Dry cleaning process employing a unitary chemical dispensing cabinet

Abstract

A cabinet is provided containing multiple chemical containment housings mounted on a base portion mounted on an interior panel. Each base portion has a nozzle press fitting into an opening to a flexible bag containing a dry cleaning chemical, the flexible bag mounted within the containment housing. In addition, the base portion has an opening connected to one end of a conduit, with the second end of the conduit connected to a chemical dispensing tube. The dispensing tube is mounted on a front exterior panel of the cabinet, and is held in place by a line under tension connected at one end to the dispensing tube and at its other end to a tension reel mounted within the interior of the cabinet. Squeezing of the dispensing tube while aimed at a garment stain causes the stain removing chemical to flow onto the garment.

Having described the invention, what is claimed for Letters Patent is:  
     
         1 . A method for spot cleaning a stain on a garment in a dry cleaning process comprising: 
 (a) providing a stand alone cabinet having a front panel with multiple indentations, each indentation adapted to receive a chemical dispensing tube, each dispensing tube connected by a connecting line to a wind up tension reel located in an interior portion of the cabinet;    (b) providing multiple containment housings mounted within the interior of the cabinet, each containment housing enclosing a flexible bag containing a dry cleaning chemical;    (c) providing a base portion for the containment housing, the base portion having means for attaching the containment housing to the base portion and means for connecting a nozzle in the base portion to the flexible bag;    (d) providing a conduit connecting the base portion of the containment housing to the dispensing tube; and    (e) pulling a dispensing tube out of the indentation and thereafter squeezing the dispensing tube to permit the flow of the dry cleaning chemical out of the dispensing tube while pointing a front end of the dispensing tube over a stain in a garment.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein there are provided six indentations on the front panel of the cabinet and each indentation is provided with a chemical dispensing tube, and six containment housings are provided within the cabinet, each containment housing enclosing a flexible bag, each flexible bag containing a dry cleaning chemical different from that contained in any other flexible bag within the cabinet.  
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the chemical dispensing tube is provided with a conical shaped front portion having a decreasing diameter from a rear to a front end and a middle portion of the dispensing tube is provided as a soft elastomeric cylindrical member, and pressing the cylindrical member inwardly to create a flow of the dry cleaning chemical.  
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the means for attaching the containment housing to the base portion is a pair of parallel rails on a bottom of the containment housing overlying corresponding parallel longitudinal slots in the base portion.  
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the means for connecting a nozzle to the flexible bag is by press fitting the nozzle projecting upwardly from the base portion to an opening into a bottom fixture of the flexible bag.  
     
     
         6 . A method for spot cleaning a stain on a garment in a dry cleaning process comprising: 
 (a) pulling a squeezable dispensing tube from a stand alone cabinet, the dispensing tube having been held in a depression on a front face of the cabinet by a tension line connecting the dispensing tube to a tension reel inside the cabinet,    (b) squeezing the dispensing tube over the stain on the garment to permit a chemical suitable for removing the stain to flow from a conical tube at one end of the dispensing tube onto the stain, and    (c) providing a conduit from a base portion of a containment housing to the dispensing tube, the containment housing being provided within the cabinet and containing a flexible bag containing the chemical suitable for removing the stain on the garment, a valve on the base portion of the containment housing engaging an opening from the flexible bag to permit flow of the chemical suitable for removing the stain from the flexible bag to the conical tube at the end of the dispensing tube.    
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein six dispensing tubes are provided, each connected by a conduit to a base portion of a corresponding containment housing, each containment housing enclosing a flexible chemical bag containing a different chemical so that each of the six dispensing tubes is capable of dispensing a different spot removing chemical.  
     
     
         8 . A chemical dispensing cabinet for use in a dry cleaning process for removal of stains on garments, the cabinet comprising: 
 (a) a cabinet having a top, bottom, two opposed side walls, and a front wall integral with a front frame of the cabinet, the front frame hinged at a base portion to a back frame of the cabinet,    (b) multiple depressions on the front wall for receiving chemical dispensing tubes, each chemical dispensing tube being retained in a depression under tension from a tension cord, the cord connected to the chemical dispensing tube at one end and to a tension reel mounted within the cabined at a second end,    (c) multiple conduits, each connecting at a first end to a base portion of a containment housing, the base portion mounted on a shelf within the cabinet, a second end of each conduit connected to a rear conical end of the dispensing tube,    (d) a flexible bag containing a stain removing chemical, the bag housing a bottom fixture with an opening connectable to a nozzle on the base portion of the containment housing, the flexible chemical bag enclosed by the containment housing, and    (e) the dispensing tubes adapted to be depressed to permit the stain removing chemical to flow out of the dispensing tube onto a stain on a garment.    
     
     
         9 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 8 , wherein there are six depressions on the front wall of the cabinet, each depression retaining a dispensing tube under tension.  
     
     
         10 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 8 , wherein each chemical dispensing tube has a compressible cylindrical housing overlaying a nipple holder at a front end and a tube mount at a rear end, the tube mount having a conical rear portion for engagement with the conduit and the nipple holder having a conical front portion retaining a conical nipple along an interior wall, and a ball valve within an interior of the cylindrical housing retained in place by a spring to block the flow of a chemical within the cylindrical housing, but permitting the flow of the chemical when an outer wall of the cylindrical housing is depressed.  
     
     
         11 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 8 , wherein each base portion of a containment housing has an upwardly projecting nozzle adapted to fit into the opening in the bag containing a stain removing chemical, and a channel opening at substantially a right angle to the nozzle, the channel opening connected to the first end of the conduit.  
     
     
         12 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 8 , wherein a pair of parallel rails on a bottom end of the containment housing engages a pair of parallel slots on the base portion to connect the containment housing to the base portion.  
     
     
         13 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 12 , wherein a lever on the base portion is integral with the parallel slots and is adapted to disengage the containment housing from the base portion.  
     
     
         14 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 12 , wherein the containment housing comprises two halves pivoting on a vertical edge to allow insertion of a chemical bag.  
     
     
         15 . The chemical dispensing cabinet according to  claim 9 , wherein there are six chemical bags, each within a containment housing and each chemical bag contains a different stain removing chemical.