U.S. patent number 3,805,561 [Application Number 05/267,518] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-23 for garment finishing apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to W. M. Cissell Manufacturing Company. Invention is credited to Norman J. Bullock.
United States Patent |
3,805,561 |
Bullock |
April 23, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
GARMENT FINISHING APPARATUS
Abstract
A garment finishing apparatus for dewrinkling clothes including
a cabinet into the interior of which clothes to be finished are
placed via a door, a steam generator for converting water into
steam which is then emitted into the interior of the cabinet for
dewrinkling the clothes, the steam generator being characterized by
instantaneously converting the water into steam and generating a
predetermined quantity of steam per garment refinishing cycle
irrespective of the pressure at which the water is supplied to the
steam generator, and air circulating and heating means for
recirculating hot air through the interior of the cabinet to dry
the previously steamed clothes.
Inventors: |
Bullock; Norman J. (Prospect,
KY) |
Assignee: |
W. M. Cissell Manufacturing
Company (Louisville, KY)
|
Family
ID: |
23019126 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/267,518 |
Filed: |
June 29, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
68/5C; 68/12.18;
68/12.12; 68/12.26; 223/51; 34/517 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F
73/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
D06F
73/00 (20060101); D06F 73/02 (20060101); D06c
001/100 () |
Field of
Search: |
;68/5R,5C,6,12R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Price; William I.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wood, Herron & Evans
Claims
Having described my invention, I claim:
1. Garment dewrinkling apparatus comprising:
a cabinet having an internal chamber into which garments are
positioned for dewrinkling treatment,
a steam generator having a steam outlet communicating with said
chamber for introducing steam into said chamber to moisturize
garments therein, said generator including
a. a heat sink,
b. a heater in heat transfer relation to said heat sink for heating
said heat sink to a specified temperature substantially above the
boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure,
c. a valve having an outlet connected to said heat sink and having
an inlet connectable to an unregulated pressure water supply, said
valve constructed to provide, when actuated, an output water flow
at a constant rate per unit time independent of water supply
pressure fluctuations, and
d. a timer for controlling the actuation of said valve for a
perdetermined interval to cause said valve to deliver to said heat
sink a specified quantity of water directly correlated to the time
duration of said interval, and
hot air circulating means having a hot air outlet communicating
with said chamber for drying garments previously subjected to a
moisturizing cycle.
2. Garment dewrinkling apparatus comprising:
a cabinet having an internal chamber into which garments are
positioned for dewrinkling treatment,
a steam generator having a steam outlet communicating with said
chamber for introducing steam into said chamber to moisturize
garments therein, said generator comprising
a. a heat sink having a high temperature surface defining a cavity
therein for containing in contact therewith a charge of water which
boils at a specified temperature,
b. a heater in heat transfer relationship to said heat sink for
heating said heat sink surface to said high temperature, said high
temperature being substantially above said specified boiling
temperature,
c. a thermostatic regulator for maintaining said heat sink surface
at approximately said high temperature,
d. means for charging said cavity with a predetermined charge of
water, and
hot air circulating means having a hot air outlet communicating
with said chamber for drying garments previously subjected to a
moisturizing cycle.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heat stored in said heat
sink at said specified temperature exceeds the heat necessary to
boil said specified quantity of water without reducing the
temperature of said heat sink substantially below said specified
temperature.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the heat stored in said heat
sink exceeds the heat necessary to boil said predetermined charge
of water without reducing the temperature of said cavity surface
substantially below said specified high temperature.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said high temperature exceeds
approximately 400.degree.F.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hot air circulating means
includes an air passage upstream of said hot air outlet, and
wherein said heat sink is located in said passage in heat transfer
relationship to air flowing therein for heating said air as it
flows in said passage to said hot air outlet.
Description
This invention relates to apparatus for dewrinkling clothes by
subjecting them to a steaming and hot air drying operation and more
particularly to garment dewrinkling apparatus and steam generator
therefor which generates steam instantaneously and in a
predetermined amount irrespective of random fluctuations in
pressure of the water supplied to the apparatus from which the
steam is generated.
In recent years, particularly as a consequence of the rising
popularity of garments made of synthetic fibers, it has been the
practice to dewrinkle, and in effect, press synthetic fiber
garments by subjecting them to high temperature moisture,
preferably steam, followed by drying in which the garments are
subjected to a continuous stream of hot air. Garment dewrinkling
apparatus of the type described typically includes a cabinet in
which the garments are placed, suspended from hangers, during the
moisturizing and drying cycles, a source of steam for subjecting
the garments to a moisturizing environment, and a source of warm
air for drying the garments after they have been steamed.
