JP7539153B2 - Lint catcher - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lint capture device that captures lint (thread waste) mixed in laundry wastewater.

When washing and rinsing the items in a continuous washing machine, the washing water and rinsing water contain lint that has either adhered to the items or peeled off from them. If the items are washed and rinsed in washing water and rinsing water that contain lint, the lint will adhere to the items and the items will not be washed or rinsed properly. For this reason, Patent Document 1 proposes a lint removal device that captures and removes lint from the washing water and rinsing water.

The lint removal device described in Patent Document 1 is roughly composed of a screen case, an edge wire type cylindrical screen that is rotatably arranged within the screen case and removes lint from the wash water and rinsing water, and a supply pipe that supplies the wash water and rinsing water into the cylindrical screen.

When the washing water and rinsing water, which contain lint, are supplied to the rotating cylindrical screen through a supply pipe, the lint is captured by the edge wire type cylindrical screen as the washing water and rinsing water pass through the drum screen. This removes the lint from the washing water and rinsing water.

Patent No. 4391967

However, in the above-mentioned lint removal device, the cylindrical screen was designed to capture lint through slits in the edge wires, and so lint capture was insufficient.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a lint capture device that can improve the lint capture rate of capturing lint from washing wastewater.

In one aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem, there is provided a lint trapping device for trapping lint from laundry wastewater, the device comprising: a screen case having an inlet through which the laundry wastewater is introduced and a collection port through which the laundry wastewater from which the lint has been removed is collected; a supply pipe provided within the screen case and connected to the inlet for supplying the laundry wastewater into the screen case; a cylindrical screen which is rotatably arranged within the screen case so as to surround the supply pipe, the laundry wastewater supplied from the supply pipe passing through the cylindrical screen and trapping lint mixed in with the laundry wastewater; and a drive means for rotating the cylindrical screen around the supply pipe, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical screen being formed of a mesh-like screen member for trapping lint, the supply pipe being provided with a long rectangular washing water supply opening through which the laundry wastewater is discharged from the inlet side toward the collection port side toward the cylindrical screen, the opening dimension of the washing water supply opening being formed so as to be larger on the inlet side than on the tip side, and the opening dimension being gradually reduced from the inlet side toward the tip side .

One aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the screen member is configured to be detachable from the cylindrical screen.

One aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the screen member is made of a nylon mesh member.

In one aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical screen has a pair of annular frames and a number of rod-shaped frames that are stretched between the pair of annular frames and attached at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the annular frames, and the screen members are clipped to the rod-shaped frames.

One aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the mesh opening length between the thread members that make up the mesh of the screen member is 25.4 mm wide, with multiple meshes formed over that width.

According to the present invention, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical screen is made of a mesh-like screen member that captures lint, so the lint capture rate of lint captured from the washing wastewater can be improved. In addition, there is no need to remove the cylindrical screen from the device when performing maintenance, so maintenance is not time-consuming.

1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a lint capturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a supply pipe of the lint trapping device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view showing a cylindrical screen of a lint capturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a perspective view showing a cylindrical screen of a lint capturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 3, showing the cylindrical screen of the lint capturing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a screen member of the lint capturing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG. 5 showing a cylindrical screen of a lint capturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 6 showing a screen member of a lint capturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the lint trapping device according to the present invention. The lint trapping device 1 of this embodiment is formed of a screen case 4 having an inlet 2 through which washing wastewater is introduced and a recovery port 3 through which washing wastewater from which lint has been removed is recovered, a supply pipe 5 provided in the screen case 4 and connected to the inlet 2 to supply washing wastewater into the screen case 4, a cylindrical screen 7 rotatably arranged in the screen case 4 so as to surround the supply pipe 5, through which the washing wastewater supplied from the supply pipe 5 passes and which traps lint mixed in the washing wastewater, and a drive means 8 for rotating the cylindrical screen 7 around the supply pipe 5. The outer peripheral surface 22 of the cylindrical screen 7 is composed of a mesh-like screen member 6 that traps lint. The washing wastewater includes at least one of washing water and rinsing water, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the screen case 4 has a box-like overall shape, with side panels 10, 11, 12, and 13 (however, the side panel 13 opposite the side panel 12 is not shown) rising from the four sides of the rectangular bottom panel 9, and an upper opening 15 being closed by a top panel 14 opposite the bottom panel 9. The side panel 10 is formed with an inlet 2 for introducing washing wastewater into the screen case 4, and a recovery port 3 for recovering washing wastewater after lint has been captured in the screen case 4. A washing water inlet pipe 16 for conveying washing water and rinsing water containing lint is connected to the inlet 2, and a recovery pipe 17 for recovering washing water after lint has been captured is connected to the recovery port 3. A supply pipe 5 is connected to the screen case 4 side of the inlet 2.

