Clothes dryer booster fan system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clothes dryer vent booster fan systems require complex installations, including line voltage wiring and additional sensors, making them difficult for installers with lower ability levels and increasing the complexity of duct pressure sensing.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a clip-on current sensor and voltage sensors for the booster fan motor, eliminating the need for line voltage wiring and additional sensors like hall effect sensors, and incorporates an electronic controller for airflow management and status reporting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If line voltage wiring and additional sensors are used for duct pressure sensing, then the sensing accuracy is improved, but the installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical pressure sensing structures with an electrical measurement approach. Specifically, it uses the voltage difference across the motor windings to infer duct pressure conditions, eliminating the need for separate mechanical pressure sensors and their associated wiring installations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the existing motor windings serve multiple functions: they continue to drive the booster fan while simultaneously acting as the sensing element for detecting duct pressure conditions. This eliminates the need for additional dedicated sensing components.
2Reliability
If additional sensors and complex wiring are installed, then the system reliability is improved, but the ease of installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The motor windings automatically provide the sensing function without requiring separate sensing components. The system uses its own existing electrical components (the motor windings) to perform the dual function of operation and sensing, making installation straightforward while maintaining reliability.
3Measurement precision
If hall effect sensors and additional moving parts are added, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary components (hall effect sensors and other additional moving parts) from the system. It achieves the desired functionality using only the essential existing components, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor windings serve dual purposes: they provide the magnetic field necessary for motor operation and simultaneously serve as the sensing element for detecting RPM and pressure conditions, eliminating the need for separate hall effect sensors.
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
Simplifies the installation of clothes dryer vent booster fan systems, reduces the need for complex wiring, and enhances safety and utility by providing efficient airflow management and status reporting without additional moving parts or sensors.
Implementation Method 1
a voltage sensor for the auxiliary winding of the booster fan motor
Implementation Method 2
A simplified dryer booster fan system typically requires two components: a fan, and a control means which interlocks and reports failures in the booster fan's operation
Data Source
AI summary
A dryer exhaust duct power ventilator which is free of any dedicated internal air flow contacting devices for sensing air pressure or measuring fan RPMs and free of any hall effect sensor, but instead utilizes the auxiliary winding of a PSC motor on a centrifugal duct fan to measure the rotation of the motor and fan and thereby determine the pressure in the duct. A clip-on current sensor is located in the dryer power connection compartment and is used to detect operation of the dryer.