EP0600731A1

EP0600731A1 - Cloth processing apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP0600731A1
Application number: EP93309623A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hiroshi Hikosaka
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-12-02
Filing date: 1993-12-01
Publication date: 1994-06-08
Also published as: KR940015014A; TW249253B; CN1092831A

Abstract

Inside of an airtight box (1) with a sucking slit (3) for sliding and passing a cloth (c) is maintained to low vacuum, and a washing liquid sucked by the sucking slit flows longitudinally through the cloth thereby the washing capability is improved with small power. A liquid in a washing tank sucked from a sucking slit through the top surface of the projecting rib into the airtight box passes through a line filter and circulated into the washing tank by a centrifugal pump. The pump is installed lower than the airtight box so that cavitation preventing function and low vacuum space forming function within the airtight box can be attained. An elastic flexible member sucked to the cloth sliding and moving on the top surface of the projecting rib by the vacuum sucking function of the sucking slit is supported by the support arm thereby liquid flow passing vertically through the cloth is prevented. In order to prevent storing of the contained air in the cloth within the airtight box, at least one apparatus is provided among an apparatus controlled by a level holding meter for suppressing the liquid level within the airtight box within the allowable variation range and an apparatus for squeezing contained air of the cloth between a roller and the airtight box into the liquid.

