Patent Application
20140026313
The present invention concerns, generally, to the field of plumbing fixtures like showers, bathtub, combined bathtub—shower, shower—sauna and similar provided with a box or stall, and it refers to, in particular, a system for stain removing, washing, drying and ironing garments in these fixtures, and optionally for washing and drying dishes, as well as a shower, bathtub, combined bathtub—shower, shower—sauna and similar including such a system.
This application claims priority from the Italian Application BS2011A000038 of 31 Mar. 2011.
By now, in every house there is at least one shower, one bathtub, one combined shower—bathtub, etc., i.e. a plumbing fixture provided with respective water supplying and delivering means. These fixtures, however, may be differently equipped referring to water distributing mode, but they are anyway intended for the use they have been designed for, that is for the person cleaning and care.
At the most a bathtub, if present, may be used as a water container to wash and rinse clothes and garments therein when there is not, or it is not convenient to use, a conventional washing machine.
In addition to conventional rotating—drum washing machines, in the art alternative apparatuses and systems for washing and drying garments are, known, which are provided with water inflow and discharge means, independently from the plumbing fixtures in houses. These apparatuses and systems allow the garments, which are held spread and stationary, to be washed and dried.
For example, the European Patent EP 2209936B1, granted to the Applicant, describes an apparatus of this type housed in its own stall-type structure, which can be placed in a different room than a bath.
The German Application n. DE 10 2008 039669 describes another solution of the same type.
Further, usually the domestic plumbing fixtures like showers and bathtubs are not used for washing dishes. As a matter of fact, for this use dishwaters are provided.
An object of the present invention is to create the use conditions of the afore said plumbing fixtures not only for the person cleaning and care, but for another use too, advantageously for the automatic and programmable washing of garments or more advantageously for stain removing, washing, drying and ironing garments and clothes, otherwise for washing dishes.
Another object of the invention is then to provide a plumbing fixture, such as a shower, a bathtub, a combined shower—bathtub or similar, which complements a linen or dish washing system without preventing or limiting the conventional use of the fixture itself, or better with also the possibility of using the water the afore said person cleaning system delivers, even with a massaging effect.
A further object of the invention is then to provide a plumbing fixture of the afore described type, allowing to clean effectively the garments also in particularly dirty areas.
These objects are achieved according to the invention with a system according to claim 1. Further characterizing aspects of the same machine will be evident from the remaining dependent claims.
Analogously, the protective stall of a plumbing fixture of the afore mentioned type, especially in domestic area, is used as a treatment chamber for stain removing, washing, drying and ironing cycles of garments and clothes in general, which could be operated sequentially or independently.
In the stall a loadbearing frame is positioned, which is equipped with means for receiving, heating and controlling the delivery of washing liquid and rinsing liquid, means which could be arranged in a compartment placed in the upper part of said loadbearing frame or in another part, anyway so that not to limit the conventional use of the plumbing fixture, indifferently shower or bathtub.
Advantageously, the hangers or models, intended for sustaining the garments to be treated, are applied to the loadbearing frame in a removable, or collapsible, or fordable way, against the frame itself when they do not come in useful.
Preferably the loadbearing frame of the system object of the present invention is foldable too, for example as a book, or it is collapsible, for example in a telescopic way, or else it is completely or partially removable to clean the access to the plumbing fixture and to allow the user enjoyment for common uses, for example to have a shower or bath.
Further and advantageously these hangers or models may be variously composed and have a number of dimensions to facilitate the insertion in the garment to be sustained, their adaptation to the garment to be sustained and at the same time to hold the garment spread and stretched because its front and rear parts will remain at a distance and it will not wrinkle during the washing and drying cycles.
In general the wash is carried out with water or other washing liquid, for example it is a dry wash.
For easiness hereinafter it will be referred to the water, suggesting that the washing liquid could also be different.
To deliver the washing water and the rising water onto the garments to be treated at least one spraying bar is provided, which is movable with respect to the garments and it is provided with nozzles delivering water jets towards the garments.
