Device for mangling laundry items
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing belt ironers for laundry mangling face inefficiencies in heating the flattening surface, as they often rely on heating the outer lateral surface, which can be less effective and less energy-efficient.
Innovation Solution
A double-walled ironer body with a heating medium inside, where a radiant heater or burner generates heat that is transferred to the flattening surface through a liquid heat transfer medium, allowing for targeted and efficient heating of the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by stationary object
If the outer lateral surface of the ironer body is heated, then the ironing surface can be heated, but the heating is less effective and less energy-efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The heating device is nested inside the ironer body, with the heating element positioned within the hollow space. The heat transfer medium fills the space between the heating element and the ironing surface, creating a nested configuration where the heater is enclosed within the ironer body structure. This allows direct heating of the medium which then transfers heat to the ironing surface, significantly improving energy efficiency and heating effectiveness compared to external lateral surface heating.
2Temperature
If a heating device is arranged inside the ironing body, then the ironing surface can be effectively heated, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ironer body is designed with a double-walled construction where the hollow space serves multiple functions: it acts as the structural framework of the ironer body, serves as the containment space for the heat transfer medium, and provides the pathway for heat transfer from the heating element to the ironing surface. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving effective internal heating.
3Use of energy by stationary object
If the ironer body is designed as a heating boiler with sealed interior, then the heating becomes more compact and energy-efficient, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating device and the ironer body are merged into a single integrated structure. The heating element is positioned within the existing hollow space of the double-walled ironer body, and the heat transfer medium fills the same space. This merging eliminates the need for separate external heating systems and complex piping, achieving compact and energy-efficient heating while keeping the manufacturing process relatively simple by utilizing the existing structural hollow space.
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
This design results in a compact, energy-efficient device that can uniformly heat the flattening surface, improving the ironing process by ensuring consistent temperature and reducing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
The heating element is preferably a radiant heater. Such a radiant heater can be designed to generate infrared rays (IR rays), which heat the interior of the at least one ironing body, in particular the interior of the heating element arranged therein, by radiation.
Implementation Method 2
A heat transfer medium is located in this at least one hollow space of the double-walled ironer body. This heat transfer medium can be heated by a heating unit that is accommodated in a space-saving manner inside the ironer body.
Implementation Method 3
The ironing surface can be effectively heated by the heat transfer medium of the at least one double-walled ironing body.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Belt mangles (10) are known, in which a circumferentially driven mangling belt (16) runs along the outer side of the static mangle body (11), which mangling belt transports the laundry items to be mangled along the smooth pressing surface (12) of the mangle body (11) by entrainment. In the case of said belt mangles (10) the heating of the pressing surface has proven to be ineffective. The invention aims at providing a boiler (32) inside the mangle body (11). Gas is heated inside the boiler (32) in particular by an infrared radiant heater, which gas heats a heat transfer medium in the cavity (15) of a double-walled casing of the mangle body. The pressing surface (12) can be effectively and precisely heated by said heat transfer medium in the cavity (15) of the double-walled casing of the mangle body (11).