Description

A vacuum dehydrating apparatus is conventionally used where a continuous cloth,comprising woven cloth, knitted cloth or the like, slides and passes on sucking slits through to a pipe-shaped casing held un- dervacuum. -However, if such a vacuum dehydrating apparatus is set in a liquid of a washing tank and a cloth is washed, when the liquid sucked to the sucking slits flows through the cloth, the flow rate of liquid passing vertically through texture or stitch with small resistance between yarns increases and flow rate of the liquid flowing longitudinally in the yarn reduces, and not only a contained air of the cloth is sucked by the sucking slits, but also since length of the sucking slit is made larger than width of the cloth so as to adapt to variation of the width of the cloth, hermetic sealing of a portion of the sucking slit being not covered by the cloth becomes difficult; thereby problems exist in that washing of the inside of the yarns is difficult, the washing efficiency is reduced and also a vacuum pump of large capacity is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to improve the washing efficiency or the like and to enable use of a vacuum pump of small capacity.
In order to attain this object, the first embodiment relates to a cloth washing apparatus (an apparatus according to an embodiment of a cloth processing apparatus of the present invention), and its constitution is mainly characterized in that at least one long projecting rib is provided linearly at the outside, and an airtight box with sucking slits to the inside through the top surface of the projecting rib, front and rear rollers for guiding a cloth so as to be moved along a plane including the top surface of the projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the sucking slits, and an elastic flexible member mounted at the outside of the airtight box to a support arm in parallel with the projecting rib between the sides of the airtight box so as to close the sucking slits, are set in the liquid of the washing tank maintained to a definite level, and also a circulation circuit connecting the washing tank through a line filter to an exhaust port of a pump with its inlet port communicating and coupled with the bottom of the airtight box without self sucking function is installed, and the pump is positioned lower than the airtight box so that a vacuum space is produced on the upper side within the airtight box while cavitation of the pump is prevented.
Also the second embodiment relating to a cloth washing apparatus is mainly characterized in that within an airtight box provided with definite pressure higher than the outer atmospheric pressure and supplied continuously with a washing liquid at temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the definite pressure, a projecting rib with a first slit communicating with the inside and the outside thereof through the top surface is provided, and an elasticflexible member dosing the first slit is mounted to a support arm laterally spread within the airtight box parallel to the projecting rib, and means for carrying a cloth along a plane including the top surface of the projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the first slit is installed, and in response to pressure lowering of a washing liquid flowing towards the first slit through the carried cloth being grasped between the elastic flexible member and the top surface of the projecting rib, a part of the flowing washing liquid is boiled and evaporated, and a condensing device of vapor ejected from the first slit is installed at the outside of the airtight box so as to enable reuse of the boiled washing liquid.
Further, the third embodiment relates to a cloth soft finishing apparatus (an apparatus according to another embodiment of a cloth processing apparatus of the present invention where a cloth being small in thickness and hard to the touch feeling by hand is finished into a cloth of gentle feeling), and its constitution is mainly characterized in that within an airtight box provided with definite pressure higher than the outer atmospheric pressure and supplied continuously with a soft finishing liquid at temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the definite pressure, a projecting rib with a first slit communicating with the inside and the outside thereof through the top surface is installed, and an elastic flexible member closing the first slit is mounted to a support arm laterally spread within the airtight box in parallel to the projecting rib, and means for carrying a cloth along a plane including the top surface of the projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the first slit is installed, and in response to pressure lowering of a soft finishing liquid flowing towards the first slit through the carried cloth being grasped between the elastic flexible member and the top surface of the projecting rib, a part of the flowing soft finishing liquid is boiled and evaporated, and a condensing device of vapor ejected from the first slit is installed at the outside of the airtight box so as to enable reuse of the boiled soft finishing liquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing outline of an embodiment of the first embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view in X-X of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a circulation circuit of a washing liquid;
Fig. 4 is a sectional view in Y-Y of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a lateral sectional plan view of main part of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a sectional view corresponding to Z-Z section in Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is a sectional view corresponding to W-W section in Fig. 4;
Fig. 8 is a view from V arrow in Fig. 1;
Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional side view of main part of another embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 10 is a sectional view of another embodi ment corresponding to Fig. 7;
Fig. 11 is a sectional view of main part of an apparatus of the second invention;
Fig. 12 is a sectional view in X-X of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 11;
Fig. 14 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing another embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 15 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing another embodiment of the invention corresponding to Fig.14;
Fig. 16 is a sectional view of main part of an apparatus of another embodiment;
Fig. 17 is a sectional view in X-X of Fig. 16;
Fig. 18 is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 16;
Fig. 19 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing another embodiment of the invention; and
Fig. 20 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figs. 1 to 8 show outline of an embodiment of the first invention (a cloth washing apparatus) where a cloth being liable to elongation such as knitted cloth also can be washed. Numeral 1 designates an airtight box being long in the lateral direction and having rectangular crosssection, and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 1a are provided on the outside of the airtight box 1. Three projecting ribs 2 with angular crosssection being in parallel to each other are provided linearly on the top surface of the horizontal airtight box 1, and a sucking slit 3 to the inside of the airtight box is bored on the top end surface of the angular projecting ribs 2 as shown in Fig. 4.
Numeral 4 designates an elastic flexible member made of heat-resisting and abrasion-resisting synthetic resin such as fluororesin (trade name: Teflon) in tubular shape with outer diameter of about 18mm and inner diameter of about 15mm, and the elastic flexible member 4 as shown in Figs. 4 to 6 has sufficient length to close the the sucking slit 3 from the outside, and a support arm 5 made of stainless steel or the like in long band plate shape is fitted to the inside of each tubular elastic flexible member 4 and both ends of the support arm 5 are slightly project from the tubular elastic flexible member.