Preferably the spraying nozzles are two with the spraying nozzles of a bar facing in the direction opposite to those of the other bar, anyway pointed onto the garments. The pressure of said jets of water delivered towards the garments may be adjusted. With such an arrangement of the nozzles and pressurized jets, the delivered water may flow through the fabric forming the treated garments for a more accurate and deeper wash, allowing water and detergent savings and a reduction of treating times.
Then, advantageously, the nozzles of the/each spraying bar may be arranged and managed in clusters and every nozzle cluster may be fed selectively with washing water independently from the nozzles of every other cluster, with the additional advantage of being able for carry out a target wash of only one garment too between those the system can accept, or only of some parts of a garment which would be more dirty of other parts.
Furthermore, at least some of the nozzles of the/each spraying bar, could also be rotating to intensify the wash efficiency. In addition, nozzles for delivering water jets towards the inside of the garments to be treated may be provided too, as well as more rotating spraying nozzles for pinpointed water jets, directed onto more dirty parts of a garment to be washed. For example, these characteristics are particularly advantageous to effectively clean the dirtier parts of the garments, for example the shirt cuffs and neck.
Some or all the nozzles may be replaced or facilitated by brushes, preferably of rotating type.
The system according to the invention may be programmed for executing different washing cycles as in conventional rotating—drum washing machines, and for carrying out the drying of the garments when the washing cycle is ended.
As a matter of fact the herein proposed system may also have a hot air generator—on the other hand, sometimes already present in some fixtures—to be conveyed onto the garments for the rapid drying thereof.
The inside of the treatment chamber of the system may also be subdivided in several area or boxes, as in a chessboard, with the possibility of activating and actuating the targeted garment treatment on some parts thereof only. This aspect allows, on the other hand, to be able to carry out stain removing treatments, with convenient products only and where a garment has some stains.
The box schemes may be prearranged by the manufacturer or it may be programmed from time to time after the mapping of the garments inserted in the treatment chamber. The mapping can be realized by the user manually, or at the installation by means of optical readers installed on the spraying bars and a control unit which reconstructs virtually the garment arrangement based on the signals sent by the optical sensors.
In an embodiment, for example, the treatment chamber is conceptually subdivided in 20 boxes, at each of them the washing is specific and thought up for a corresponding garment portion. For example, the boxes in which the shirt cuffs and neck are placed are washed by means of rotating jets and/or rotating brushes and/or jets of high—pressurized washing liquids and localized and persistent on these points.
Preferably the washing cycle is programmable selectively for each box. It is important that the garment washing is programmable so that to insist on dirty areas with the nozzles, or brushes if present, for all the time necessary to obtain the desired cleanliness.
The system according to the invention allows also to carry out the garment ironing after the washing and rinsing cycles, without the need of removing them from respective hangers or models and to pick up successively. This because the garments remain spread and stretched on hangers or models without wrinkling during the washing cycle, whereby with the drying a flattening and stabilizing effect is obtained, as it is possible with an iron.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment the system according to the invention comprises supports, for example grids, positionable in the treatment chamber to sustain dishes intended to be washed by the spraying bars.
This embodiment allows to use the system as a dishwasher too, without material alterations with respect to the afore described solution referring to the garment cleaning. Advantageously the plumbing fixture may then be used also for washing dishes. For example the system may be installed in restaurants at the clean sinks.
The dishes, for example plates, glasses, cups, salad bowls, soup tureen, etc., are supported in such a position that the jets of washing water delivered by the spraying bars hit substantially orthogonally the respective surfaces, frontally and/or in the back. This characteristic allows to have excellent performances relating to cleanliness quality in a short time.
The dish supports may be positioned, preferably in a removable way, with the hangers or models, or in substitution thereof. For example the supports may be bars connected to the frame, or a pedestal which can be inserted between the frame posts, etc.
The pressure and flow rate of washing water jets can be adjusted according to the desired washing cycle: intensive, rapid, etc.
