Abstract:
A liquified gas dry cleaning system is provided which includes a cleaning vessel for containing a pressurized cleaning fluid and a storage tank for receiving and storing a cleaning fluid supply. The system also includes a cleaning fluid recovery still for separating contaminants from the cleaning fluid along with a filtration system for filtering contaminants from the cleaning fluid. A purge tank for receiving gaseous cleaning fluid which is in fluid communication with the cleaning vessel is also provided. The cleaning vessel, storage tank, purge tank, solvent recovery still and filtration system are arranged in a plurality of modules. The modules are in fluid communication with each other through a fluid line for carrying liquified cleaning fluid and a gas line for carrying gaseous cleaning fluid. The fluid line and gas line each include a respective junction for permitting separation of the modules. The fluid line junction and the gas line junction are disposed and configured such that the modules can be assembled in different configurations without any requiring any rerouting of the liquid and gas lines.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to dry-cleaning systems and, more particularly, to a liquified gas dry-cleaning system which is readily converted into different assembled configurations. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Known dry-cleaning processes consist of a wash, rinse, and drying cycle with solvent recovery. Garments are loaded into a basket in a cleaning drum and immersed in a dry-cleaning fluid or solvent, which is pumped into the cleaning drum from a base tank. Conventional dry-cleaning fluids include perchloroethylene (PCE), petroleum-based or Stoddard solvents, CFC-113, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, all of which are generally aided by a detergent. The solvent is used to dissolve soluble contaminants, such as oils, and to entrain and wash away insoluble contaminants, such as dirt. 
     The use of these conventional solvents, however, poses a number of health and safety risks as well as being environmentally hazardous. For example, halogenated solvents are known to be environmentally unfriendly, and at least one of these solvents, PCE, is a suspected carcinogen. Known petroleum-based solvents are flammable and can contribute to the production of smog. Accordingly, dry cleaning systems which utilize dense phase fluids, such as liquid carbon dioxide, as a cleaning medium have been developed. An apparatus and method for employing liquid carbon dioxide as the dry-cleaning solvent is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,492, entitled “Dry-Cleaning Garments Using Liquid Carbon Dioxide Under Agitation As Cleaning Medium”. A similar dry cleaning apparatus is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,276. 
     These systems pose a number of other problems, particularly in relation to the high operating pressures necessary for maintaining the gas in a liquid state. For example, the various pressurized components of the system must be constructed with thick, heavy walled structures to withstand the elevated pressures encountered during the dry cleaning operation. These bulky structures consume a significant amount of space. For instance, a liquified gas dry-cleaning machine can have dimensions which exceed eight feet in length and the weight of the machine can exceed 6,000 pounds. As will be appreciated, equipment of this size and weight can be difficult to install. Moreover, in order to encourage dry cleaning operators to convert to liquid carbon dioxide dry cleaning systems, these new systems must be able to be placed into facilities and locations designed for existing dry-cleaning equipment. However, due to the neighborhood nature of many dry cleaning operations, substantial space restrictions can exist at many dry-cleaning facilities. These space restrictions can exacerbate the difficulties associated with installing the liquified gas dry-cleaning equipment and, in some cases, could preclude the installation of such a system in a particular location. 
     The size and weight of liquified gas dry-cleaning equipment also can make it very difficult to ship. For example, heavy lifting equipment must be provided to the move dry-cleaning machine. In addition, in order to reach a particular installation location, it may be necessary to move the dry-cleaning machine through tight hallways and narrow doorways. Obviously, because of the size and weight of the equipment, this can be very difficult and, in some instances, also could preclude the installation of the system. 
     OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing, a general object of the present invention is to overcome the problems associated with shipping and installing liquified gas dry-cleaning systems. 
     A related object of the present invention is to provide a liquified gas dry-cleaning machine which is adapted for more flexible installation so as to enable more efficient utilization of space in a particular installation location. 
     A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a liquified gas dry-cleaning machine which is readily converted into different assembled configurations so as to conform more easily to the space requirements of a particular installation location. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a dry-cleaning machine of the foregoing type having a modular design that makes the machine easier to ship and handle prior to installation. 
     These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention and upon reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative liquified gas dry-cleaning machine in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the liquified gas dry-cleaning machine of FIG. 1 with the cleaning vessel module and the tank module arranged in side-to-side relation. 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the liquified gas dry-cleaning machine of FIG. 1 with the cleaning vessel module and the tank module arranged in side-to-side relation. 
     FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the liquified gas dry-cleaning machine of FIG. 1 with the cleaning vessel module and the tank module arranged in side-to-side relation. 
     FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the liquified gas dry-cleaning machine of FIG. 1 with the cleaning vessel module and the tank module arranged in front-to-back relation. 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the liquified gas dry-cleaning machine of FIG. 1 with the cleaning vessel module and the tank module arranged in front-to-back relation. 
