Apparatus and method for controlling the use of carbon dioxide in dry cleaning clothes
US5970554A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 28, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 26, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 28, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01F23/248
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus and method for controlling the use of carbon dioxide in drying cleaning clothes, garments and other fabrics is disclosed and claimed. The components of the invention include a distillation vessel, a compressor, a warm-up vessel, a cleaning chamber, a condenser, and a carbon dioxide storage tank. A programmable logic controller is utilized to control the apparatus. Several modes of use are disclosed. One mode, the reclaim mode, enables the efficient operation of the apparatus. As the name implies the reclaim mode recovers most of the carbon dioxide gas remaining in the cleaning chamber is removed therefrom. There are three steps of the reclaim mode: in the first steps the compressor pumps the gaseous carbon dioxide in two parallel stages from the cleaning chamber to the condenser where heat is removed therefrom and it is liquified; in the second step the compressor pumps the gaseous carbon dioxide through the warm-up vessel and back to the cleaning chamber thus preventing the formation of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) on the clothes, garments or fabrics in the cleaning chamber; and, in the third step two stages of compression are utilized to remove as much of the gaseo…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.