Numeral 6 designates bolts welded on both ends of the band-shaped support arm 5 in the same center line respectively, and the bolt 6 and the end of the support arm 5 are inserted in a bolt and support arm fitting hole 8 of end plates 7, 7 respectively projected upward from both ends of the airtight box 1. Nuts 9, 10 respectively are threadedly engaged and tightened with each bolt 6, thereby as shown in Fig. 6, in the vicinity of the diameter line D-D in parallel to the top end surface of the angular projecting rib of the tubular elastic flexible member4, closing the sucking slit 3, front and rear sides in the cloth sending direction of the band-shaped support lever 5 are inscribed with the tubular elastic flexible member respectively.
Therefore the support arm 5 spreading between both side end plates 7, 7 by large tensile force allows the tubular elastic flexible member 4 to displace up and down by about the thickness of the cloth C, but inhibits the elastic flexible member to displace forward and rearward with respect to the projecting rib 2.
Numeral 11 in Fig. 1 designates a washing tank where liquid level L is held to nearly constant level by an overflow channel 12, and the airtight box 1 is fixed and held on the bottom plate of the washing tank 11 through short tubes 13 (refer to Fig. 3) connected respectively to the bottom of the airtight box 1, and the lower end of each of the short tubes 13 is connected to one inlet tube 16 connected to an inlet port 15a of a centrifugal pump (volute pump) 15 without self sucking function. Numeral 17 designates a bolt and a nut connecting the short tube 13 and the tube 14 on upper and lower sides of the bottom plate of the washing tank.
An exhaust port 15b of the centrifugal pump is connected through a tube 18 to an inlet of a line filter 19, and an outlet of the line filter is connected through a tube 20 to a multihole tube 21 hung laterally to one side of the bottom within the washing tank 11. The multihole tube 21 is provided at its tube wall with a number of through holes sending a filter liquid towards the lower side of the airtight box 1, and a vapor ejecting tube 23 supplied with vapor of low pressure from a vapor source 22 is inserted in the multihole tube throughout nearly the overall length, and a number of vapor ejecting holes for heating the fi Iter directly by vapor are bored around the vapor ejecting tube.
When the washing liquid must be maintained to hot water state of about 90°C, a plurality of indirect heating vapor tubes 24 are inserted to other side within the washing tank 11 throughout nearly the whole width of the tank thereby the temperature lowering of the washing liquid is prevented, and the outside of the washing tank is wrapped, of course, by a heat insulating material. In addition, in order to compensate the overflow liquid amount from the overflow channel 12 of the washing tank, of course, a supply tube 25 of a clean liquid of prescribed pressure is connected at the midway of the circulation circuit between the line filter 19 orthe tank 15 and the washing tank 11 as shown in Fig. 1.
Numerals 26, 27 designate a pair of front and rear screw rollers provided with left-handed screw stripe L and right-handed screw stripe R of double-thread screw or the like in lateral symmetry with respect to the center line 0-0 as shown in Fig. 8 so that width B of the cloth C of the center line being 0-0 is enlarged equally to the left and to the right, and both screw rollers 26, 27 rotatably mounted to both site walls of the washing tank are driven in the arrow direction shown in Fig. 8 or Fig. 1 so as to have circumferential speed larger than the sending speed of the cloth C drawn by a cloth drawing roller apparatus (not shown) through a guide roller 28, and the cloth C passing through both screw rollers 26, 27 in sequence is urged enlarging the width B always along a plane including the top end surface of the three projecting ribs 2 provided on the top surface of the airtight box 1 thereby the longitudinal elongation of the cloth is prevented.
Between the washing tank 11 and the pump 15 mounted on a machine frame 29, height H of liquid surface A within the airtight box with respect to the inlet port of the pump 15 is set so that at the drive state of the pump, cavitation is not produced and a vacuum space of absolute pressure of 0.9kg or less preferably about 0.7 - 0.8 kg per one square centimeter on the upper side within the airtight box 1. That is, the liquid column of the height H due to its gravity function produces cavitation preventing pressure at the pump inlet port 15a and produces a space of low vacuum on the upper side within the airtight box 1.
Therefore, if a clean liquid previously filled in the circulation circuit between the pump 15 and the washing tank 11 from the clean liquid supply tube 25 of the fitter 19 is heated to prescribed temperature by ejected vaporfrom the vapor ejecting tube 23 and the indirect heating vapor tube 24 and the pump 15 is driven and a space of low vacuum is produced on the upper side of the airtight box, the elastic flexible member4 is sucked through the cloth C to the top end surface of the projecting rib 2 due to vacuum sucking force, and the exposed portion of the sucking slit at the lateral side of the cloth is closed by the elastic flexible member 4 sucked by the slit thereby liquid sucking from the exposed portion of the sucking slit is inhibited.
If the screw rollers 26, 27 are driven as above described and the cloth C is moved in the arrow direction at prescribed speed, the upper washing liquid within the washing tank 11 flows longitudinally through the cloth C grasped weakly by the top end surface of the projecting rib 2 and the elastic flexible member 4 sucked to this by the vacuum sucking force of the sucking slit 3 and is sucked into the airtight box 1, but width of the cloth in the sending direction at the top end surface of the projecting rib 2 opened by the projecting rib can be made small. Also since the washing liquid is sucked from any of front side and rear side at the inlet side and the outlet side of the cloth between the projecting rib 2 and the elastic flexible member 4, even if the inside of the airtight box 1 maintained to low vacuum so as to deal with the washing water of the hot water, the washing liquid rate flowing longitudinally through the cloth can be increased several times in comparison with the prior art.
Although the description has been carried out in the embodiment that the elastic flexible member4 is constituted in tubular shape and supported by the support arm 5 with deformed crosssection spread between both side end plates 7 of the airtight box 1, thereby the tubular elastic flexible member 4 is rotated sometimes with respect to the support lever 5 due to the friction with the cloth, as shown in Fig. 10, an elastic flexible sheet form and its rearside in the cloth sending direction may be fixed in forward falling to the lower surface of the support lever 105 spread between both side end plates 7 of the airtight box by the bolt 6 as above described, and the top end of the sucking slit 3 may be closed by the front side in the cloth sending direction of the sheet-shaped elastic flexible member 104. In Fig. 10, parts designated by the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 7 show corresponding parts.
In the above-mentioned constitution, not only the contained air of the cloth C introduced in the washing tank 11 is sucked in the airtight box 1 and separated from the washing liquid but also the washing liquid in the airtight box is evaporated. Consequently, since the liquid surface height H within the airtight box with respect to the pump inlet port is decreased as the cloth is washed, the liquid surface height H at the initial state must be made large corresponding to length of the washed cloth. In doing so, however, the inside of the airtight box cannot be maintained to low vacuum being nearly constant.
