Patent Application
20190153649
The present disclosure relates to a system for supplying ozone to a plurality of washing machines, via a plurality of respective venturis, in which the system monitors the negative pressure generated within the ozone supply conduit and utilizes the determine negative pressure in order to control the production of ozone being supplied to the plurality of washing machines.
The use of ozone in cleaning and sanitizing laundry has been utilized for quite some time. The primary reason is that ozone is generally recognized as being effective in cleaning as well as deodorizing and sanitizing laundry while also minimizing the impact to the environment. With respect to commercial applications, however, ozone is generally the preferred cleaning component as it is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and quite reliable in sanitizing and deodorizing laundry being washed.
As is well known, the application of ozone to a cleaning fluid, such as water, acts as a disinfectant as well as assists with removing dirt, debris, soil and other contaminants from the laundry detergent so that the laundry detergent can again be effective in removing additional dirt, debris, soil and other contaminants from the clothing or other laundry being washed. While it is known that dissolving ozone in a liquid, such as water, will assist with improving the cleaning and sterilization efficiency of the liquid, a number of the currently available prior art systems suffer a variety of associated drawbacks.
It is to appreciated that washing laundry can be a relatively expensive process.
It utilizes costly resources—water, energy, laundry detergents and labor—and such laundering is often required not only to clean but completely disinfect and sanitize the items being laundered. While conventional detergents, soap and chemistry can be effective in removing dirt, grease, grime and other contaminants, they are not always effective in killing all of the germs and bacteria contained within the laundry being washed. It is known that by introducing ozone into the washing water the disinfection capabilities of a washing machine can be enhanced. Added ozone improves cleaning of laundry, even at relatively low or cold wash water temperatures, and also has an antibacterial effect.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks associated with the prior art.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an ozone production system which generates the required amount of ozone, to accommodate the demand of a plurality of washing machines, without generating an excess amount of ozone.
A further object of the present disclosure is to provide a system which facilitates the production of ozone so that the system only generates a desired amount of ozone which is required by the washing machines while avoiding production of access ozone.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to generate ozone from room air which is dried and thereby eliminate the need to use an oxygen concentrator which increases the amount of oxygen present in the air supplied to the ozone generator.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to minimize the amount of ozone which is dissolved into the water being supplied to the washing machine so that a majority of the ozone remains in a gaseous state and is ready to react with the soiled laundry instead of reacting and cleaning the water being supplied to the washing machine.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to only add ozone to the water immediately before the water enters into the washing machine so that the ozone is more prone to react with the soiled laundry being washed then with the water being supplied to the washing machine to wash the laundry.
The present disclosure also relates to an ozone production system for producing ozone, the ozone production system comprising a plurality of washing machines; an ozone generator for generating ozone for supply to the plurality of washing machines; an ozone supply conduit for supplying ozone from the ozone generator to each of the plurality of washing machines; and each one of the plurality of washing machines having a respective venturi located along a water supply conduit, between a water source and an inlet into the respective washing machine, and the venturi being connected to the ozone supply conduit so that, as water flows through the respective venturi from the water source into the respective washing machine, such water flow creating a negative pressure within the ozone supply conduit; and wherein at least one sensor is located so as to detect the negative pressure within the ozone supply conduit; and the at least one sensor is connected to a control box, coupled to the ozone generator, which controls ozone production of the ozone generator depending upon the negative pressure detected within the ozone supply conduit by the at least one sensor.
