JPH08196788A - Oil laundry equipment with safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assure safety of the residual solvent gas in the drum at the respective timing. CONSTITUTION: In the dry cleaning equipment 10 using the inflammable solvent, the gas inside the drum 12 is sucked into the external ignition chamber, the passage 31 connecting the drum 12 and the ignition chamber is closed, and the ignition chamber is ignited. Operation of the dry cleaning equipment 10 is stopped and the danger thereof is displayed if a pressure exceeding the specified level is detected by the detector inside the ignition chamber, which may eventually result in catching a fire by the residual solvent gas remaining in the drum 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a petroleum solvent (JIS
K2001-2005), and a safety device for a dry cleaner for performing dry cleaning using a flammable solvent and a dryer thereof (collectively referred to as a laundry device in this specification).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In terms of flammability, CFC-based solvents, which are safe, cannot be used for protection of the ozone layer, so that flammable petroleum-based solvents have to be used as a dry cleaning solvent. For this reason, various safety devices have been devised for preventing an explosion accident of a laundry device using a petroleum solvent. For example, the actual exploitation 62-189
Japanese Patent No. 085 discloses an apparatus for maintaining the temperature inside the drying chamber at a predetermined temperature lower than the ignition temperature of the solvent. Further, JP-A-62-224398 discloses a method of reducing the amount of air in the drying chamber (reducing pressure or introducing an inert gas).

[0003]

In addition to the above, various safety devices have been devised, but all of them are premised on that the characteristics of the solvent used do not change even when used for a long time. . However, in practice, stain components of clothes may be gradually mixed into the solvent and the flammability of the solvent may change. For example, when clothes that have a lot of oil stains are washed, the oil components are mixed in the solvent and accumulated in an amount that cannot be completely removed by the filter.

In dry cleaning, generally, only a solvent is not used for cleaning, but an auxiliary agent such as soap or shiminuki agent is used together to remove dirt. Since many of these auxiliaries also have flammability, even if the safety is checked only by considering the flammability of the solvent, sufficient safety cannot be guaranteed.

Further, there is a possibility that the solvent itself used is misused (for example, the second petroleum and the third petroleum are confused, the second petroleum and the rubber volatile oil are mixed and equal), and in this case, Since the ignition conditions etc. are completely different, conventional safety devices cannot handle it.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the purpose thereof is to reliably check the safety of the solvent actually used at each time point. To provide a laundry machine equipped with a safety device.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Means for Solving the Problems, Actions and Effects The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and in a laundry machine using a flammable solvent, the gas in the drum is sucked to carry out an external ignition test. It is characterized in that an ignition test device is provided for igniting in the ignition test chamber after the passage to the chamber and shutting off the passage connecting the inside of the drum and the ignition test chamber.

As a result, the ignition test is performed on the solvent gas actually present in the drum, so that the actual ignition risk including all conditions such as the installation condition of the laundry device, the environment and the operating condition is tested. be able to. Further, since the ignition test chamber and the drum are disconnected from each other before the ignition test, the solvent gas in the drum is not ignited. Even if the ignition test chamber detects the danger of ignition of the solvent gas in the drum, this is because the ignition was actively performed, and it is not necessary to actually ignite the solvent gas in the drum. An ignition source is required, and the solvent in the drum does not always ignite immediately. Therefore, by taking appropriate measures immediately, ignition of the solvent in the drum,
The accident of explosion can be prevented in advance.

It is desirable to provide a heater around the passage for guiding the gas in the drum to the ignition test chamber.

This prevents the solvent gas from forming dew by the time it enters the ignition test chamber, and ensures that the solvent gas in the drum and the gas in the ignition test chamber have the same concentration. It should be noted that, depending on the situation, a simple heat insulating material may be sufficient without actively heating with a heater.

To detect the danger of ignition, specifically, a pressure sensor may be provided in the ignition test chamber to detect whether the detected pressure after ignition is a predetermined value or more. Then, when the detected pressure is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (when there is a risk of ignition), it is desirable to provide a safety circuit for stopping the operation of the laundry device. In addition, an indicator for indicating the danger of ignition may be provided. This allows
The operator can know the cause of the stoppage of the laundry device, and accordingly can take appropriate measures to prevent ignition and explosion in the drum.

The "laundry device" used here includes a dry cleaner for cleaning and drying, which is used for cleaning with a solvent and is also dried in the same drum, and a dryer provided separately therefrom. Also includes.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A dry cleaner which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Dry cleaner 1 of this embodiment
As shown in FIG. 1, 0 is an ordinary dry cleaner provided with an ignition test device 30. First, the normal dry cleaner part will be described. Inside the drum 12 of the dry cleaner, a drum basket 13 which is rotatable in both directions is provided. The drum 12 has a suction port 14 and a discharge port 15
Are provided, and they are connected by a circulation path 16 provided outside the drum 12. This circuit 16
In addition to the blower 17, a cooler 18 is provided on the suction port side and a heater 19 is provided on the discharge port side. A filter 20 is provided at the inlet on the suction port side.