In order to solve this problem, in the embodiment of Fig. 2 or Fig. 1, a ventilation circuit including a vertical tube 32 for level detection communicating and coupled with upper and lower sides within the airtight box 1 by horizontal tubes 30, 31 respectively, and a tube 34 connecting the upper end portion of the vertical tube 32 to a low vacuum source 33 is installed, and a solenoid operated valve 35 of normal close type and a check valve 36 are inserted at the midway of the tube 34 and a level holding meter 37 of three- electrode type is mounted to the upper end closing part of the vertical tube 32, and the solenoid operated valve 35 is automatically controlled by the level holding meter 37 so that level in the airtight box 1 is within the allowable variation range E.
Consequently, if the liquid surface A in the airtight box 1 falls from the state in the shown height and attains to the lower end of the first electrode 37a of the level holding meter 37, the solenoid operated valve 35 is opened and air or vapor on the upper side within the airtight box is sucked by the low vacuum source 33 thereby the upper space within the airtight box is maintained to low vacuum being nearly constant, and if the liquid surface within the airtight box rises and attains to the lower end of the second electrode 37b of the level holding meter, the solenoid operated valve 35 is closed as shown in the figure.
Also a ventilation apparatus controlled by the level holding meter for sucking air or the like stored on the upper side within the airtight box 1 by the low vacuum source 33 is installed, and at the same time, a throttle roller apparatus (mangle) including a pair of upper and lower throttle rollers 38, 39 driven for the cloth C to pass atthe sending speed is mounted in the washing liquid so that the cloth C between a guide roller 12b at the rear side in the cloth sending direction and the airtight box 1 is grasped in upper and lower sides as shown in Fig. 9, and the contained air of the cloth introduced to the washing tank is squeezed into the liquid, thereby the air amount stored within the airtight box 1 may be decreased, or in place of installing the ventilation apparatus, the throttle roller apparatus may be installed. In addition, numeral 127 in Fig. 9 designates a cloth guide roller at the front side in the cloth sending direction, and in Fig. 9, parts designated by the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 1 are corresponding parts.
In the first invention, since cavitation preventing function of a pump and low vacuum space forming function are carried out simultaneously by the head of the liquid surface within the airtight box with respect to the inlet port of the pump, and clean water rate flowing longitudinally through a cloth is increased several times in comparison with the prior art by sucking force of low vacuum of the sucking slit which can suck an elastic flexible member through the cloth, the washing capability in the high temperature or the like is improved moreover the pump driving power can be significantly reduced. For example, in the embodiment of use of the vacuum pump requiring power of about 15kw as above described, a volute pump of the drive power being 1.5kw is used in place of the vacuum pump and the washing capability can be improved significantly. Also when one or both of a ventilation apparatus at the upper side within the airtight box and a throttle roller apparatus for squeezing the contained air of the cloth introduced to the washing tank into the liquid are installed, in response to this, variation of the cloth flowing liquid rate due to the head within the airtight box can be prevented.
Fig. 11 shows main part of an apparatus (a cloth washing apparatus) of the second embodiment. In Fig. 11, an airtight box 51 comprises three projecting ribs 52, 53, 54 projecting from its wall plate 51a to the inside and being in parallel to each other, a first slit 55 penetrating the wall plate and opened to the top end surface of each projecting rib, a pair of front and rear second slits 56, 56 provided on front and rear side walls 51 b, 51 b of the airtight box so that a cloth C can be roller-carried along a plane including the top end surface of each projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the first slit 55, and a washing liquid supply port 57 connected to an end plate 51c on one side of the airtight box. The first and second slits 55, 56 have nearly the same length along the projecting rib.
Numerals 58, 59, 60 designate elastic flexible members mounted on three support arms 61 laterally spread in parallel to the projecting ribs 52, 53, 54 respectively within the airtight box 51 so as to close the corresponding first slits 55 respectively, and the shown elastic flexible members 58, 59, 60 respectively are made of heat-resisting and abrasion-resisting synthetic resin such as fluororesin (trade name: Teflon) in tubular shape with outer diameter of about 18mm and inner diameter of about 15mm, and its length is made smaller than distance between both end plates 51c, 51c, and each tubular elastic flexible member is supported by the long and rigid support arm 61 having rectangular or other deformed crosssection, inscribed with the elastic flexible member at both ends on the diameter line in parallel to the top end surface of the projecting rib or in the vicinity of both ends.
Therefore as shown in Fig. 12, bolts 62 are welded on both ends of each support arm 61 in the same center line respectively, and the bolts 62 and the end of the support arm 61 are inserted in a bolt and support arm fitting hole 63 bored respectively on both end plates 51c of the airtight box 51, and a lock nut mechanism 65 is threadedly engaged and tightened with each bolt 62 through a washer 64 with packing and each support arm 61 is spread between both end plates 51c, 51c by large tensile force so that it is not rotated, thereby the tubular elastic flexible members 58, 59, 60 allows the cloth C to pass and also to displace up and down by width B in response to the thickness, but the displacement in forward and rearward direction of the elastic flexible member with respect to the projecting ribs 52, 53, 54 may be inhibited equally throughout the overall length.
In order that the passage sectional area of the washing liquid supplied from the washing liquid supply port 57 into the airtight box 51 is made as small as possible and the pump capacity is made small, the tubular elastic flexible members 58, 60 respectively closing the first slits 55 of the projecting ribs 52, 54 provided at the front and rear corners of the airtight box 51 contact both side walls 51 b of the airtight box forming a pair of front and rear second slits 56, 56 adjacent to the top end surface of the projecting ribs 52, 54, and as shown in Fig. 12, the tubular elastic flexible members 58, 60 with box ends closely contacted and fitted within the cylindrical boss portions 51d of both side walls 51c may close also the front and rear second slits 56. In addition, numeral 67 designates a through hole bored in the cylindrical boss portion 51d so that the inside and the outside of each tubular elastic flexible member communicate with each other.
A washing liquid of definite pressure higher than the outer atmospheric pressure is supplied continuously from the washing liquid supply port 57 into the airtight box 51 at temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the pressure, and if the cloth C is roller-carried along a plane including the top end surface of each projecting stripe, for example, in the arrow F direction of Fig. 13, the carried cloth is grasped between the elastic flexible member 59 and the top end surface of the projecting rib 53 due to the pressure difference produced between upper and lower sides of the elastic flexible member 59 as the first slit 55 is opened to the outer atmosphere. However, regarding a washing liquid sent into the cloth grasping portion as shown in Fig. 13 and flowing within the cloth grasping portion towards the first slit, since the pressure falls rapidly by the fluid resistance in the grasped cloth portion hence the saturation temperature in the pressure also falls rapidly, the washing liquid at higher temperature than 100° C flowing through the inside of each yarn in the yarn grasping portion is boiled explosively, and the cloth is processed bulkily by the volume expansion due to evaporation of a part of the washing liquid and the thermal set due to high temperature of 100° C or more, and each yarn of the cloth is separated into fibers by the mixed fluid of the washing liquid and the vapor and while gap between fibers is increased, the cloth grasping portion is washed well, and this applies also to other cloth grasping portion.
