A clothes dryer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current clothes dryers are inefficient in terms of energy input and cost, and existing solutions that utilize household hot water systems are complex and not integrated into commercially available products due to non-conformance with standard dryer sizes and high manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A clothes dryer design that connects to a building's central heating system or external heat generation units, using a centrifugal fan and heat exchanger to efficiently circulate air for heating, with a manifold system that allows for multiple air passes through the heat exchanger to enhance heat transfer and reduce energy consumption, while maintaining a conventional configuration for ease of manufacture and space compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a heat exchanger is connected to a building's central heating system to reduce energy consumption, then energy efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the dryer's heating system with the building's existing central heating system through a heat exchanger. This merging allows the dryer to utilize already-heated water from the building's heating system, converting waste heat into useful drying energy and significantly reducing electrical power consumption without adding complex standalone heating components.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger serves multiple functions: it transfers heat from the building's heating water to the dryer air, can be integrated with various dryer configurations (tumble, rack, shoe), and works with different heat sources (central heating, district heating, external heat generation units). This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate heating systems while maintaining versatility.
2Use of energy by moving object
If existing solutions use heat from household hot water systems, then energy efficiency is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the heating function into a separate, standardized heat exchanger module that can be independently manufactured and then integrated into different dryer types. This modular segmentation simplifies production by allowing specialized manufacturing of the heat exchanger component while keeping the rest of the dryer construction straightforward and compatible with existing manufacturing processes.
3Loss of energy
If the air fan blows air through the heat exchanger and into the drum, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of blowing air through the heat exchanger as in conventional designs, the patent inverts the approach by having the heat exchanger draw air in through its front face and deliver heated air to the drum inlet. This inversion simplifies the air flow path and eliminates the need for complex fan-heat exchanger-drum configurations while maintaining effective heat transfer.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves significant energy efficiency by utilizing available building heat, reduces the risk of fire hazards through self-cleaning components, and maintains compactness and reliability, allowing for efficient drying with reduced electrical energy usage.
Implementation Method 1
a clothes dryer comprising a controller, a housing, a drum, a drum drive mechanism, a drum hot air inlet, and an air fan for pumping air through a heater en route to the drum hot air inlet, where the heater includes a heat exchanger having a coupling for connection to a supply of hot water or other liquid
Implementation Method 2
In one embodiment, the air fan is a centrifugal fan having curved blades with convex surfaces facing in a direction or rotation
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A clothes dryer (1) has a heat exchanger (20) supplied with heat energy from a building's central heating system, or external heat generation units including district heating systems. Air is drawn by a fan (25) axially through the heat exchanger (20), and back into it at a location so that it diffuses through the exchanger to mix with freshly-drawn-in air before being delivered upwardly into a drum inlet manifold (23). The drum inlet manifold (23) also had an electrical element (24) for use when hot water is not available. The fan (25) is between the heat exchanger and the drum inlet manifold, and blows into the manifold, helping to prevent fluff-build-up on an electrical element in the drum inlet manifold, with consequent reduced fire risk. The heat exchange assembly (20, 21, 25, 22) is compact, beneath the drum inlet manifold (23), and is driven by the same drive (11) as the drum (10). This allows the dryer to be as compact as a conventional household with only an electrical element heat source.