JPH0325755Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a dry cleaner that supplies a solvent stored in a tank to a washing tub through a filter using a pump.

(B) Conventional Technology Dry cleaners remove dirt, lint, etc. from the solvent using a filter in the supply path. There are various types of filters, but the period of time it takes to replace the filter itself or the internal filter element greatly affects operating costs. A multi-stage flow control valve is installed inside.
Initially, when the filter capacity is high, the amount of solvent supplied is limited to the set flow rate, and as the filter capacity decreases, the valve opening degree is gradually increased to ensure the supply amount, thereby extending the life of the filter. was.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention However, if a regulating valve to control the supply amount is provided in the supply channel, the cross-sectional area of the supply channel will be reduced, which will solve the problem of dust clogging and noise generation. occured. The present invention aims to extend the life of the filter by suppressing the generation of noise and the like.

(d) Means for solving the problem The solution according to the present invention consists of a motor that drives the pump, a flow rate sensor that detects the supply flow rate of the solvent, and a detected flow rate that is lower than the set flow rate that is lower than the maximum supply flow rate by the pump. This configuration includes a comparison section that compares and determines whether the motor is small, and a rotation speed control means that rotates the motor at high speed based on the output of the comparison section.

(E) Effect The pump drive motor is initially controlled at a level lower than the maximum rating by means of speed control such as inverter control that changes the frequency or phase control including ON-OFF control at zero cross. Rotate with extra power and set the flow rate of the solvent that passes through the filter to a set flow rate lower than the maximum, or around it.
On the other hand, the actual flow rate is detected by a sensor and this detected flow rate is compared with the set flow rate.If the tank gradually becomes clogged and the detected flow rate falls below the set flow rate, the motor is activated to compensate for this drop. Increase the number of revolutions. In the end, the motor is rotated at the maximum rating, and if the flow rate cannot be secured even with this, the filter must be replaced, but the number of washes (duration of use) will be longer than if the motor was rotated at the maximum rating from the beginning. It will increase. In this way, even if the rotational speed of the pump is changed, the cross-sectional area of the supply path does not change.

(f) Example To explain based on the drawings below, in Fig. 3, a tank 1 containing a petroleum solvent and a rotating drum 2 are shown.
The washing tubs 3 equipped with the solvent are connected by piping through a solvent supply path 4 and a discharge path 5, and a pump 6, a check valve 7, and a filter 8 are inserted in this order in the supply path 4. The drain passage 5 has a drain valve 9 and a button trap 1.
0 is inserted. Further, the supply path 4 near the entrance to the washing tub 3 is branched into the tank 1 via a circulation path 12 having a circulation valve 11 .

A temperature sensor 13 such as a thermistor is provided downstream of the pump 6 to detect the temperature of the solvent.

Further, a trap 14 is provided near the entrance to the washing tub 3, and a flow rate sensor 15 such as a semiconductor pressure-sensitive element is provided to detect the flow rate of the solvent flowing therethrough based on its pressure.

An inverter device is attached to the induction type motor 16 that drives the pump 6 as rotation speed control means 17, and this control means 17 controls the rotation speed of the motor 16.

Such a dry cleaner is shown in Figure 1.
It is controlled by a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) 18 consisting of a CPU, ROM, RAM, and I/O.
9. Connect the timer 20, input operation signals from the various keys 21, temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor 13, and flow detection signal from the flow rate sensor 15, and connect the rotating drum 2, drain valve 9, and circulation valve. 11, motor 16, rotation speed control means 17, display device 22,
Output to alarm device 23. For this purpose, the microcomputer 18 includes a frequency specifying section 24, a stroke control section 25,
It includes a set flow rate comparison section 26, a frequency comparison section 27, a lower limit flow rate comparison section 28, and an abnormality control section 29.