Thus the mixed fluid of the washing liquid and the vapor ejector from each first slit 55 is liquefied by a condensing apparatus 68 opposed and arranged to the airtight box 51 so as to enable reuse of the washing liquid. Since the condensing apparatus 68 may only liquefy the vapor for reuse, a surface condenser is suitable.
Fig. 14 and Fig. 15 show mounting examples of the airtight box 51 respectively.
In Fig. 14, two airtight boxes 51 as above described are fixed integrally back to back and mounted on upper side of a partition wall 72 provided between a pair of front and rear washing tanks 70, 71 with thermal keeping means, and vertical portions before and after the cloth C roller-carried through a smoothing roller 73, a driven roller 74, a driven roller 75 and a smoothing roller 76 in sequence in the arrow F direction pass through each of the airtight boxes 51 respectively as above described, and the partition wall 72 is provided with upper and lower rubber packing plates 77 closing a cloth passing port 72a thereof, and an overflow tube 69 is connected to the washing tank 71 so that the liquid level A2 of the washing tank 71 becomes slightly lower than the liquid level A1 of the washing tank 70, and a surface condensing apparatus 68 including a number of cooling pipes 78 is mounted at a space between all slits 55 of the wall plate 51a of each airtight box and the innerwall of the washing tank opposed to this. Although not shown, of course, a thermal keeping cover closes an opening portion on the upper end of both washing tanks 70, 71.
A lower end outlet 70a of the washing tank 70 is connected to an inlet port 79a of a centrifugal pump (volute pump) 79 without self sucking function arranged at lower side of the outlet 70a, and an exhaust port of the pump 79 is connected through a washing liquid heater 80 and a line filter 81 in sequence to a washing liquid supply port 57 to the airtight box at the side of the washing tank 70. Similar washing liquid circulation circuit by a centrifugal pump is installed also between a lower end outlet 71 a of the washing tank 71 and a washing liquid supply port 57 to the airtight box, and the washing liquid circulation circuit is provided with a washing liquid heater and a line filter in sequence similarly to the case of the washing tank 70, and the head difference between the liquid level of both washing tanks 70, 71 and the inlet port of the pump is made amount sufficient to prevent the cavitation function of the pump.
Any filter may be adopted as the line filter 81 as long as it can remove flocks in the washing liquid, and the shown heater 80 is constituted in ejector form ejecting vapor under pressure from a tube 83 into a washing liquid chamber 82, and the vapor amount under pressure ejected from the tube 83 and the rotational speed of the pump 79 are adjusted thereby the liquid pressure and the liquid temperature within the airtight box 51 can be always maintained as above described.
For example, if the liquid pressure within the airtight box 51 is made low pressure in gauge pressure being 1.2kg per square centimeter and the liquid pressure is maintained to about 103°C (the saturation temperature is about 104°C), since temperature of the mixed fluid of the washing liquid and the vapor ejected from the first slit 55 becomes about 99 - 100 °C, this is liquefied by the condensing apparatus 68 thereby the liquid temperature within the washing tank can be maintained to about 98° C not to produce boiling. When the cloth C is thin, of course, the liquid pressure within the airtight chamber can be made gauge pressure being 1.1kg per square centimeter.
In the condensing apparatus 68 within each of the washing tanks 70, 71, a washing liquid of desired pressure flows as a cooling water through the cooling pipes 78 and a discharge liquid of each condensing apparatus 68 is supplied by a tube 84 to the pump inlet port 79a at the side of the corresponding washing tank thereby the overflow liquid rate per each washing tank is compensated.
Since it is clear from Fig. 13 that flowing rate of the washing liquid and the vapor to the first slit becomes more in a portion at the rear side facing the first slit 55 of the carried cloth C than in a portion at the front side contacting with the tubular elastic flexible member, in the apparatus of Fig. 14, it follows that a portion at the rear side of the cloth can be washed better than a portion at the front side.
In order to prevent this, as shown in Fig. 15, two airtight boxes 51, 51 are connected to inner walls of washing tanks 85, 86 similar to the washing tank of Fig. 14 so that wall plates with the first slits 55 are opposed to each other, and a condensing apparatus 87 is arranged between both airtight boxes 51, 51 and the apparatus in Fig. 14 and the apparatus in Fig. 15 are connected in series, thereby the cloth C may pass through both apparatuses in sequence. In this case, the pump inlet port at the side of each washing tank is supplied with a half of the passing flow rate of the condensing apparatus 87 respectively. In Fig. 15, parts designated by the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 14 show corresponding parts.
In the second embodiment, a clean liquid having definite pressure higher than the outside atmospheric pressure and temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the definite pressure passes in a carried cloth part grasped between the elastic flexible member and the top end- surface of the projecting rib and is discharged from the first slit to the outside atmosphere thereby a part of the washing liquid flowing through the grasped cloth part is evaporated. Therefore not only the cloth can be processed bulkily by the volume expansion due to evaporation of the washing liquid and the thermal set due to high temperature at 100° C or more, but also the washing efficiency of the cloth can be significantly improved by the mixed fluid of the washing liquid and the vapor.
That is, the hot water of the gauge pressure 0.5 kgf/cm² has volume about one 1/kg. When the temperature of the hot water is 105° C, the hot water is not boiled. However, when the hot water flows in fibers by the pump, the pressure of the hot water falls in the fibers and as it is decreased to the evaporation pressure or less, the hot water is evaporated and expanded explosively. Consequently, the hot water flowing through gap between individual fibers is expanded explosively thereby the gap between fibers is widened explosively and a heat radiation set of the water temperature 100°C is produced (ironing phenomenon), and the cloth can be processed in soft and gentle feeling. Also by the explosive enlarging of the gap between fibers, the hot water can pass readily and the washing effect is improved.
For example, when the pump flow rate is made 100 I/minute and the gauge pressure is made 0.5 kgf/cm², water heated to 105° C is at the hot water state since 105° C is temperature less than the boiling point. If the hot water flows in the fibers, the pressure is lowered. Due to the boiling point lowering attendant on the pressure lowering, when 105° C becomes higher than the boiling point, the heat energy possessed by the hot water acts as evaporation heat and a part of the hot water is boiled and its volume is expanded explosively within the fiber. Here, if the hot water temperature after the boiling is made 99.12⁰ C, heat quantity of 105° C x 100 I/minute - 99.12⁰ C x 100 I/minute = 588° C·l/minute = 588 kcal/minute is consumed as the evaporation heat. On the other hand, since enthalpy of the dry saturation vapor of absolute pressure one kgf/cm² is 638.5 kcal/kg and enthalpy of the saturation water is 99.1 kcal/kg, evaporation heat per one kg becomes 638.5 - 99.1 =539.4(kcal). Therefore it follows that the hot water of 588 + 539.4 = 1.09(kg) is evaporated per one minute. The volume of this vapor becomes 1673 x 1.09 = 1823.5(I) since the volume of the vapor of 100° C is 1673 I/kg. Consequently, the volume of the mixed body of the hot water and the vapor becomes 100 - 1.09 + 1823.5 = 1922.41 (I). That is, the hot water of 100 I is varied into the mixed body of the hot water and the vapor of 1922.41 I, and the volume increases about 19 times.
