the drying process is 100% consumed by the air cooler 17.
However, as a practical matter, this is not possible, and in the next deodorization process, fresh air is introduced into the system and uncondensed solvent gas is discharged to the atmosphere, consuming expensive solvent. The current situation is that

In this way, the solvent is consumed little by little with each cycle of operation, so at the end of the day's work, the operator looks at the scale stickers 51 on the sight glasses 50 of the solvent tank 3 and clean tank 24 and measures the amount of solvent consumed. It was necessary to record and, in some cases, replenish the solvent. The task of reading the amount of solvent consumed by looking at the scale sticker 51 on the sight glass 50 is surprisingly troublesome, and there are individual differences in the reading, so there is a strong demand for automatic measurement of the amount of solvent consumed to solve this problem. was.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and by automating the measurement of solvent consumption and displaying the results in numerical values, it is possible to grasp accurate values without individual differences in solvent consumption. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for automatic measurement and display of quantities.

(Means for Solving the Problems) For this reason, the present invention has the matters described in claims 1 and 2 as constituent elements, and these are the means for solving the above problems. .

(Function) (1) One float with a metal plate attached to the shaft end is attached to each tank, and the vertical movement of the float is detected and measured from outside the tank using an ultrasonic distance sensor.

(2) The ultrasonic distance sensor measures the distance to the metal plate of the float and outputs a voltage proportional to the distance.

(3) This voltage is taken into a central control unit consisting of an electronic circuit, which is the center of control of this machine such as a dry cleaner. The consumption amount is calculated by comparing the initial amount of solvent and the amount of solvent for each cycle.

(4) Display the determined solvent consumption amount on the numerical display.

As a result, (1) The combination of an ultrasonic distance sensor and a central control device enables accurate detection of solvent consumption, and the amount is displayed on a numerical display, making it easy to understand and manage solvent consumption at a glance. Become.

(2) Individual differences in the measurement of solvent consumption are eliminated.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a float attached to a tank and an ultrasonic distance sensor according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram related to measurement of solvent consumption among the control blocks of a dry cleaner. Figure 3 shows an example of the output characteristics of an ultrasonic distance sensor. 52 is a float, and the solvent 4
A metal plate 53 is attached to the shaft on the opposite side to the side in contact with the shaft. One float 52 is attached to each of the solvent tank 3 and the clean tank 24 of the cleaning device 56 shown in FIG.

54 is a bracket that supports the float 52;
It also has a guiding function so that 2 can be easily slid up and down. Reference numeral 55 denotes an ultrasonic distance sensor, which is arranged so that the ultrasonic beam hits the metal plate 53 attached to one end of the float 52, and has output characteristics as shown in FIG. 57 is an A/D converter that converts the analog voltage proportional to the distance output from the ultrasonic distance sensor 55 into a digital signal. Reference numeral 58 denotes a CPU that plays a central role in controlling the operation of the cleaning device 56, including the measurement and calculation of the amount of solvent consumed in the present invention. Reference numeral 59 includes the cleaning device 5, which measures and calculates the amount of solvent consumed in the present invention.
ROM that stores 6 washing programs and control sequences
(read-only memory). 60 is a RAM (write memory) that temporarily stores data necessary for measuring and calculating the amount of solvent consumed and controlling the cleaning device 56. Normally, the memory contents of the RAM 60 disappear when the power is turned off, so a battery 6 is used to back up this information.
I have 1. 62 is an output circuit for operating the valve and motor (none of which are shown) of the cleaning device 56. Reference numeral 63 denotes a panel interface for transmitting and receiving signals between the operation panel 64 arranged on the front panel of the cleaning device 56 and CPUSS. 65
is a numerical display built into the operation panel 64 that displays the amount of solvent consumed in liters. 66 is also the operation panel 64
This is a data clear switch that refreshes the initial solvent amount data when replenishing the built-in solvent. The ultrasonic distance sensor 55 is connected to the solvent tank 3 and the clean tank 24.
They are mounted in such a positional relationship that they have the output characteristics shown in FIG. 3, respectively.

