Clothes dryer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Condensation type clothes dryers face issues with excess condensed water exceeding the capacity of the storage container, leading to operational interruptions and limitations in increasing the drum volume due to standard installation constraints.
Innovation Solution
A clothes dryer design that includes a condensate pump and overflow path, allowing excess water to be redirected into a base chamber, preventing immediate shutdown and maintaining operation, while also preventing countercurrent and humid air leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the capacity of the container for storing condensed water is increased, then the ability to store excess condensed water is improved, but the volume of the drum must be reduced due to installation space constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The condensed water storage system is segmented into two separate containers: a first condensed water container and a second condensed water container. This segmentation allows the storage capacity to be increased without requiring a single large container that would occupy excessive space, thereby resolving the conflict between storage capacity and drum volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The first condensed water container is disposed inside the second condensed water container in a nested arrangement. This nesting configuration maximizes the use of available space within the dryer body, allowing both containers to coexist without increasing the overall external dimensions, thus maintaining drum volume while increasing total storage capacity.
2Volume of moving object
If the container is made smaller to increase drum volume, then the drum capacity is improved, but the ability to store condensed water is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large container, the system divides storage into multiple smaller containers (first and second condensed water containers). This segmentation allows the total storage capacity to remain sufficient while each individual container occupies less space, enabling increased drum volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The nested arrangement of containers utilizes vertical and radial dimensions rather than only horizontal space. By stacking containers within each other, the system achieves efficient space utilization in three dimensions, allowing adequate storage capacity without compromising drum volume.
3Quantity of substance
If a single large container is used to store all condensed water, then the storage capacity is improved, but the complexity of the water management system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The water management system is segmented into multiple independent containers with separate drainage paths. Each container can be independently emptied, simplifying the overall management by allowing selective emptying based on usage patterns, rather than requiring a complex single-container system with larger capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts to different usage scenarios by providing multiple container sizes and configurations. Users can select appropriate container combinations based on their specific needs, making the system flexible and adaptable rather than fixed and complex.
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
Enables continuous operation despite excess condensed water, prevents countercurrent, and maintains internal humidity control by redirecting excess water through a dedicated overflow path.
Implementation Method 1
a condenser, disposed in a circulation path passing through the drum, to condense humid air exhausted from the drum
Implementation Method 2
a condensate pump to transfer condensed water in the sump through the hose
Data Source
AI summary
A clothes dryer including a cabinet, a drum, a condenser, a sump, a drawer, a hose, a condensate pump, and a condensed water container. The drawer includes a bucket for receiving condensed water which overflows from the condensed water container, and a condensate discharge pipe formed at the bucket to discharge condensed water collected in the bucket. When the drawer is stored in the cabinet, the sump is connected to the condensate discharge pipe such that condensed water introduced through the condensate discharge pipe is returned to the sump. When the drawer is withdrawn from the cabinet, the sump includes a sump connection pipe separated from the condensate discharge pipe.