Also the pump has the head length of 15m, the flow rate of 300 I/minute and the power of 1.5 kw, and it can produce large effect as above described in spite of the small power.
Also when the elastic flexible member is constituted in tubular shape and a support arm with deformed crosssection inscribing with this at both ends on the diameter line in parallel to the top end surface of the projecting rib or in the vicinity of both ends is inserted in the elastic flexible member, not only variation of amount of the width B of the cloth can be dealt with, but also since the cloth can be pushed nearly equally against the top end surface of the projecting rib by the pressure difference at the inside and the outside of the airtight box, the cloth can be washed uniformly throughout the whole width.
Further when the tubular flexible member at the corner within the airtight box may be used also to interrupt the second slit for cloth passing, not only the closing of the second slit is secured by pushing force of the tubular elastic flexible member to the corner within the airtight box due to the pressure difference at the inside and the outside of the airtight box, but also the number of the first slits is increased thereby the washing capability can be improved corresponding to this increase.
Fig. 16 shows main part of an apparatus (a cloth soft finishing apparatus) of the third embodiment. In Fig. 16, an airtight box 51 comprises three projecting ribs 52, 53, 54 projecting from its wall plate 51 a to the inside and being in parallel to each other, a first slit 55 penetrating the wall plate and opened to the top end surface of each projecting rib, a pair of front and rear second slits 56, 56 provided on front and rear side walls 51 b, 51 b of the airtight box so that a cloth C can be roller-carried along a plane including the top end surface of each projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the first slit 55, and a soft finishing liquid supply port 57 connected to an end plate 51c on one side of the airtight box. The first and second slits 55, 56 have nearly the same length along the projecting rib.
Numerals 58, 59, 60 designate elastic flexible members mounted on three support arms 61 laterally spread in parallel to the projecting ribs 52, 53, 54 respectively within the airtight box 51 so as to close the corresponding first slits 55 respectively, and the shown elastic flexible members 58, 59, 60 respectively are made of heat-resisting and abrasion-resisting synthetic resin such as fluororesin (trade name: Teflon) in tubular shape with outer diameter of about 18mm and inner diameter of about 15mm, and its length is made smaller than distance between both end plates 51c, 51c, and each tubular elastic flexible member is supported by the long and rigid support arm 61 having rectangular or other deformed crosssection, inscribed with the elastic flexible member at both ends on the diameter line in parallel to the top surface of the projecting rib or in the vicinity of both ends.
Therefore as shown in Fig. 17, bolts 62 are welded on both ends of each support arm 61 are inserted in a bolt and support arm fitting hole 63 bored in the same center line respectively, and the bolts 62 and the end of the support arm respectively on both end plates 51 c of the airtight box 51, and a lock nut mechanism 65 is threadedly engaged and tightened with each bolt 62 through a washer 64 with packing and each support arm 61 is spread between both end plates 51c, 51c by large tensile force so that it is not rotated, thereby the tubular elastic flexible members 58, 59, 60 allow the cloth C to pass and also to displace up and down by width B in response to the thickness, but the displacement in forward and rearward direction of the elastic flexible member with respect to the projecting ribs 52, 53, 54 may be inhibited equally throughout the overall length.
In order that the passage sectional area of the soft finishing liquid supplied from the soft finishing liquid supply port 57 into the airtight box 51 is made as small as possible and the pump capacity is made small, the tubular elastic flexible members 58, 60 respectively closing the first slit of the projecting ribs 52, 54 provided at the front and rear corners of the airtight box 51 are contacted with both side walls 51 b of the airtight box forming a pair of front and rearsec- ond slits 56, 56 adjacent to the top end surface of the projecting ribs 52, 54, and as shown in Fig. 17, the tubular elastic flexible members 58,60 with box ends closely contacted and fitted within the cylindrical boss portions 51d of both side walls 51c may close also the front and rear second slits 56. In addition, numeral 67 designates a through hole bored in the cylindrical boss portion 51d so that the inside and the outside of each tubular elastic flexible member communicate with each other.
A soft finishing liquid of definite pressure higher than the outer atmospheric pressure is supplied continuously from the soft finishing liquid supply port 57 into the airtight box 51 at temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the pressure, and if the cloth C is roller-carried along a plane including the top end surface of each projecting stripe, for example, in the arrow F direction of Fig. 18, the carried cloth is grasped between the elastic flexible member 59 and the top end surface of the projecting rib 53 due to the pressure difference produced between upper and lower sides of the elastic flexible member 59 as the first slit 55 is opened to the outer atmosphere. However, regarding a soft finishing liquid sent into the cloth grasping portion as shown in Fig. 18 and flowing within the cloth grasping portion towards the first slit, since the pressure falls rapidly by the fluid resistance in the grasped cloth portion hence the saturation temperature in the pressure also falls rapidly, the soft finishing liquid at higher temperature than 100° C flowing through the inside of each yarn in the yarn grasping portion is boiled explosively, and the cloth is processed bulkily by the volume expansion due to evaporation of a part of the soft finishing liquid and the thermal set due to high temperature of 100° C or more.
Thus the mixed fluid of the soft finishing liquid and the vapor ejector from each first slit 55 is liquefied by a condensing apparatus 68 opposed and arranged to the airtight box 51 so as to enable reuse of the soft finishing liquid. Since the condensing apparatus 68 may only liquefy the vapor for reuse, a surface condenser is suitable.
Fig. 19 and Fig. 20 show mounting example of the airtight box 51 respectively.
In Fig. 19, two airtight boxes 51 as above described are fixed integrally back to back and mounted on upper side of a partition wall 72 provided between a pair of front and rear soft finishing tanks 70, 71 with thermal keeping means, and vertical portions before and after the cloth C roller-carried through a smoothing roller 73, a driven roller 74, a driven roller 75 and a smoothing roller 76 in sequence in the arrow F direction pass through each of the airtight boxes 51 respectively as above described, and the partition wall 72 is provided with upper and lower rubber packing plates 77 closing a cloth passing port 72a thereof, and an overflow tube 69 is connected to the soft finishing tank 71 so that the liquid level A2 of the softfin- ishing tank 71 becomes slightly lower than the liquid level A1 of the washing tank 70, and a surface condensing apparatus 68 including a number of cooling pipes 78 is mounted at a space between all slits 55 of the wait plate 51a of each airtight box and the inner wall of the washing tank opposed to this. Although not shown, of course, a thermal keeping cover closes an opening portion on the upper end of both washing tanks 70, 71.