Next, to explain the operation, the solvent tank 3 and the clean tank 24 are now refilled with the solvent 4, and the data clear switch 6 is pressed.
Suppose you press 6. When the solvent tank 3 is full of the solvent 4, the output voltage of the ultrasonic distance sensor 55 becomes 2V from the characteristics shown in FIG. This voltage is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 57 and sent to the CPO 58. The digital signal sent to the CPO 58 is R
Arithmetic processing is performed using the shape and dimensions of the solvent tank 3 stored in the OM 59 to calculate the amount of solvent in the solvent tank 3.

The amount of solvent in the clean tank 24 is calculated in the same manner.

The amounts of solvent in both tanks 3.24 are added by cpuss based on the command from ROM 59 and temporarily stored in RAM 60. This becomes the initial data after replenishing the solvent.

When an activation switch (not shown) is pressed to operate the cleaning device 56 in the process illustrated above, the amount of solvent in the solvent tank 3 shown in FIG. Measuring the amount of solvent during operation is prohibited. When one cycle of the washing process is completed, the measurement of the amount of solvent begins, but as explained earlier based on Fig. 4, the solvent that entered the distiller 15 during the process remains. It is not possible to accurately measure the amount of solvent. When all the distillation is completed and the solvent 4 is returned to both tanks 3 and 24, the ultrasonic distance sensor 55 measures the position of the float switch 52 in the same manner as described above, and the CPO 58 calculates the amount of solvent. At this time, the amount of solvent in both tanks 3.24 is RO
Added by CP05B based on the command of M59 and RAl'1
The data is compared with the initial data temporarily stored in 60. The result of the comparison calculation is the amount of solvent consumed, which is displayed on the numerical display 65 of the operation panel 64 via the panel ink face 63. During distillation, the solvent 4 is in both tanks 3 and 24. Since not all of the solvent has been returned, the amount of solvent consumed appears as a line, but as the distillation progresses, the measured amount of solvent consumption gradually decreases, and when all the distillation is completed, the resulting amount of solvent consumption is the same as above.RAM
59 is held by the Panteri 6o, so even if the power is turned off, the contents such as the initial solvent amount data are memorized, and when the power is turned on, the solvent consumption at that point will be displayed again on the numerical display 65. indicate. When the solvent consumption progresses and the tank is refilled, press the data clear switch 66.
It is necessary to press to rewrite the initial data temporarily stored in the RAM 60 to the data after replenishing the new solvent.

Note that this device can also use the accumulated solvent consumption data to develop production management data such as solvent consumption rate (=solvent consumption/processed clothing weight).

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the measurement of solvent consumption in dry cleaning is automated, eliminating individual differences in the measurement, and in addition, it is possible to accurately measure the solvent consumption, and the same Since the consumption amount is displayed on the display, the results can be judged at a glance, making management easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a means for measuring solvent consumption according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram related to measuring solvent consumption, and FIG. 3 is an example of the output characteristics of an ultrasonic distance sensor. The diagram shown in Fig. 4 is one of conventional dry cleaning equipment.
A schematic configuration diagram showing an example, FIG. 5 is a conventional control block diagram of the same apparatus, FIG. 6 is a diagram of the operation panel, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a sight glass section provided in a solvent tank. Explanation of main parts of the figure 52-Float 55-・Ultrasonic distance sensor 58・-CP
U 65・-Numeric display Figure 3 Figure 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. The vertical movement of the float installed in the tank of the dry cleaning equipment is detected by an ultrasonic distance sensor that outputs an analog voltage proportional to the distance, and the output voltage is A/D converted and sent to the central control unit for calculation. In addition to calculating the amount of solvent by processing, the amount of solvent consumed is calculated by comparing the initial amount of solvent at the time of solvent replenishment and the amount of solvent in the tank at the end of each cycle, and this is displayed on the display section. How to measure and display solvent consumption. 2. A float installed in the tank of a dry cleaning machine, an ultrasonic distance sensor that detects the amount of variation in the float and outputs an analog voltage proportional to the distance, and an A/D converter for the output voltage of the sensor. A central controller that calculates the amount of solvent and calculates the amount of solvent consumed by comparing the initial data at the time of solvent replenishment and the data at the end of each cycle, and a central controller that calculates the amount of solvent consumed in response to a signal from the controller. 1. A measuring and displaying device for measuring and displaying a solvent consumption amount, comprising: a solvent consumption amount display device for displaying a solvent consumption amount.