The present disclosure also relates to a method of producing ozone with an ozone production system, the method comprising: providing a plurality of washing machines; generating ozone, via an ozone generator, for supply to each one of the plurality of washing machines; supplying ozone, from the ozone generator to each of the plurality of washing machines, via an ozone supply conduit; locating a respective venturi, for each one of the plurality of washing machines, along a water supply conduit between a water source and an inlet into the respective washing machine, and connecting the ozone supply conduit to each respective venturi for supply of ozone thereto; permitting water to flow through the respective venturi, from the water source into the respective washing machine, so that such water flow creates a negative pressure within the ozone supply conduit; locating at least one sensor so as to detect the negative pressure within the ozone supply conduit; and connecting the at least one sensor to a control box, coupled to the ozone generator, to control ozone production of the ozone generator depending upon the negative pressure detected within the ozone supply conduit by the at least one negative pressure sensor/switch.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the disclosure and together with the general description of the disclosure given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrated diagrammatical and in partial views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of this disclosure or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.
The present disclosure will be understood by reference to the following detailed description, which should be read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It is to be appreciated that the following detailed description is by way of example only and is not meant to limit, in any way, the scope of the present disclosure.
Turning now to
As is conventional and well known, as the water from the water source 6 flows through the venturi 8 into the internal drum of the washing machine 4, the water is accelerated as it passes through a throat 9 of the venturi 8 (see
As also diagrammatically shown in
It is to be appreciated that instead of utilizing one or more air dryers 14, for supplying dry air to the ozone generator 18, one or more oxygen concentrators may be utilized to supply concentrated oxygen to ozone generator 18 for conversion into ozone. Alternatively, a combination of both one or more air dryers 14 and one or more oxygen concentrators may be utilizing for supplying both dry and concentrated oxygen to the ozone generator 18.
The one or more air dryers 14 is/are arranged to receive, via an air inlet thereof, a supply of air, typically room air. As the room air enters into one or more air dryers 14, the room air flows over, through and around a bed of silicone pellets (not shown in detail) which remove any moisture contained within the room air, passing through one or more air dryers 14, so that as that air exits from the one or more air dryers 14, that air is substantially dry air.
Each outlet of the one or more air dryers 14 is connected to supply the dry air to an inlet of the ozone generator 18 where the dried air is then converted, in a conventional manner, into ozone. As such conversion or air into ozone is conventional an well known in the art, a further discussion concerning the same is not provided. An outlet of the ozone generator 18 is connected to supply the generated ozone to an inlet of the restrictor module 16. The restrictor module 16 is designed to assist with generating a desired amount of negative pressure in the ozone supply conduit 20. This negative pressure assists with drawing the generated ozone into the inlet of the restrictor module 16. Preferably the restrictor module 16 is adjustable or variable so that the restrictor module 16 provides, either a manual or possibly an automated, adjustment of the amount of ozone which is able to pass therethrough and flow along the ozone supply conduit 20 and thereby alter the amount of negative pressure which is able to be generated within the ozone supply conduit 20. That is, the adjustable or variable restrictor module 16 is able to vary a size to the constriction or passage through the adjustable or variable restrictor module 16 so as vary the size of the “bottleneck” provided by the adjustable or variable restrictor module 16.
A plurality of negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 (three of which are shown in
As shown in this embodiment, first, second and third negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 are located downstream of the restrictor module 16 and each one of the first, second and third negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 are set to detect a different negative pressure level. According to one embodiment, the first negative pressure sensor/switch 22 may be set to detect a negative pressure level which is between 0 and 4 inches of water, typically between about 1 and about 3 inches of water, the second negative pressure sensor/switch 24 may be set to detect a negative pressure level which is between 3 and 7 inches of water, typically between about 4 and about 6 inches of water, and the third negative pressure sensor/switch 26 may be set to detect a negative pressure level which is greater than about 6 inches of water, typically greater than 7 inches of water. It is to be appreciated that the number of negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 as well as the detected negative pressure levels can be varied, from application to application, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Each one of the first, second and third negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 is connected to a control box 30 which is designed to control production of ozone by the ozone generator 18. For example, if a negative pressure of only 3 inches or less of water is generated in the ozone supply conduit 20, then only the first negative pressure sensor/switch 22 will be activated by this relatively low negative pressure while the second and the third negative pressure sensors/switches 24, 26 will not be activated since the negative pressure within the ozone supply conduit 20 is insufficient to active either one of those negative pressure sensors/switches 24, 26. Thus, only an activated signal from the first negative pressure sensor/switch 22 is sent to the control box 30 and the control box 30 then determines, based upon receipt of that single signal, that only a relative small supply of ozone is being demanded by a few of the plurality of washing machines 4 and thus initiate production of a relative small supply or production rate of ozone (depending upon the number of washing machines which are connected to the ozone generator 18).