     While the invention will be described and disclosed in connection with certain preferred embodiments and procedures, it is not intended to limit the invention to those specific embodiments. Rather it is intended to cover all such alternative embodiments and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a schematic block diagram of an illustrative liquified gas, dry-cleaning machine  10  embodying the present invention. In general, the dry-cleaning machine  10  includes a cleaning vessel  12  having a basket  14  rotatably disposed therein for containing items to be cleaned. A liquid wash bath derived from a liquifiable gas, such as carbon dioxide, is used as the dry-cleaning solvent. A pump  16  is provided for directing the wash bath from a gas supply storage tank  18  and through an inlet line  19  into the pressure vessel  12 . The cleaning vessel  12  is equipped with a steam heater  20 , pressure sensor  21 , and temperature sensor  22  to aid in temperature and pressure control for properly maintaining the wash bath in liquid phase during the dry-cleaning cycle. 
     The basic operation of a liquified gas dry-cleaning system is known in the art, as reflected by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,651,276, 5,467,492, and 5,651,276, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. After the basket  14  is loaded with items, such as garments, for cleaning, the pump  16  charges the cleaning vessel  12  with a wash bath drawn from the storage tank  18 , which functions as the cleaning solvent during a drying cycle. Once charged with the liquid carbon dioxide agitation may be applied to aid in the cleaning of the items. This agitation may be accomplished through the use of jet manifolds (not shown) which are supported on longitudinally extending mixing baffles arranged within the basket as disclosed in commonly assigned application Ser. No. 09/338,292, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. During the wash and rinse cycles, soluble contaminants dissolve in the liquid carbon dioxide. Upon completion of the dry cleaning cycle, the wash bath is drained from the cleaning vessel  12 . 
     Once the wash and rinse cycles have been completed, the now contaminated liquid carbon dioxide wash bath is drained from the cleaning vessel  12  during a drying/draining cycle. For removing contaminants from the liquid carbon dioxide during the wash and rinse cycles, the liquid carbon dioxide preferably is cycled from the cleaning vessel  12  to the solvent recovery still  26  which functions to vaporize the liquid carbon dioxide to separate and concentrate the precipitates. During such processing, the clean gaseous carbon dioxide is directed to a condenser where it is reliquified and then returned to the storage tank  18 . The liquified carbon dioxide is circulated through the apparatus by the pump  16 . 
     For removing wash bath vapors from the cleaning vessel  12 , a compressor  24  is provided to pump gaseous carbon dioxide from the cleaning vessel  12  to a condenser  27  where it is condensed back into liquid phase and then redirected to the storage tank  18 . The gaseous carbon dioxide typically is evacuated from the cleaning vessel  12  and directed to the condenser  27  during the washing and rinse cycles and upon completion of the washing operation prior to opening the cleaning vessel  12  and removing the cleaned items. In order to control the pressure and temperature within the cleaning vessel  12 , carbon dioxide may be quickly discharged from the cleaning vessel  12  to the purge tank  28  without the need for the compressor  24 . Moreover, the purge tank  28  also provides a source of low pressure, gaseous carbon dioxide which can be used to purge the cleaning vessel  12  of air before the wash cycle is commenced as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 09/338,292, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference 
     For removing non-soluble contaminants from the liquid carbon dioxide, the liquid carbon dioxide is circulated through a filtration system including, in the illustrated embodiment, a separator and filter unit  30 . In addition, the cleaning vessel  12 , in this instance, includes an internal lint filter for removing lint and coarse solids from the wash bath as it is drained from the cleaning vessel as disclosed in commonly assigned application Ser. No. 09/338,653 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     The illustrated cleaning vessel  12 , as best depicted in FIG. 2 comprises an elongated housing having a rounded end wall integrally formed at one end and a removable door  35   34 , also of generally rounded configuration, releasably secured at the other end. The housing defines a cylindrical cleaning chamber within which the rotary basket  14  is disposed. For supporting the basket  14  for rotating movement relative to the cleaning vessel  12 , the basket has an outwardly extending support and drive shaft  36  extending through the end wall of the cleaning vessel. The drive shaft  36 , which preferably is driven by a bi-directional motor, is rotatably supported in an annular collar or bushing  38 . For opening the door  34  to permit loading and unloading of items into the cleaning vessel  12 , an apparatus may be provided for automatically unlocking, removing and lowering the door as disclosed in commonly assigned application Ser. No. 09/338,590, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     In accordance with an important aspect of the present invention, to facilitate shipping and handling, the dry-cleaning machine  10  has a modular construction which allows the unit to be shipped in separate pieces to the particular location in which it is to be installed where the unit can then be assembled quickly and easily. As will be appreciated, having the capability to break the dry-cleaning machine into separate modules permits the unit to be transported through significantly tighter doors and corridors than would be possible if the unit had to be moved in a single piece. Moreover, if each module is lifted separately, the required capacity of the lifting equipment can be significantly reduced. To this end, in the illustrated embodiment, the dry-cleaning machine  10  is separable into a cleaning vessel module  40  and a tank module  42 . The cleaning vessel module  40 , in this case, includes as primary components the cleaning vessel  12  itself, the pump  16 , and the separator and filter unit  30  all of which are arranged in a respective cleaning vessel module frame  43 . The tank module  42 , in turn, includes as primary components, the storage tank  18 , purge tank  28 , compressor  24  and solvent recovery still  26  which are also arranged in a respective tank module frame  45 . 
     To allow for passage of the cleaning fluid between the two modules, and in turn the various components of the machine, a line  46  is provided for carrying gaseous carbon dioxide vapors and a line  50  is provided for carrying liquid carbon dioxide. These two lines provide the primary links between the two modules. To permit separation of the two modules, a junction  44  is provided in the vapor line  46  and a junction  48  is provided in the liquid line  50  as shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  5 . Accordingly, the two modules can be separated simply by severing the vapor line  46  and the liquid line  50  at the respective junctions  44 ,  48  that are provided between the cleaning vessel and tank modules  40 ,  42 . 
     In accordance with a further important aspect of the present invention, to permit more flexible installation, the cleaning vessel module  40  and the tank module  42  are adapted so that the dry-cleaning machine  10  can be assembled in different configurations without the need to reroute either the vapor line  46  or liquid line  50 . Specifically, in this case, the cleaning vessel and tank modules  40 ,  42  can be arranged in adjacent relation either side-to-side as shown in FIGS. 2-4 or front-to-back as shown in FIGS. 5-6. This is accomplished by arranging the junctions between the two modules in the liquid carbon dioxide line  50  and the carbon dioxide vapor line  46  such that they define connection points that are in the same relative positions no matter which of the different installation configurations is used. 
     To this end, in the illustrated embodiment, horizontal flange connections  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58  (FIGS. 2 and 5) are provided on the respective ends of the cleaning vessel module portions of the carbon dioxide liquid and vapor lines and on the respective ends of the tank module portions of the vapor and liquid lines  46 ,  50 . As shown in FIGS. 2-6, in this case, the horizontal flange connections  52 ,  54  on the ends of the cleaning vessel portions of the vapor and liquid lines  46 ,  50  are arranged along a common vertical axis within the cleaning vessel module  40 . The horizontal flange connections  56 ,  58  on the ends of the tank module portions of the vapor and liquid lines  45 ,  50  are also arranged along a common vertical axis, but since the lines extend away from the tank module  42 , the axis is in spaced relation to one side  60  of the tank module frame  45 . Moreover, the horizontal flange connections  52 ,  54  on the ends of the cleaning vessel module portions of the vapor and liquid lines  46 ,  50  are spaced from both the rear  62  and sides  64 ,  66  of the frame  43  of the cleaning vessel module a distance equal to the distance the vapor and liquid lines  46 ,  50  extend past the side  60  of the tank module frame  45 . Thus, the horizontal flange connections  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58  on the ends of the cleaning vessel module portion and the tank module portion of the liquid line  50  and the vapor line  46  will be in alignment no matter if the tank module is arranged to the side of the cleaning vessel module or behind the cleaning vessel module, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. 
     As will be appreciated, such an arrangement of the connections allows the modules to be installed in adjacent relation either next to each other or with the tank module  42  behind the cleaning vessel module  40  simply by arranging the modules in the desired configuration and connecting the respective portions of the gaseous carbon dioxide vapor line  46  and the liquid carbon dioxide line  50  via the horizontal flanges  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58 . No rerouting of the vapor and liquid lines is necessary. 
     Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that while in the illustrated embodiment the connections between the gas and liquid carbon dioxide lines  46 ,  50  are arranged so as to allow the tank module  42  to be placed to either side of the cleaning vessel module  40 , the connections may be arranged so as to allow the tank module to be placed to only one side of the cleaning vessel module by arranging the connections equidistant from the back and that side of the cleaning vessel module frame  43 . Likewise, while the junctions  44 ,  48  between the carbon dioxide vapor and liquid lines  46 ,  50  are arranged in the cleaning vessel module  40  when the machine is assembled, it will be appreciated that the junctions in the lines also could be arranged in the tank module  42  or the junctions could be arranged in separate modules. 
     From the foregoing, it can be seen that the modularly constructed dry cleaning machine of the present invention overcomes many of the problems associated with shipping and handling of the relatively large, heavy unit. Moreover, the capability of assembling the modules in different configurations enables the dry cleaning machine of the present invention to be more adaptable to the space requirements of a particular installation location. 
     All of the references cited herein, including patents, patent applications, and publications, are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference. 
     While this invention has been described with an emphasis upon preferred embodiments, it will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations of the preferred embodiments may be used and that it is intended that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.