The dewrinkling cabinets which first appeared in use were designed
for installation in commercial drycleaning establishments where the
daily volume of garments is large. These machines were relatively
elaborate and complex. Typically, such machines used a separate
pressurized steam boiler and condensate return system which would
generate steam on a more or less continuous basis throughout the
day. An operator, desiring to subject garments in the cabinet to a
specified amount of steam equivalent to, for example, 8 ounces of
water, would merely leave the garments in the cabinet for a
specified length of time. Since steam was being generated
continuously and at some controlled, but substantial pressure and
at a relatively constant rate, a garment, with relatively good
accuracy, could be subjected to a given quantity of steam, which
has been found to be desirable, by leaving it in the steam cabinet
for a specified length of time.
With the increase in popularity of synthetic fiber garments which
are efficiently dewrinkled by steam treatment, and with the trend
toward coin-operated, self-service laundry and drycleaning
establishments, there has arisen a need for a selfcontained garment
dewrinkling cabinet of the steam type which is suitable for
installation in coin-operated, self-service dry-cleaning
establishments and which can be operated with uniform and
satisfactory results by unskilled customers rather than trained
operator-employees of commercial drycleaning establishments of the
non-self-service type. Unfortunately, and due to the differing
circumstances existing in coin-operated, self-service drycleaning
establishments vis-a-vis commercial drycleaning establishments, the
steam cabinet heretofore satisfactory for large-scale commercial
drycleaning establishments utilizing trained personnel to operate
the equipment on a continuous basis has not proven satisfactory for
the self-service, coin-operated dry-cleaning establishment having
considerably smaller volume, intermittent operation, and customers
untrained in the operation of the equipment.
First the separate steam boiler present in large-scale commercial
steaming units requires substantial floor space. This problem is
particularly acute in coin-operated, self-service installations
where floor space is expensive. Second, large-scale commercial
steaming units with their separate pressurized boilers and return
system often conflict with local building code restrictions
relating to pressure vessels and water discharge, with the result
that installation is complicated, and in some cases prevented.
Third, with commercial boiler installations the expense of boiler
water treatment is substantial. Fourth, the pressurization of the
boiler unit in a large-scale commercial unit poses a hazard from
explosion. Fifth, the substantial cost of the large-scale
commercial steam cabinet, a significant cost factor of which is the
cost of the steam generator, while tolerable in a large volume
operation, is intolerable in a small-scale, coin-operated,
self-service establishment where the unit may be used only 15
minutes each hour. While attempts have been made to reduce the cost
of commercial installation dewrinkling apparatus by substituting,
for the large-scale steam generating boiler, a simplified steam
generator of the immersion heater type wherein a specified amount
of water, for example, 8 ounces, is dumped into a pan containing a
heat coil, the results have been generally unsatisfactory. The
delay with an immersion heater between the time the water is
inserted in the pan until steam begins to be generated is still
significant, on the order of 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Additionally,
there is no guarantee that all the water dumped into the pan will
be converted into steam inasmuch as some of the water in the bottom
of the pan may not come into contact with the immersion heater and,
hence, may not become heated sufficiently to be converted into
steam.
It has, therefore, been an objective of this invention to provide a
steam cabinet operable by customers having no special
machine-operating skills, which in small-scale, coin-operated,
self-service drycleaning and laundering establishments or other
likely locations, e.g., motel and hotel lobbies, vending areas,
etc. having no special machine-operating skills. This objective has
been accomplished in accordance with certain principles of this
invention by providing a steam cabinet having a highly novel and
unobvious steam generating unit utilizing the combination of a heat
sink having a water-receiving cavity which is maintained at a
temperature substantially above the boiling point of water to
convert water input to it into very low pressure steam on an
instantaneous basis, and a means for supplying to the heat sink
cavity a predetermined quantity of water for steam generation
which, in a preferred from, includes a timer-controlled valve
connectable to an unregulated pressure city water main which
provides a water flow output which is constant irrespective of
fluctuations in the pressure of the water main. In operation, in
this invention, the water valve under the control of the timer is
opened for a specified time, for example, 10 seconds, during which
a predetermined quantity of water, such as 8 ounces, is dumped into
the heat sink cavity, and as a consequence of the elevated
temperature of the heat sink and the fact that all the water is in
contact with it, the water is converted into steam without any
delay and continues until the entire amount of the water has been
converted to steam, thereby producing a predetermined quantity of
steam on an instantaneous basis.