A lower outlet 70a of the soft finishing tank 70 is connected to an inlet port 79a of the centrifugal pump (volute pump) 79 without self sucking function arranged at lower side of the outlet 70a, and an exhaust port of the pump 79 is connected through a soft finishing liquid heater 80 and a line filter 81 in sequence to a soft finishing liquid supply port 57 to the airtight box at the side of the soft finishing tank 70. Similar soft finishing liquid circulation circuit by a centrifugal pump is installed also between a lower end outlet 71 a of the soft finishing tank 71 and a soft finishing liquid supply port 57 to the airtight box, and the soft finishing liquid circulation circuit is provided with a soft finishing liquid heater and a line filter in sequence similarly to the case of the soft finishing tank 70, and the head difference between the liquid level of both soft finishing tanks 70, 71 and the inlet port of the pump is made amount sufficient to prevent the cavitation function of the pump.
Any filter may be adopted as the line filter 81 as long as it can remove flocks in the soft finishing liquid, and the shown heater 80 is constituted in ejector form ejecting vapor under pressure from a tube 83 into a soft finishing liquid chamber 82, and the vapor amount under pressure ejected from the tube 83 and the rotational speed of the pump 79 are adjusted thereby the liquid pressure and the liquid temperature within the airtight box 51 can be always maintained as above described.
For example, if the liquid pressure within the airtight box 51 is made low pressure in gauge pressure being 1.2kg per square centimeter and the liquid pressure is maintained to about 103° C (the saturation temperature is about 104° C), since temperature of the mixed fluid of the soft finishing liquid and the vapor ejected from the first slit 55 becomes about 99 - 100 °C, this is liquefied by the condensing apparatus 68 thereby the liquid temperature within the soft finishing tank can be maintained to about 98° C not to produce boiling. When the cloth C is thin, of course, the liquid pressure within the airtight box can be made gauge pressure being 1.1 kg per square centimeter.
In the condensing apparatus 68 within each of the soft finishing tanks 70, 71, a soft finishing liquid of desire pressure flows as a cooling water through the cooling pipes 78 and a discharge liquid of each condensing apparatus 68 is supplied by a tube 84 to the pump inlet port 79a at the side of the corresponding soft finishing tank thereby the overflow liquid rate per each washing tank is compressed.
Since it is clear from Fig. 18 that flowing rate of the soft finishing liquid and the vapor to the first slit becomes more in a portion at the rear side facing the first slit 55 of the carried cloth C than in a portion at the front side contacting with the tubular elastic flexible member, in the apparatus of Fig. 19, itfollows that a portion at the rear side of the cloth can be softened better than a portion at the front side.
In order to prevent this, as shown in Fig. 20, two airtight boxes 51, 51 are connected to inner walls of soft finishing tanks 85, 86 similar to the soft finishing tank of Fig. 19 so that wall plates with the first slits 55 are opposed to each other, and a condensing apparatus 87 is arranged between both airtight boxes 51,51 and the apparatus in Fig. 19 and the apparatus in Fig. 20 are connected in series, thereby the cloth C may pass through both apparatuses in sequence. In this case, the pump inlet port at the side of each soft finishing tank is supplied with a half of the passing flow rate of the condensing apparatus 87 respectively. In Fig. 20, parts designated by the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 19 show corresponding parts.
In the third embodiment, a soft finishing liquid having definite pressure higher than the outside atmospheric pressure and temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the definite pressure passes in a carried cloth part grasped between the elastic flexible member and the top end surface of the projecting rib and is discharged from the first slit to the outside atmosphere thereby a part of the soft finishing liquid flowing through the grasped cloth part is evaporated. Therefore the cloth can be processed bulkily by the volume expansion due to evaporation of the soft finishing liquid and the thermal set due to high temperature at 100°C or more.
That is, the hot water of the gauge pressure 0.5 kgf/cm² has volume about one I/kg. When the temperature of the hot water is 105° C, the hot water is not boiled. However, when the hot water flows in fibers by the pump, the pressure of the hotwaterfalls in the fibers and as it is decreased to the evaporation pressure or less, the hot water is evaporated and expanded explosively. Consequently, the hot water flowing through gap between individual fibers is expanded explosively thereby the gap between fibers is widened explosively and a heat radiation set of the water temperature 100° C is produced (ironing phenomenon), and the cloth can be processed in soft and gentle feeling.
For example, when the pump flow rate is made 100 I/minute and the gauge pressure is made 0.5 kgf/cm², water heated to 105° C is at the hot water state since 105° C is temperature less than the boiling point. If the hot water flows in the fibers, the pressure is lowered. Due to the boiling point lowering attendant on the pressure lowering, when 105° C becomes higher than the boiling point, the heat energy possessed by the hot water acts as evaporation heat and a part of the hot water is boiled and its volume is expanded explosively within the fiber. Here, if the hot water temperature after the boiling is made 99.12°C, heat quantity of 105° C x 100 I/minute - 99.12⁰ C x 100 I/minute = 588° C·l/minute = 588 kcal/minute is consumed as the evaporation heat. On the other hand, since enthalpy of the dry saturation vapor of the absolute pressure one kgf/cm² is 638.5 kcal/kg and enthalpy of the saturation water is 99.1 kcal/kg, evaporation heat per one kg becomes 638.5 - 99.1 =539.4(kcal). Therefore it follows that the hot water of 588 + 539.4 = 1.09(kg) is evaporated per one minute. The volume of this vapor becomes 1673 x 1.09 = 1823.5(1) since the volume of the vapor of 100° C is 1673 I/kg. Consequently, the volume of the mixed body of the hot water and the vapor becomes 100 - 1.09 + 1823.5 = 1922.41 (I). That is, the hot water of 1001 isvaried into the mixed body of the hot water and the vapor of 1922.41 I, and the volume increases about 19 times.
Also the pump has the head length of 15m, the flow rate of 300 I/minute and the power of 1.5 kw, and it can produce large effect as above described in spite of the small power.
Also when the elastic flexible member is constituted in tubular shape and a support arm with deformed crosssection inscribing with this at both ends on the diameter line in parallel to the top end surface of the projecting rib or in the vicinity of both ends is inserted in the elastic flexible member, not only variation of amount of the width B of the cloth can be dealt with, but also since the cloth can be pushed nearly equally against the top end surface of the projecting rib by the pressure difference at the inside and the outside of the airtight box, the cloth can be softened uniformly throughout the whole width.
Further when the tubular flexible member at the corner within the airtight box may be used also to interrupt the second slit for cloth passing, not only the closing of the second slit is secured by pushing force of the tubular elastic flexible member to the corner within the airtight box due to the pressure difference at the inside and the outside of the airtight box, but also the number of the first slits is increased thereby the softening capability can be improved corresponding to this increase.
In addition, the cloth washing apparatus according to the first invention as above described may be used as a cloth soft finishing apparatus freely.

