Dry Cleaning Systems and Methods
OwnerChong Tae Yiinventor
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method for cleaning fabric articles which comprises the steps of: washing the fabric articles with a cleaning solvent in a rotatable drum; rotating the drum at a high spin speed for a high spin period of time after the performance of said washing step; and heating the fabric articles for at least a period of time during the performance of said rotating step. During the heating step, at least some of the cleaning solvent is removed from the fabric articles in both liquid and vapor phases. Heating the fabric articles decreases attractive forces between the liquid phase cleaning solvent and the fabric articles, facilitating the separation and hence removal of additional quantities of the cleaning solvent from the fabric articles.
Claims15
A method for cleaning fabric articles, said method comprising the steps of:
- washing the fabric articles with a cleaning solvent in a rotatable drum having opposite axial ends and a wall;
- and drying the washed fabric articles in the drum, said drying step including the steps of rotating the drum at a spin speed for a spin period of time such that the fabric articles move toward the wall of the drum so as to cause removal from the fabric articles of at least a portion of the cleaning solvent remaining in the fabric articles and so as to form an unobstructed pathway extending between the axial ends of the drum;
- and providing a heated gas into the drum from an inlet located adjacent one of the axial ends of the drum during the spin period, the heated gas being injected into the drum from the inlet such that the heated gas flows from the one of the axial ends of the drum through the pathway toward the other of the axial ends of the drum, at least some of the heated gas flowing directly to the other of the axial ends through the pathway such that the heated gas is distributed along the entire length of the drum, the heated gas flowing radially outwardly from an interior of the drum to an exterior of the drum through the fabric articles so as to cause at least another portion of the cleaning solvent remaining in the fabric articles to evaporate and be removed therefrom.
Apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, said apparatus comprising a rotatable drum having opposite axial ends and a wall, said drum being sized and shaped so as to receive the fabric articles such that the fabric articles can be washed with a dry cleaning solvent in said drum, said drum being rotatable at a spin speed for a spin period of time after the washing of the fabric articles such that the fabric articles move toward said wall of said drum so as to cause removal from the fabric articles of at least a portion of the cleaning solvent remaining in the fabric articles and so as to form an unobstructed pathway extending between said axial ends of said drum;
- and a supply system for supplying a heated gas into said drum during said spin period, said supply system having an inlet located adjacent one of said axial ends of said drum for injecting the heated gas into said drum during said spin period such that the heated gas flows from said one of said axial ends of said drum through said pathway toward the other of said axial ends of said drum, at least some of the heated gas flowing directly to said other of said axial ends through said pathway such that the heated gas is distributed along the entire length of said drum, the heated gas flowing radially outwardly from an interior of said drum to an exterior of said drum through the fabric articles so as to cause at least another portion of the cleaning solvent remaining in the fabric articles to evaporate and be removed therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.