The steam generator of this invention, particularly by virtue of
the timer-controlled, pressure-insensitive valve, is particularly
advantageous for use in commercial coin-operated, self-service
drycleaning and laundry establishments. In such establishments,
which typically have from 20 to 50 water consuming washing
machines, the pressure in the city water main at the installation
varies considerably and in an unpredictable manner due to the
unscheduled operation of the clothes washers, which is random both
with respect to time of operation and number of machines operating
at any given time. With this invention the timer-controlled valve
is insensitive to pressure variations in the local supply main, and
a constant charge of water, dependent only on the time duration of
valve operation, is obtained. Thus, uniformity in quantity of steam
generation per garment treating cycle is obtained.
These and other advantages and objectives of the invention will be
more readily apparent from a detailed description of the drawings
in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cut-away, of the steam
cabinet of this invention; and
FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the lower portion
of the steam cabinet showing the relationship of the air
circulating passages, steam generator, and air heater.
The preferred embodiment of the garment conditioner depicted in
FIGS. 1 and 2 includes as its principal components a cabinet 10 in
which the garments to be conditioned or dewrinkled are placed, a
steam generator 16 for introducing into the cabinet interior to
dewrinkle the garments a predetermined quantity of steam each
operating cycle, an air circulating system 12 for recirculating air
within the cabinet, and an air heating unit 14 which heats the
circulating air to facilitate drying the garments which have been
steamed.
The cabinet 10 is generally box-like and includes opposite side
walls 10-1 and 10-2, a top 10-3, a bottom 10-4, a back 10-5 and a
front 10-6 having an opening 10-7 provided with a hinged door 10-8
for selective placement and removal of garments in the cabinet
interior 10-9. A stationary support bracket 18 spanning the back
and front walls 10-5 and 10-6 has hangers 20 suspended from it for
supporting garments in vertical disposition within the cabinet
interior 10-9. A false ceiling is provided having planar sections
21 and 22 which slope downwardly and outwardly from a common
junction line 23 extending from front to back along the interior of
the cabinet top 10-3. The downwardly and laterally extending slope
of false ceiling sections 21 and 22 reduces the likelihood that
steam condensing on the false ceiling will drip onto garments
suspended from hangers 20. Condensed steam will have a tendency to
roll down the sloping false ceiling sections onto the interior of
side walls 10-1 and false side wall 26 and thence to the bottom of
the cabinet where it is removed via evaporation. The cabinet 10 as
noted is provided with the false side wall 26 which runs from the
lower edge of the false ceiling section 22 to the bottom panel
10-4. The false side panel 26 and false ceiling panel 22 enclose
components of the air circulating system 12 to be described in more
detail hereafter. A false bottom 27 having a rectangular opening 28
is also included in the cabinet 10. The false bottom functions to
enclose the steam generator 16 and in combination with the lower
portions of the front wall 10-6, rear wall 10-5, and side walls
10-1 and 26, and bottom panel 10-4, forms a duct, passage or cavity
36 for distributing air from the air circulating system 12 to the
cabinet interior 10-9 via the opening 28. Located over the opening
28 is the air-pervious heater 14 for heating air entering the
cabinet interior 10-9 via opening 28. The cabinet 10, including its
various walls, panels and the like, are preferably fabricated of
sheet metal.
The air circulating system, considered in more detail, includes a
blower motor unit 25 located in the space between false ceiling
panel section 22 and cabinet top 10-3. The blower unit 25 has an
inlet port or duct 31 which communicates with the interior of the
cabinet 10-9 via an opening in the false ceiling panel section 22
and an outlet 32. A duct 34 located in the space between false side
wall 26 and side panel 10-2 connects the outlet 32 of the blower 25
to the cavity 36 lying between the false bottom 27 and the bottom
panel 10-4. The lower end 38 of the duct 34 communicates with the
cavity 36 via a suitable opening in the lower portion of false side
wall 26, which lower side wall portion forms one side of the
structure defining cavity 36. When the blower motor unit 25 is
energized, air from the cabinet interior 10-9 enters the motor
inlet duct 31 at the top of the cabinet interior and exits under
pressure from the motor outlet 32 where it is transported
downwardly by the duct 34 to the cavity 36 underlying the false
bottom 27. The air in the cavity 36 is then distributed upwardly
through the false bottom opening 28, passing through the heater 14,
wherein it becomes heated, to the interior of the cabinet 10-9,
drying garments on hangers 20 previously subjected to a steam cycle
to be described. Eventually the air again enters the blower motor
inlet 31 and the recirculation process is repeated. A portion, e.g.