Preferably the pressure and flow rate of jets can be adjusted independently between the different spraying bars of the system. In this way it is possible to feed stronger jets onto the dirtier or heavier dishes, for example oven dishes or baking tins, and weaker jets onto the more fragile dishes, for example glasses and cups. Further the nozzles may be arranged in groups each fed with washing water and detergent in a quantity selectively adjusted for each nozzle group.
Advantageously the cleaning water jets are substantially orthogonal to the surfaces of hit dishes, also during the possible displacement of the spraying bars.
In an embodiment the spraying bars are also provided with brushes to scour the dishes.
Advantageously the system can be programmed to carry out different washing cycles for each boxes of conceptual stall subdivision. The dirtier dishes, for example oven dishes or oven baking tins, may be placed at the boxes in which the target intervention of high—pressure jets and/or brushes is provided for an extended time interval with respect to what it is provided for the other boxes, substantially the necessary time to obtain an efficient fish cleaning.
Advantageously the dishes may be dried similarly to what it is described for the garments.
In an embodiment the system comprises means for the identification of dishes, for example sensors generating signals indicative of the presence, and/or dimensions and/or shape of the single dish or groups of dishes. The controlling unit of the system collects data from sensors to feedback adjust the movement (speed, stop durations, run extents, etc.) of the spraying bars and the jets characteristics based on the thereby performed mapping.
On the other hand the invention will be illustrated in more detail in the description course made with reference, by way of example only and without limitation, to the attached drawings, in which:
In
In an application example, the system according to the invention is integrated in such a shower fixture 10, using the stall 11 as treatment chamber 14 for stain removing, washing, drying and ironing cycles, if required, of garments and clothes.
Then, in the treatment chamber 14 defined by the shower stall 11, a loadbearing frame is assembled preferably transversally and in parallel with, that is to say in front of, its entrance door, composed of at least two side posts 15 connected by a top crossbeam 16.
The side posts 15 of the loadbearing frame will be positioned against, or next to, two walls opposite to the shower stall and the top crossbeam 16 at such an height so that not to limit or obstruct the person access for a conventional use of the fixture as a shower.
Preferably, on the crossbeam 16 of said frame, or in other part of the fixture, at least one compartment 17 is provided to accommodate, even if not represented, the necessary equipments for the washing system functioning. These equipments will comprise at least one bathtub connected to a drain of the dirty washing water; a water circulating pump; an electric system for setting up and controlling the water heating in said bathtub; a small basin for the detergent; a possible hot air generator and a control instruments for every operative cycle of the system. The bathtub may be directly connected to the mains connection, or indirectly through the plumbing system of the same shower fixture 10, and the bathtub drain could flow into the bottom drain of the shower tray.
Both the posts 15 and the crossbeam 16 of the loadbearing frame are provided with means for hanging the garments 17 thereon by means of hangers or models 18.
Advantageously, these hangers or models 18 are of a fitted type and they are also designed to be able to change and adjust their dimensions, so that they could be easily inserted inside the garment, adapted for sustaining garments of different size and, mainly, able to hold the garment hung besides stretched and with its front parts separated and spaced apart from the rear parts. —FIG. 2—to aid both the washing and the subsequent drying.
These hangers or models 18 may be arranged in different positions and they could be removed if not used. However, preferably, they could be disposed with different orientations in the treatment chamber to capitalize at best on inner spaces, as well as bulk—reducible and foldable against the posts 15 and crossbeam 16 when not used, because as afore said they would not be a hindrance for the conventional use of the shower fixture.
The afore described system further comprises at least one spraying bar 19 fed with washing water delivered by means of a pump and provided with several nozzles 20 intended for generating both washing and rinsing water jets, facing towards the garments hung and stretched on the hangers or models 18.
Preferably, the spraying bar 19 is horizontal and movable in height along the posts, relatively to the garments on the hangers or models 18, for example by translating cables which are returned on pulleys and conveniently shaped. For a more effective wash two spraying bars with nozzles facing to opposite directions towards the garments to be treated are provided.