One side of the supply pipe 5 is fixed to the side plate 10, and the tip side is fixed to the side plate 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the supply pipe 5 is provided with a washing water supply opening 18. The washing water supply opening 18 is formed so that the opening dimension L1 on the inlet 2 side is larger than the opening dimension L2 on the tip side, and the opening dimension gradually becomes smaller from the inlet 2 side toward the tip side. As a result, the washing wastewater introduced into the inlet 2 is discharged evenly from the washing water supply opening 18, that is, approximately evenly onto the inner surface side of the screen member 6. The washing wastewater discharged from the washing water supply opening 18 passes through the cylindrical screen 7 and is collected from the collection port 3.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cylindrical screen 7 is formed of a pair of annular frames 19, 20, 12 rod-shaped frames 21 that are stretched between the pair of annular frames 19, 20 and attached at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the annular frames 19, 20, and a screen member 6 that covers the cylindrical side surface (outer surface) 22 formed by the 12 rod-shaped frames 21 and captures lint from the washing wastewater supplied by the supply pipe 5. The number of rod-shaped frames 21 is not limited to "12".

The pair of annular frames 19, 20 are formed by an annular wall 23 to which the end of the rod-shaped frame 21 is fixed, and a flat wall 24 provided on one side of the annular wall 23 in the entire circumferential direction. The flat walls 24, 24 of the pair of annular frames 19, 20 are fixed to rotation support blocks 25, 26, respectively. The rotation support blocks 25, 26 are rotatably supported by the supply pipe 5 on the side plate 10 side and the side plate 11 side. These rotation support blocks 25, 26 are rotated by the rotation drive force transmitted from the drive means 8, and rotate the cylindrical screen 7. The cylindrical screen 7 is installed in an inclined state so that the tip side is lower than the inlet 2 side. An opening is formed on the side of the tip side of the cylindrical screen 7, and lint can be discharged from the opening.

The driving means 8 is formed of driving rollers 28, 28 that abut against the rotary support blocks 25, 26, a driving rotation shaft 29 to which the driving rollers 28, 28 are fixed, and a transmission pulley 30 that transmits the rotary driving force of the driving motor to the driving rotation shaft 29. The driving rotation shaft 29 is rotatably supported by bearing members 31, 31 provided on the side plate 10 side and the side plate 11 side, respectively. The driving rotation shaft 29 on the bearing member 31 side penetrates the side plate 11, and the transmission pulley 30 is fixed to the tip. The rotary driving force of the driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to this transmission pulley 30, causing the driving rotation shaft 29 to rotate, which in turn rotates the driving rollers 28, 28, thereby rotating the rotary support blocks 25, 26. When the rotary support blocks 25, 26 rotate, the cylindrical screen 7 rotates in the screen case 4 around the supply pipe 5. The screen members 6 are attached to the side surfaces (outer surfaces) 22 of the 12 rod-shaped frames 21 of the rotating cylindrical screen 7.

As shown in FIG. 6, the screen member 6 is formed of a nylon mesh member. This screen member 6 is wrapped around the 12 rod-shaped frames 21. As shown in FIG. 7, the screen member 6 is detachably attached to the ends of the 12 rod-shaped frames 21 fixed on the annular walls 23, 23 of the annular frames 19, 20 by C-shaped clips 32. That is, by removing the clips 32, the screen member 6 can be removed from the outer periphery of the side surface 22 of the 12 rod-shaped frames 21. As shown in FIG. 8, the screen member 6 is formed of nylon thread members 33 that form a mesh, and the intersections 34 of the thread members 33 are glued. In addition, the mesh length of the gap between the thread members 33 that form the mesh of the screen member 6 is set to an interval of 25.4 mm wide, where multiple meshes, for example, about 150 to 200 meshes, are formed. In detail, the size of the mesh opening is set to "mesh opening [mm] = (25.4 [mm] / number of meshes) - mesh wire diameter [mm]". The mesh opening, wire diameter, and number of meshes of the screen member 6 can be set arbitrarily and are not limited to the above dimensions and numbers. Depending on the specifications and application of the tunnel washing machine, the screen member 6 can be changed to a different size of mesh opening and wire diameter.

The flow of the washing wastewater that captures lint from dirty washing wastewater containing lint in the lint capture device 1 configured as above will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, dirty washing wastewater containing lint is sent from the washing water inlet pipe 16 through the inlet port 2 to the supply pipe 5. The washing wastewater sent to the supply pipe 5 is discharged from the washing water supply opening 18 into the cylindrical screen 7. The washing wastewater discharged into the cylindrical screen 7 passes through the meshes of the screen member 6 and is discharged to the outside of the cylindrical screen 7. The washing wastewater discharged to the outside of the cylindrical screen 7 is collected by the collection pipe 17 from the collection port 3 of the screen case 4.

When the washing wastewater passes through the screen member 6, the lint contained in the washing wastewater is captured by not passing through the meshes of the screen member 6. This allows the lint to be removed from the washing wastewater that has passed through the screen member 6. In this case, the washing wastewater contains debris other than lint, but debris that is too large to pass through the meshes of the screen member 6 is also captured by the screen member 6.

Then, the lint captured from the washing wastewater and attached to the screen member 6 accumulates in the cylindrical screen 7, and the lint is moved toward the tip of the inclined cylindrical screen by the water flow of the washing water or rinsing water flowing into the cylindrical screen 7 from the washing water supply opening 18. The lint that has moved to the tip of the cylindrical screen 7 is discharged from the opening at the tip of the cylindrical screen. When performing maintenance on the lint capture device, the top plate 14 of the screen case 4 is opened, the clips 32 that attach the screen member 6 to the rod-shaped frame 21 are removed, the screen member 6 is removed from the outer peripheral side surface 22 of the rod-shaped frame 21, and the lint attached to the screen member 6 is removed. Then, the screen member 6 is wrapped around the side surface 22 of the rod-shaped frame 21 again, and attached to the rod-shaped frame 21 by the clips 32. The maintenance is completed by closing the upper opening 15 with the top plate 14. If the adhesion of lint to the screen member 6 is severe (for example, due to clogging), the screen member 6 may be replaced with a new one.

As described above, in this embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 22 of the cylindrical screen 7 is made of a mesh-like screen member 6 that captures lint, improving the lint capture rate of lint captured from the washing wastewater.

In addition, according to this embodiment, when performing maintenance on the lint capture device, it is sufficient to remove the screen member 6 from the rod-shaped frame 21 of the cylindrical screen 7 inside the screen case 4, remove the lint adhering to the screen member 6, and then reattach it to the rod-shaped frame 21 of the cylindrical screen 7. This eliminates the need to remove the cylindrical screen 7 itself from the screen case 4, improving maintainability.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the screen member is made of nylon mesh, which improves the lint capture rate, and since nylon mesh is inexpensive, it can be used disposably and maintenance work is extremely easy. Furthermore, since nylon mesh is lightweight, it is easy to remove.

In addition, according to this embodiment, maintenance can be performed by simply opening the top plate 14 of the screen case 4, removing the screen member 6, cleaning it, and then reattaching the screen member 6 to the rod-shaped frame 21 with the clips 32 and then closing the upper opening 15 with the top plate 14. This eliminates the need to remove the cylindrical screen from inside the screen case and disassemble it for cleaning, as was done in the past, making it possible to significantly reduce the effort and time required for maintenance.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by making the screen member 6 disposable, the effort of cleaning the screen member 6 can be eliminated, and when performing maintenance on the lint capture device, it is only necessary to open the top plate 14 of the screen case 4, remove the screen member 6 with lint attached, and attach a new screen member 6 to the side surface 22 of the rod-shaped frame 21 with the clips 32, thereby further improving maintainability.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, but it is clear that modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. All such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included in the following claims.

The lint capture device of the present invention can be used to capture lint not only in the washing wastewater from a continuous washing machine, but also in the washing water and rinsing water that contain lint.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Lint capture device 2 Inlet 3 Recovery port 4 Screen case 5 Supply pipe 6 Screen member 7 Cylindrical screen 8 Driving means

Claims (5)

A lint trapping device for trapping lint from laundry wastewater, comprising:
a screen case having an inlet through which the washing wastewater is introduced and a collection port through which the washing wastewater from which the lint has been removed is collected;
a supply pipe provided in the screen case and connected to the inlet for supplying the washing wastewater into the screen case;
a cylindrical screen that is rotatably disposed in the screen case so as to surround the supply pipe, through which the washing wastewater supplied from the supply pipe passes and which captures lint mixed in the washing wastewater;
and a drive means for rotating the cylindrical screen around the supply pipe,
The outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical screen is formed of a mesh screen member that captures lint ,
The supply pipe is provided with a long rectangular washing water supply opening through which the washing wastewater is discharged toward the cylindrical screen from the inlet side toward the recovery port side, and this washing water supply opening is formed so that the opening dimension on the inlet side is larger than the opening dimension on the tip side, and the opening dimension gradually becomes smaller from the inlet side toward the tip side . The lint capture device according to claim 1, characterized in that the screen member is configured to be detachable from the cylindrical screen. The lint capture device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the screen member is made of a nylon mesh member. The cylindrical screen is
A pair of annular frames;
a plurality of rod-shaped frames that are stretched across the pair of annular frames and attached at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the annular frames;
4. The lint capturing device according to claim 1, wherein the screen member is clipped to the rod-shaped frame. The lint capture device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the mesh opening between the thread members that form the mesh of the screen member is an interval of 25.4 mm wide, forming multiple meshes.

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