10 percent, of the air entering the blower inlet 31 exhausts to the
atmosphere via a vent hole 67 provided in the blower outlet side of
the motor 32, to facilitate removal of moisture from the cabinet
interior 10-5. By design, cracks exist in the cabinet 10 by virtue
of imperfect sealing of the door 10-8 with cabinet opening 10-7 to
permit make-up air to enter the cabinet interior 10-9 and avoid
creation of a significant vacuum in the cabinet interior as a
controlled quantity of air is exhausted at opening 67 to remove
moisture when the blower motor unit 25 is energized.
The air heater which overlies the opening 28 in false bottom 27 may
take a variety of forms. Preferably the heater is a resistance
heating coil having a number of strands 40-1, 40-2, 40-3 spanning
the opening 28 in a horizontal plane. Strands 40-1, 40-2 and 40-3
are anchored at each end to square cross-section transverse channel
members 33, 33 mounted to the upper surface of false bottom 27
adjacent the opposite sides of opening 28. The resistance heating
strands 40-1, 40-2 and 40-3 are connected to a suitable source of
electrical current (not shown) and when energized from such current
source becomes sufficiently elevated in temperature to heat the
recirculating air as it passes upwardly into the cabinet interior
10-9 via opening 28 in the false bottom 27.
The air heater 14 also preferably includes an air pervious,
perforated cover plate 42 disposed in a horizontal plane to the
opening 28 and overlying the heating strands 40-1, 40-2, 40-3. The
perforated plate 42 protects garments, which inadvertently may fall
from the hangers 20 to the bottom of the cabinet, from being burned
which would otherwise result were the plate omitted and the falling
garments to come into direct contact with the heating strands 40-1,
40-2, 40-3. Also, since the perforated plate 42, by virtue of its
proximity to the heating strands 40-1, 40-2, 40-3, becomes heated,
it provides additional heat transfer surface for heating the
circulating air entering the cabinet interior 10-9 via opening
28.
A pair of upwardly and inwardly disposed plates 30, 30 are secured
to false bottom 27 adjacent the front and rear edges of the opening
28 and deflect the air issuing from opening 28 to the center of the
cabinet interior 10-9.
The steam generator 16, which is located in the cavity 36
underlying the false bottom 27, provides two principal and highly
advantageous operating characteristics. These are, first, the
generation of steam instantaneous upon introduction of water into
the steam generator from a local supply such as a water main and,
second, the generation of steam in a predetermined quantity per
garment conditioning cycle irrespective of variations in pressure
of the local water supply to which the steam generator is
connected. To accomplish these advantages, the steam generator 16
includes a heat sink 50 in the form of a block having a planar
horizontal surface 51, the circumferential edge of which is
completely surrounded by an upstanding wall 52 to form a cavity or
receptacle 53. The heat sink 50 is preferably fabricated of
material such as cast iron having a low specific heat and high
density. The cavity 53 is sealed by a metal plate 54 which seats on
the upper edge of upstanding wall sections 52. A heater 55,
preferably of the electrical resistance type, is mounted to the
bottom surface of the heat sink block 50 for heating the block when
energized from a power supply 41 under the control of a
thermostatic regulator 56 which responds to a temperature sensor 57
imbedded or attached to the heat sink 50. Preferably two
temperature-sensing elements 57 (only one of which is shown) are
provided. One of the temperature-sensing elements causes the
thermostatic regulator 56 to terminate energization of the heat 55
when the heat sink 50 has reached a desired upper temperature
limit, e.g., 450.degree.F. while the other temperature sensor
precludes the commencing of another cycle until the heat sink has
at least reached some predetermined lower temperature limit, such
as 400.degree.F. The temperature sensors 57 and thermostatic
regulator 56 are conventional and well known components in the
heating field and, accordingly, are not further described
herein.
When a predetermined amount, or charge, of water is introduced into
the cavity 53, by means to be described, a conversion of water to
steam occurs instantaneously as the water contacts the heat sink
surface 51 which is maintained at a high temperature substantially
above the temperature at which water boils under the atmospheric
air pressure conditions present in cavity 53. The heat sink 50
preferably has a mass and specific heat selected to store heat in
an amount sufficient to prevent the temperature of the surface 51
from dropping below, or even near, the boiling point of water in
the course of converting to steam the predetermined quantity of
water, or charge, introduced into the cavity 53 per garment
conditioning cycle. In this way the charge of water introduced into
cavity 53 will continue to be converted into steam from the moment
of its introduction into the cavity until all of the water has been
boiled.