The spraying bar/bars 19 could be also vertical and movable horizontally with respect to the garments to be treated, and alternatively at least one spraying horizontal bar and a spraying vertical bar could be provided at the same or opposite sides and both movable with respect to the hung and stretched garments.
In any case, the or each spraying bar 19 is fed with water coming from the respective bathtub through, for example, flexible pipes, and the water jets generated by the nozzles 20 may have a variable and adjustable pressure based on the garments to be washed. Further, all or at least some of the nozzles of each spraying bar, could be also rotating to further increase the washing effectiveness. Furthermore also nozzles for water jets to be delivered inside the garments to be treated could be provided, with means for in case move the hangers or models and with them the garments with respect to the water jets.
Further, the nozzles of the/each spraying bar may be arranged in clusters and fed with the washing fluid, water Or other, so that to be able to use selectively and specifically the nozzles of each cluster, relatively to garments, independently from the nozzles of every other cluster.
In addition and advantageously, the system could be further provided with one or more rotating spraying nozzles 21, flush with and directing onto the dirtier parts, in particular the neck and/or cuffs, of a garment to be washed. These nozzles will be, for example, of the type for delivering a fluid fan spray, and their rotation will be caused by the same flow of delivered fluid. In substitution, or alternatively, to the nozzles 21, the installation provides for rotating brushes.
In
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In these other fixtures of
It has to be noticed that the washing system according to the invention may be applied to a combined shower—sauna as well as to other similar hydraulic equipments.
The system according to the invention may be programmed and electronically managed to carry out the usual washing cycles with a liquid supply, such as prewash and wash water more or less hot with detergent and then with rinsing clean water, however is its positioning inside a plumbing fixture such as a shower, a bathtub, etc.
Referring to the washing step, the system programming may be also designed so that the washing water jets remain pointed, stop and, if desired, are moved longer on those areas which are thought to be dirtiest of the garments to be washed. In this way garment parts may be specifically washed more deeply than other less dirty parts.
This aspect of a target treatment may be capitalized to carry out also a stain removing of garment parts with a localized supply of specific detergent, solvent or similar. Furthermore, every target treatment, both of stain removing and washing, may be arranged so that it could be managed both manually, or automatically, through a selection of the position, number and pressure of fluid jets from time to time and an appropriate movement of the bar/s of the spraying nozzles.
Advantageously, then, the treatment chamber delimited by the stall in which the system is positioned, will be able to be virtually divided in several areas or boxes in case reproduced and visually identifiable on a stall wall in front of the system, so that to ease the manual pointing, or to be selected by the controlling program, of the garment parts on which the stain removing and/or washing water actions have to be directed more intensively than others. This, in addition to be able to treat specific parts of each garment, allows also to point and limit the treatment also onto a single garment placed in any one area of the treatment chamber without useless water, detergent and energy wastes.
After the washing and rinsing operations, preceded by possible localized stain removals, the garments could be dried in the scope of the same system without their removal from respective hangers or models. For this reason the system comprises also a generator of hot air to be emanated in the treatment chamber by apposite mouths which could be fixed or movable, independent or better associated and movable with the spraying bars. The drying air may be in case heated by means of an electric heater or alternatively leading it to brush at least part of the rinsing, still hot, water which is to the purpose retained in the bathtub, thereby also aiding the condensation of the humidity it is carrying.
The system allows also an ironing of the garments during their drying. Such an ironing it is aided by the fact that the garments, being stably held hung and stretch, as well as in shape on the hangers, do not wrinkle during the washing cycle, and that the same flows of drying air will then further tend to stretch and smooth the garments, eliminating all possible remaining pleats.
Further, the afore described system will be able to be arranged and provided also with means for carrying out, at the end of the stain removing, washing, drying and ironing operations, the sterilization of the garments by infrared radiations, or with the supply of a sterilizing fluid or vapor jets, the latter being able to be delivered by appropriate nozzles—not represented, or the same nozzles of the spraying bars.