Claims

1. A cloth washing apparatus comprising:

an airtight box having at least one long projecting rib provided linearly on the outside, and a sucking slit to the inside through the top surface of said projecting rib;

front and rear rollers for guiding a cloth to move along a plane including the top surface of said projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the sucking slit; and

an elastic flexible member mounted on a support arm between the sides of said airtight box in parallel to said projecting rib on the outside of the airtight box so as to close the sucking slit, all said parts being in a liquid of a washing tank held at a predetermined level,

wherein a circulation circuit connects said washing tank through a line filter to an exhaust port of a pump having its inlet port communicating and coupled with the bottom of said airtight box without self sucking function, and said pump is positioned lower than the airtight box so that cavitation of the pump is prevented, and a vacuum space is produced on the upper side of the airtight box.

2. A cloth washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein a tubular elastic flexible member is supported by a support arm on the diameter line in parallel to the top surface of the projecting rib.

3. A cloth washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein in the cloth sending direction the rear portion of a sheet-shaped elastic flexible member is fixed in front falling state to the lower surface of the support arm, and the sucking slit is closed by the front portion of the sheet-shaped elastic flexible member.

4. Acloth washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3, further comprising:

a ventilation circuit connecting a vacuum space formed on the upper side within the airtight box to a low vacuum source; and

a level holding meter for automatically controlling an opening valve installed at the midpoint of the ventilation circuit so that liquid level within the airtight box is within an allowable range.

5. Acloth washing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or claim 4, wherein a throttle roller apparatus driven so as to pass the cloth at its sending speed is mounted in the liquid of the washing tank so as to grasp the cloth between a roller at rear side in the cloth sending direction and the airtight box, so that a contained air in the cloth introduced to the washing tank is squeezed into the liquid.

6. A cloth washing apparatus comprising:

an airtight box provided with definite pressure higher than the outer atmosphere pressure, and supplied with a washing liquid continuously at temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the definite pressure;

a projecting rib installed at the inside of the airtight box and having a first slit through the top surface for communicating with the inside and the outside of the airtight box;

an elastic flexible member mounted on a support arm laterally within the airtight box in parallel to the projecting rib for closing the first slit; and

means for carrying a cloth along a plane including the top surface of the projecting rib in the direction intersecting with the first slit,

wherein in response to pressure lowering of the washing liquid passing through a carried cloth grasped between the elastic flexible member and the top surface of the projecting rib towards the first slit, a part of the passing washing liquid is boiled and evaporated, and a condensing apparatus of vapor ejected from the first slit is provided on the outside of the airtight box so as to enable reuse of the boiled washing liquid.

7. A cloth washing apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein an elastic flexible member is supported by a support arm at both ends on the diameter line in parallel to the top surface of the projecting rib so as to close the first slit.

8. A cloth washing apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the tubular elastic flexible member closing the first slit of the projecting rib installed at the corner within the airtight box contacts a side wall of the airtight box in which is provided a second slit for passing the cloth adjacent to the top surface of said projecting rib so that said tubular elastic flexible member interrupts communication between the inside and the outside of the airtight box by the second slit.

9. A cloth soft finishing apparatus comprising:

an airtight box provided with definite pressure higher than the outer atmospheric pressure, and supplied with a soft finishing liquid continuously at temperature slightly lower than the saturation temperature corresponding to the definite pressure;

a projecting rib provided at the inside of the airtight box and having a first slit through the top surface for communicating with the inside and the outside of the airtight box;

wherein in response to pressure lowering of the soft finishing liquid passing through the carried cloth grasped between the elastic flexible member and the top surface of the projecting rib towards the first slit, a part of the soft finishing liquid is boiled and evaporated, and a condensing apparatus for vapor ejected from the first slit is provided on the outside of the airtight box so as to enable reuse of the boiled soft finishing liquid.

10. A cloth soft finishing apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein the elastic flexible member is tubular and is supported by a support arm on the diameter line in parallel to the top surface of the projecting rib so as to close the first slit.

11. A cloth soft finishing apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein the tubular elastic flexible member closing the first slit of the projecting rib installed at the corner within the airtight box contacts a side wall of the airtight box in which is provided a second slit for passing the cloth adjacent to the top surface of the projecting rib so that said tubular elastic flexible member interrupts communication between the inside and the outside of the airtight box by the second slit.