Energy saving laundry system
First Claim
1. In a laundry installation comprising a plurality of individual washing machines each comprising a single water exit means for water effluent from all baths and control means for controlling the automatic operation of each said machine through the several steps and baths in each washing cycle of each said machine, the improvement comprising a water and energy conserving system comprising waste water handling means and recycle water handling means, diverter valve means associated with the exit means of each machine for individually directing the effluent of each bath in each machine step to either said waste water handling means or said re-cycle water handling means, each said diverter valve means being controlled at least in part by said machine'"'"'s control means, hot water storage means, means to supply water from said recycle water handling means to said hot water storage means, means to supply hot water from said hot water storage means to each of said washing machines, said diverter valve means comprising a power operated diverted valve member positioned in said water exit means, said water exit means being positioned above both said waste water handling means and said recycle water handling means, and said diverter valve means comprising an "L" shaped valve member which, in one position of said diverter valve means directs the water effluent from said machine into one of said waste water handling means and said recycle water handling means and in the other position of said diverter valve means directs the water effluent from said machine into the other of said waste water handling means and said recycle water handling means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Energy saving systems for a commercial laundry utilizing a plurality of machines wherein a simple diverter valve directs the effluent from the machines to either a waste area or a recycle tank. In one embodiment a system of troughs in the floor of the laundry are provided to collect the effluents from the different machines are directed to one or the other by the diverter valve. In the second embodiment, a self-contained modular device is provided, but again with separate diverter valves to control the effluent of each machine. Numerous optional features and many combinations of the features are possible.
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Citations
19 Claims
- 1. In a laundry installation comprising a plurality of individual washing machines each comprising a single water exit means for water effluent from all baths and control means for controlling the automatic operation of each said machine through the several steps and baths in each washing cycle of each said machine, the improvement comprising a water and energy conserving system comprising waste water handling means and recycle water handling means, diverter valve means associated with the exit means of each machine for individually directing the effluent of each bath in each machine step to either said waste water handling means or said re-cycle water handling means, each said diverter valve means being controlled at least in part by said machine'"'"'s control means, hot water storage means, means to supply water from said recycle water handling means to said hot water storage means, means to supply hot water from said hot water storage means to each of said washing machines, said diverter valve means comprising a power operated diverted valve member positioned in said water exit means, said water exit means being positioned above both said waste water handling means and said recycle water handling means, and said diverter valve means comprising an "L" shaped valve member which, in one position of said diverter valve means directs the water effluent from said machine into one of said waste water handling means and said recycle water handling means and in the other position of said diverter valve means directs the water effluent from said machine into the other of said waste water handling means and said recycle water handling means.
- 11. A water and heat energy conservation system for a laundry of the type which comprises a plurality of individual automatically operated washing machines and a single hot water supply for all of said machines, the combination comprising a modular substantially self-contained system comprising an array of a hot water storage tank, a recycle water tank, and a waste water storage tank, diverter valve means associated with the water effluent exit of each of said washing machines for selectively directing the water effluent from every bath during the cycle of the operation of each of said machines into either said recycle water tank or said waste water tank, said diverter valve means comprising a housing positioned over and overlying portions of both of said waste water tank and said recycle water tank, said diverter valve means further comprising an "L" shaped diverter valve member which in one position directs the effluent flow from the machine into one of said tanks and in the other position of said valve directs the effluent flow into the other of said waste water tank and said recycle water tank, means to supply water from said recycle water tank to said hot water storage tank, and means to supply hot water from said hot water storage tank to each of said washing machines.
Specification