Communicating with the cavity 53 of the heat sink 50 is a water
conduit 60 which connects to a conventional unregulated pressure
water supply 61 via a constant flow output, pressure insensitive
valve 62 controlled by a timer 63. It is essential that the valve
62 be of the general type which provides at its output a constant
flow rate per unit time independent of fluctuations in pressure of
the fluid entering its inlet. Controlling the valve 62 is a timer
63 which, under command of a signal from a control circuit (not
shown) functions to open the valve 62 for a predetermined period of
time, thereby effecting delivery of a predetermined quantity of
water, for example, 12 ounces, from unregulated pressure water
supply 61 to the heat sink cavity 53, irrespective of variations in
the pressure of the water supply 61 to which the steam generator 16
may be connected.
Provision of means to provide a constant quantity of water to the
steam generator 16 irrespective of pressure fluctuations in the
water supply to which the steam generator is connected is
particularly advantageous when the steam cabinet is utilized in a
conventional self-service, coin-operated laundry and drycleaning
installation having a large number, for example, 20-50, clothes
washers. In such an installation, the pressure of the local water
supply 61, for example, the city water main, will vary to a large
extent dependent upon the number of clothes washers being utilized
at any given time. Obviously, every time a clothes washer begins to
draw water from the city main, there is a drop in pressure of the
water supply, at least temporarily. The combination of valve 62 and
timer 63 of this invention provides a predetermined quantity of
water to the steam generator cavity 53 for generation into steam
and subsequent conditioning of clothes in the steam cabinet 10,
notwithstanding unpredictable fluctuations in pressure of the city
water main which are prevalent in self-service, coin-operated
installations where clothes washers utilize water at unpredictable
times and rates.
Communicating with the interior 53 of the steam generator heat sink
50 is a tubular fitting 64 which has extending from opposite arms
thereof tubular branch conduits 65 and 66 which pass through the
false bottom 27 of the steam cabinet and channels 33, 33
terminating with their exit ends 65' and 66' in the cabinet
interior 10-9. Tubular fitting 64, in combination with the branch
conduits 65 and 66, are unrestricted and distribute steam to the
interior of the cabinet 10-9 generated in the cavity 53 when the
water input thereto via conduit 60 vaporizes upon contact with the
heated sink surface 51.
An important aspect of this invention is the fact that by
maintaining the heat sink 50 at a temperature substantially above
the boiling point of water, steam is instantaneously generated as
an incident to introduction of water into the heat sink cavity 53
via conduit 60. Thus, the normal delays commonplace when
conventional immersion water heaters and the like are used are
avoided. Another important characteristic of this invention is that
the steam generator provides a predetermined quantity of steam per
garment conditioning cycle irrespective of fluctuations in pressure
of the city water main to which the steam generator is connected. A
third advantage of this invention is that all the water introduced
into the cavity 53 is converted to steam since at all times the
water is in contact with the heated surface 51. This is contrary to
the operation of immersion heaters where often some of the water in
the bottom of the pan in which the immersion heater is located is
out of contact with the immersion heating element and, hence, is
not converted to steam. Additionally, since the cavity 51 is open
to the atmosphere via tubes 65 and 65', the steam produced is at a
low pressure and non-hazardous. Finally, by locating the heat sink
50 in the path of the recirculating air, the air will be heated by
the heat sink as well as by heating strands 40-1, 40-2, 40-3 as it
flows through cavity 36.
While the invention has been described as useful in vaporizing
water, it will be understood that other fluids susceptive of
vaporization with the apparatus of this invention may be employed,
and accordingly the term "water" as used in the claims includes
such other fluids.
The invention has been described in conjunction with a steam
cabinet, but it is of euqal value in other steam operated devices
such as steam irons, spotting boards and form finishers and it is
intended that this invention apply to these and other devices using
evaporated fluids. For example, when the invention is used in a
steam iron, the timer 63 controlling the 62 is replaced by a
manually operated switch which opens the valve for a variable
interval dependent upon the deviation of manual actuation of the
switch to provide a charge of water which is independent of water
supply pressure variations and dependent only upon the duration of
switch actuation. Of course, when used in a steam iron the steam
tubes 65 and 65' communicate with the steam emission holes in the
bottom of the iron.
* * * * *