Ozonated laundry system including adapter and sparging rod
First Claim
1. A system for treating laundry with ozone comprisinga laundry machine having an opening therein defining a cavity for receiving a wash liquor and comprising a sump for draining the wash liquor from the cavity, said laundry machine comprising a means for selecting a wash load from a predetermined plurality of wash load selections;
- a controller in electrical communication with said selecting means, said controller receiving a load signal from said selecting means and transmitting a control signal corresponding to the wash load;
an ozone generator in electrical communication with said controller, said ozone generator receiving the control signal from said controller and generating ozone in response to the control signal;
an air dryer in electrical communication with said controller and in fluid communication with said ozone generator, said air dryer providing desiccated air to said ozone generator;
a pump in electrical communication with said controller and in fluid communication with said ozone generator, said pump pumping the ozone generated by said ozone generator from said ozone generator to said laundry machine;
an injector assembly in fluid communication with said pump and said laundry machine, said injector assembly positioned adjacent said sump of said laundry machine for dispersing a variable amount of ozone corresponding to the wash load directly into the wash liquor in the cavity defined by said laundry machine.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for treating laundry with ozone is provided including a controller that receives a load signal based on a wash load selection. In response to the load signal, the controller transmits a power supply control signal to a variable power supply to vary an output potential to an ozone generator. The controller transmits a dryer control signal to an air dryer to provide desiccated air to the ozone generator. The controller transmits a sparging pump control signal to a sparging pump to pump the ozone generated by the ozone generator to a sparging rod adjacent the sump of the laundry machine where the ozone is dispersed directly into the wash liquor. In a preferred embodiment, an adapter removably secures the sparging rod to the wall of the laundry machine so that the sparging rod may be readily removed for cleaning, repair or replacement. In an alternative embodiment, ozone from the ozone generator is also entrained into the wash liquor by a venturi positioned in a side arm recirculation assembly as the wash liquor is returned to the laundry machine for further use in the wash process. Regardless, the concentration of the ozone dispersed directly into the wash liquor, or dispersed and entrained into the wash liquor, can be varied in response to the wash load and the wash chemistry can be balanced with the ozone to minimize ozone off-gasing and to conserve water and energy.
39 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for treating laundry with ozone comprising
a laundry machine having an opening therein defining a cavity for receiving a wash liquor and comprising a sump for draining the wash liquor from the cavity, said laundry machine comprising a means for selecting a wash load from a predetermined plurality of wash load selections; -
a controller in electrical communication with said selecting means, said controller receiving a load signal from said selecting means and transmitting a control signal corresponding to the wash load; an ozone generator in electrical communication with said controller, said ozone generator receiving the control signal from said controller and generating ozone in response to the control signal; an air dryer in electrical communication with said controller and in fluid communication with said ozone generator, said air dryer providing desiccated air to said ozone generator; a pump in electrical communication with said controller and in fluid communication with said ozone generator, said pump pumping the ozone generated by said ozone generator from said ozone generator to said laundry machine; an injector assembly in fluid communication with said pump and said laundry machine, said injector assembly positioned adjacent said sump of said laundry machine for dispersing a variable amount of ozone corresponding to the wash load directly into the wash liquor in the cavity defined by said laundry machine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification