Laundry system for smart garments

Abstract

Laundry apparatus and methods for cleaning garments are provided. The laundry apparatus can provide one or more of: ultraviolet light, ultrasound, ozone, carbon dioxide, and a surfactant source to clean the garments. The laundry apparatus can be used to clean smart garments including one or more of electronics, electronic sensors, chips, wires, connectors, and / or conductive materials. The laundry apparatus can include an electronic control apparatus configured to transmit data corresponding to the laundry apparatus cleaning conditions and cleanliness of the garments wirelessly to an external computing device.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 554,784, filed on Aug. 31, 2017 and titled “LAUNDRY SYSTEM FOR SMART GARMENTS,” which is a which is a U.S. National Phase Application Under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT / EP2015 / 076858, filed on Nov. 17, 2015 and titled “LAUNDRY SYSTEM FOR SMART GARMENTS,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 080,911, filed on Nov. 17, 2014 and titled “LAUNDRY SYSTEM FOR SMART GARMENTS” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 222,599 filed Sep. 23, 2015 and titled “LAUNDRY SYSTEM FOR SMART GARMENTS.”[0002]This application may be related to U.S. application Ser. No. 14 / 023,830 filed on Sep. 11, 2103 and published as US 2014 / 0070957 titled “Wearable Communication Platform” and U.S. Application Ser. No. 61 / 950,782 filed on Mar. 10, 2014 titled “Physiological Monitoring Garments”, the disclosure of each of which is herei...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]A laundry apparatus comprising: a cleaning chamber configured to receive one or more garments; an ultrasound generator configured to provide ultrasonic energy to the cleaning chamber; a surfactant source configured to provide a surfactant to the cleaning chamber; an ultra violet (UV) light source configured to provide UV radiation to the one or more garments in the cleaning chamber; an ozone generator configured to provide ozone to the cleaning chamber; a carbon dioxide (CO2) source configured to provide carbon dioxide to the cleaning chamber; and an air circulation mechanism configured to provide the carbon dioxide and surfactant to the cleaning chamber. The air circulation mechanism (air circulators or blowers) can include one or more fans configured to move air within the cleaning chamber. Other air circulators (e.g., blowers) may include spray nozzles, including fixed and / or moving nozzles for spraying material including gases (e.g., air, CO2, etc.). The air circulation mechanism may also provide mechanical agitation, which may be particularly gentle agitation, of the garment(s) within the apparatus, which may enhance cleaning and exposure to the cleaning and deodorizing agents in the apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

Conventional dry cleaning processes are typically done outside of a home environment and often use chemicals that may pollute the environment.

Conventional home washing machines and dryers may use a lot of water and electricity to clean and dry garments and may negatively impact the environment with their wastewater, detergent pollution, and landfill space occupied by discarded washers and dryers.

Conventional washers and dryers may also accelerate the physical deterioration of garments.

For example, conventional washing techniques can cause discoloration, corrosion from detergents, mechanical stresses from agitation, fabric damage like burning from hot dryers, etc.

Conventional washers typically immerse the garments in water during the cleaning process, which may make them unsuitable for cleaning garments that include any electronics, wires, or other conductive surfaces.

Garments that integrate electronics, chips, wires, and other electrical or conductive components (“smart” garments) may be damaged or ruined by conventional washer and dryer techniques.

The laundry systems disclosed herein may also occupy a relatively small space in comparison to conventional washers and dryers, and may also clean garments while consuming less energy and with a smaller environmental impact than conventional washers and dryers.

Images