Ultimately and referring to what has been afore described, the system according to the invention is added and appropriate to carry out a number of functions inside a conventional plumbing fixture such as a shower, a bathtub or similar without limiting the use of such a fixture and with the possibility of carrying out the stain removing of garment parts where necessary, a complete wash of one or more garments selectively, or the target wash of their dirtiest parts which could be specified thanks to an inner mapping of the treatment chamber, as well as to dry and iron the garments, at least saving on washing water, detergents and energy consumption. Further the garments are not leaved to soak in hot water and attacked with detergents for a long time, with the advantage of reducing risks of their discoloration when they are colored and draining the washing water with less pollution of detergents and stains.
In the treatment chamber 14 at least one grid or support 100 can be positioned on bottom, for supporting pots or other containers to be washed, for example plates 101.
The grid 100 is foldable, or collapsible or removable from the treatment chamber 14 to allow the normal use of the shower, etc.
The grid 100 is configured to sustain the dishes 101 vertically, arranged in rows and on one or more levels in the depth direction in the treatment chamber 14 and disposed individually and spaced apart in parallel.
Alternatively the grid 100 is configured to sustain the dishes 101 in vertical too, but in couples of back to back arranged dishes 101, that is to say with their fronts facing to opposite directions.
On the door 11, also if not represented, means for loading the washing detergent therein, a programming system, etc., may be provided.
The water distribution on the objects to be washed is carried out by means of spraying bars 19 afore described, which are moving with respect to the dish rows 101 to deliver pressurized—water jets directed onto respective objected to be washed, substantially in a perpendicular direction.
If required, on top of the treatment chamber 14 may also be provided some nozzles—not represented—to generate water jets from the top downwards onto and between the objects to be treated.
In another embodiment of the invention, the spraying bars 19 are provided with one or more nozzles rotating around an axis, which are faced too in a direction substantially perpendicular towards the dishes 101, their arrangement not changing.
In any case, the pressure of jets of washing water delivered through the nozzles 20 may be adjusted based on the dirty to be removed from the objects and, then, the wash strength to be carried out. Approximately the water pressure may be about from 2 to 5 bars. Obviously the higher is the pressure of water jets the higher will be, by itself, the effectiveness of the “mechanical” action of water onto the surfaces to be washed, effectiveness which is on the other hand aided and further increased by the cleaning action of the detergent delivered with the washing water from time to time.
In an embodiment the washing water is distributed through the nozzles 20 selectively according to the placement and the amount of objects 101 to be treated.
In practice, the afore described machine may be programmed and electronically managed to carry out the most usual operations of a washing and rinsing cycle of the objects 101 to be treated with a convenient supply of water with detergent and clean water.
Referring to the washing step, the machine programming may also be conceived so that the jets of pressurized water remain pointed, stop and are moved longer on those areas which are thought to be dirtiest of the objects to be washed, according to the afore described principle of the box subdivision in the treatment chamber.
This aspect of a specific treatment onto the objects may also be carried out with the localized supply of water jets to be controlled, manually or automatically, through a position, number and pressure selection and a selection of displacements of water jets operating from time to time.
In addition, the treatment chamber 14 of the machine will be able to be subdivided and mapped virtually in several areas, in case reported and visible on the window of the door 11, as shown in
The washing and rinsing operations, in case preceded by stronger and localized washes, the objects 101 may be dried on the same machine with a supply of hot air coming from a respective generator and in case with the aid of an electric heater placed in the treatment chamber 14.
In an optimized configuration, the machine preferably comprises several spraying bars 19 operating onto the dishes 101.
Advantageously the machine could comprise detecting sensors for the position and shape of the dishes 101 for a relative mapping and feedback adjusting of the system. These sensors, for example of optical type, could be assembled on the spraying bars 19 which, by means of their vertical movement, could lead sensors to carry out a first scan of the dishes 101.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| BS2011A000038 | Mar 2011 | IT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2012/051552 | 3/30/2012 | WO | 00 | 10/16/2013 |