Next, the operation will be explained using the circulation washing process as an example with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the start key 21 is operated, the frequency specifying section 24 specifies to the rotational speed control means 17 that the frequency of the power supply applied to the motor 16 should be at the lower limit, for example, 25 Hz. Then, the stroke control section 25 controls the motor 16.
(The pump 6) is rotated at the lowest speed to send the solvent to the supply path 4, the circulation valve 11 is opened, the solvent is returned to the tank 1, and the filter 8 performs precoating. When the precoating time ends, the stroke control unit 25 closes the circulation valve 11 and the drain valve 9,
When the solvent is supplied to the washing tub 3 and the liquid supply time (for example, 1 minute) ends or a liquid level detector (not shown) outputs a detection signal, the drain valve 9 is opened and the rotating drum 2 is opened. Invert. That is, the solvent is transferred to the rotating drum 2.
While being supplied in a shower-like manner, the water is returned to the tank 1 and circulated (circulation washing). The temperature of the solvent flowing in the path is detected by a temperature sensor 13, and the flow rate is detected by a flow rate sensor 15, and each is inputted to a microcomputer 18 as a detection signal.

The pump 6 can send a flow rate of about 80/min at full capacity when the filter 8 is new, but the minimum flow rate required for cleaning is about 30/min, so the microcontroller sets the flow rate to 60/min. The flow rate is set at 18.

The set flow rate comparison section 26 of the microcomputer 18 compares the set flow rate (60/min) and the detected flow rate, and
The flow rate when pump 6 is driven by 25 Hz power supply is investigated. The comparator 26 does not output while the detected flow rate exceeds the set flow rate, but outputs when the detected flow rate becomes less than the set flow rate. The frequency comparator 27 compares whether or not the frequency is high. If the detected flow rate has increased, the lower limit flow rate comparator 28 checks whether the detected flow rate has fallen to the lower limit flow rate (for example, 30/min), that is, whether the filter 8 has become clogged and it is time to replace it, and compares the results. Based on the unit output, the abnormality control unit 29 displays, notifies, and instructs the user of the need for filter replacement.

As a result of the comparison in the frequency comparing section 27, if the frequency has not increased to the upper limit frequency, the frequency specifying section 24 re-instructs the rotation speed control means 17 to increase the currently specified frequency in units of 5 Hz, for example. and,
By re-designating the rotation speed control means 17, the motor 16
increase the rotation speed.

Thereafter, during the stroke time, the above-described flow rate comparison and frequency comparison are performed at predetermined intervals, for example, every 5 seconds, and the pump 6 operates at a low capacity while the filter 8 is new.
As the filter 8 gets older, its capacity will gradually increase. If the flow rate cannot reach the lower limit flow rate even at full capacity, the filter 8 will have to be replaced, and by initially suppressing the flow rate for the filter 8, the number of washing operations until the filter 8 can be replaced will be reduced. Extended.

In this embodiment, an inverter device is used as the rotation speed control means 17, but a switching element such as a triax inserted in the power supply path of the motor 16 can be directly controlled by an ON-OFF signal from the microcomputer 18. The rotation speed of the motor 16 may be changed.

(g) Effects of the invention According to the invention, the flow rate is directly adjusted by the pump instead of adjusting the flow rate by changing the cross-sectional area of the supply path, which eliminates abnormal noise and dirt clogging that would otherwise occur due to adjustment. The life of the filter can be extended by eliminating such problems. Therefore, it is possible to provide an extremely practical dry cleaner that is quieter, has fewer malfunctions, and has lower operating costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a control circuit diagram of a dry cleaner according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation, and FIG. 3 is a piping mechanism diagram. 1...Tank, 3...Washing tub, 6...Pump,
8...Filter, 15...Flow rate sensor, 16
... Motor, 17 ... Rotation speed control means, 18 ...
Microcomputer, 24... Frequency specification section, 26... Set flow rate comparison section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a dry cleaner that supplies solvent stored in a tank to a washing tub via a filter using a pump, the dry cleaner includes a motor that drives the pump, a flow rate sensor that detects the supply flow rate of the solvent, and a flow rate sensor that detects the flow rate of the solvent supplied by the pump. a comparison unit that compares and determines whether the detected flow rate is lower than the set flow rate that is lower than the maximum supply flow rate;
A dry cleaner comprising: rotation speed control means for rotating the motor at high speed based on the output of the comparison section.