One the other hand, if a negative pressure of between 4-6 inches of water, for example, is generated in the ozone supply conduit 20, then both the first and the second negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24 will be activated by such negative pressure while the third negative pressure sensor/switch 26 will not be activated since the negative pressure in the ozone supply conduit 20 is insufficient to active the third negative pressure sensor/switch 26. Thus, the activated signals from both the first and the second negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24 are sent to the control box 30 and the control box 30 then determines, based upon the two received signals, that a medium supply of ozone is being demanded by the plurality of washing machines 4 and thus initiate production of a medium supply or production rate of ozone (depending upon the number of washing machines which are connected to the ozone generator 18).
Lastly, if a negative pressure of greater than 7 inches of water, for example, is generated in the ozone supply conduit 20, then all three of the first, the second and the third negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 will be activated by the generated negative pressure within the ozone supply conduit 20. Thus, the activated signals from all three of the first, the second and the third negative pressure sensors/switches 22, 24, 26 are sent to the control box 30 and the control box 30 then determines, based upon the three received single signals, that a high or maximum supply of ozone is being demanded by the plurality of washing machines 4 and thus initiate production of a high or maximum supply or production rate of ozone (depending upon the number of washing machines which are connected to the ozone generator 18).
The first negative pressure sensor/switch 22 is typically set to detect a relatively small amount of negative pressure or vacuum, e.g., a negative pressure or vacuum of about 0.5 inches of water, within the ozone supply conduit 20 which is being created by water flowing through at least one of the venturis 8 into at least one washing machines 4. As soon as at least a relatively small amount of negative pressure or vacuum is detected within the ozone supply conduit 20, the first negative pressure sensor/switch 22 is activated and sends a signal to a control box 30 which instructs the ozone generator 18 to commence production of ozone at least at the low production rate for supply to the at least one washing machine 4 which requires ozone.
It is to be appreciated that the number of negative pressure sensor/switches can either be increased or decreased, depending upon particular system or application. Alternatively, rather than using a plurality of negative pressure sensors/switches, as described above, a single negative pressure detector or sensor, as shown in
As noted above, the ozone generator 18 is located upstream of the restrictor module 16 and the one or more pressure monitor(s)/sensor(s) 22, 24 and 26 for receiving the restricted flow of dry air. This dry air is supplied to the ozone generator 18 which will then generate a desired amount of ozone for supply to the plurality of washing machines 4. Typically, the ozone generator 18 will have at least a low ozone production level or rate, a medium ozone production level or rate and a high or maximum ozone production level or rate. Accordingly, when the control box 30 only receives one activation signal, then the control box 30 instructs the ozone generator 18 to operate and produce ozone at the low ozone production level or rate. If the control box 30 receives two activation signals, then the control box 30 instructs the ozone generator 18 to operate and produce ozone at the medium ozone production level or rate. Conversely, when the control box 30 receives three activation signals, then the control box 30 instructs the ozone generator 18 to operate and produce ozone at the high or maximum ozone production level or rate. Alternatively, as noted above, the control box 30 may be designed to vary the production of ozone infinitely depending upon the precisely detected or sensed pressure within the ozone supply conduit 20.
As diagrammatically shown in
While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, it is apparent that various modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to and be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure, as set forth in the appended claims. Further, the disclosure(s) described herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various other related ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items while only the terms “consisting of” and “consisting only of” are to be construed in a !imitative sense.
The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.
A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62587770 | Nov 2017 | US |