The ignition test device 30 is connected to the circulation path 16 in front of the cooler 18 by a suction pipe 31 and a discharge pipe 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the ignition test device 30
An ignition chamber 33 is provided in the ignition chamber 33, and the suction pipe 31 and the discharge pipe 32 are connected to the ignition chamber 33 via switching valves 34 and 35, respectively. A heater 36 for preventing a decrease in the temperature of the intake gas is wound around the entire intake pipe 31, and a flame arrester 37 for preventing the backflow of the flame generated in the ignition chamber 33 is provided immediately before the switching valve 34. Has been. This heater 36 is the second heater controller 45.
Controlled by. The ignition chamber 33 is provided with a spark plug 38, a pressure pickup (pressure sensor) 39, and a relief valve 40. The ignition chamber 33 is robustly made of steel or the like, and a heater for preventing the temperature decrease of the intake gas is wound around the ignition chamber 33, and a heat insulating material is provided around the heater to prevent burns. The spark plug 38 is in the spark generation circuit 42, the heater of the ignition chamber 33 is in the first heater controller 43, and the pressure pickup 39 is in the pressure detection circuit 4.
4 is connected. The pressure detection circuit 44 has an alarm indicator 47.
Is connected. The switching valves 34 and 35 are connected to a valve controller 41, the spark plug 38 is connected to a spark generation circuit 42, and the valve controller 41 and the spark generation circuit 42 are connected to a timing controller 46. The relief valve 40 of the ignition chamber 33 and the other switching passage of the switching valves 34 and 35 are connected to the atmosphere.

The operation of the ignition test device 30 constructed as described above is as follows. While the clothes are being washed or dried, both switching valves 34 and 35 are normally C-A, and the solvent gas in the drum sucked from the suction port 14 by the blower 17 is discharged from the suction pipe 31 to the ignition chamber. Guided to 33. The sucked gas returns to the circulation path 16 through the discharge pipe 32 as it is, and is discharged from the discharge port 15 into the drum 12 through the cooler 18 and the heater 19 together with the gas that has not passed through the ignition chamber 33. In addition, without a drying function,
In the case of a dry cleaner of the type that can be completed only by cleaning and dewatering, a pump for inhaling solvent gas is provided separately and the ignition chamber 33 is installed.
Try to lead to.

The ignition chamber 33 has a first heater controller 43.
Is controlled to 60 to 75 ° C. and the suction pipe 31 is controlled to 50 to 60 ° C. by the second heater controller 45 to prevent the condensation of the solvent gas. This ensures that the gas concentration in the ignition chamber 33 is the same as in the drum 12.

In this way, the ignition test is conducted at an appropriate point during the actual washing or drying of the clothes by the procedure as shown in FIG. First, both the suction-side and discharge-side switching valves 34 and 35, which are CA, are switched to CB (step S1), and the ignition chamber 33 is cut off from the drum 12. Then, a high voltage is applied to the ignition plug 38, and a spark is emitted between both electrodes of the plug 38 (step S2). Then, the pressure P detected by the pressure pickup 39 is compared with a predetermined threshold value P0 (steps S3 and S4). When the solvent gas does not ignite, the pressure in the ignition chamber hardly changes, but when ignited, the pressure becomes a very high value. Therefore, a relatively rough threshold value can be set as P0.

When the detected pressure P is less than the threshold value P0, there is no danger of ignition of the solvent gas in the drum 12, and after a predetermined time, both switching valves 34 and 35 are used as a basis (CA).
Back) and continue washing or drying (step S7). However, if P ≧ P0, a signal for stopping the operation of the dry cleaner 10 is sent to the control unit (not shown) of the dry cleaner 10 (step S5), and the display 47 indicates “flame hazard”. Is displayed (step S
6). As a result, the dry cleaner 10 is immediately stopped, and the operator can know from the indicator 47 that the dry cleaner 10 has stopped because the solvent gas reached the danger level of ignition. After that, the operator takes appropriate measures such as exchanging the solvent itself, stopping the use of an inappropriate auxiliary agent, and cooling the solvent.

The ignition test may be programmed in advance so that it is performed at regular intervals, or in addition, it may be manually performed as appropriate.

In the above-described embodiment, the ignition test device 30 and the circulation path 16 are connected by two pipes 31 and 32, and at a time other than the ignition test, a part of the gas sucked from the suction port 14 is subjected to the ignition test. Although it was designed to pass through the device 30 and return to the circulation path 16 again, the ignition test device 30 and the circulation path 16 may be connected by only one pipe. in this case,
Normally, this pipe is shut off, and only when an ignition test is performed, the gas in the circulation path 16 is guided to the ignition test device 30 for the last 1 to several minutes, and the ignition plug is activated after the communication is shut off.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view of a dry cleaner that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the dry cleaner ignition test apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an operation of the ignition test device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Dry cleaner 12 ... Drum 14 ... Drum solvent gas suction port 15 ... Drum solvent gas discharge port 16 ... Drum solvent gas circulation path 17 ... Blower 18 ... Solvent condensation cooler 19 ... Blast drying heater 30 ... Ignition test device 31 ... Suction pipe 32 ... Discharge pipe 33 ... Ignition chamber 34, 35 ... Switching valve 36 ... Suction pipe heater 37 ... Flame arrester 38 ... Spark plug 39 ... Pressure pickup (pressure sensor)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a laundry device using a flammable solvent, a gas in a drum is sucked and guided to an external ignition test chamber, and a passage connecting the drum and the ignition test chamber is cut off, and then an ignition test is performed. An oil laundry device with a safety device, which is equipped with an ignition test device that ignites indoors. 2. The petroleum laundry device with a safety device according to claim 1, wherein a heater is provided around a passage for guiding the gas in the drum to the ignition test chamber. 3. The oil with safety device according to claim 1, wherein a pressure sensor is provided in the ignition test chamber, and a safety circuit is provided to stop the operation of the laundry device when the detected pressure after ignition is a predetermined value or more. Laundry device. 4. The petroleum laundry device with a safety device according to claim 3, further comprising an indicator for indicating a danger when the detected pressure is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.