Copolyester Plastic Bowl Door Assembly to Reduce Weight and Breakage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional front-loading, horizontal axis clothes washers with glass washer bowls are heavy, expensive to manufacture, and prone to breakage, requiring complex assembly and posing safety risks due to their thickness and non-structural nature.

Innovation Solution

A washing machine door assembly featuring a plastic bowl made from a copolyester composition with a dicarboxylic acid component and glycol component, integrated with a ring-shaped outer door frame, providing structural integrity through engagement features like twist-lock connections or welded interfaces, eliminating the need for an inner door frame ring.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If glass washer bowl is used, then strength and durability are improved, but weight and manufacturing cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebowl strengthVSAvoiddoor assembly weight

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the material parameter from glass to copolyester plastic, fundamentally altering the density and weight characteristics while maintaining structural integrity through engineered polymer composition and molecular structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses a composite copolyester material combining dicarboxylic acid component (at least 65 mol%) and glycol component (at most 35 mol%), creating a composite plastic structure that achieves glass-like strength with reduced weight

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If thick glass is used, then breakage resistance is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebreakage resistanceVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the material state from thick glass (greater than 5 mm) to molded copolyester plastic, enabling achievement of breakage resistance through material composition and molecular structure rather than increased thickness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces expensive glass manufacturing processes with more economical plastic injection molding, reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining functional reliability through engineered polymer properties

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Strength

If sandwiching style bowl mounting is used, then bowl is secured, but assembly complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebowl securingVSAvoidassembly complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the bowl and door frame into a single integrated copolyester component, eliminating the need for separate mounting hardware and simplifying assembly to a single injection molding operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The copolyester material serves multiple functions simultaneously: structural framework, bowl material, and mounting mechanism, replacing the multi-component glass assembly system with a single multi-functional plastic component

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20240011217A1Washing machine door assembly

Publication Date: 2024.01.11 EASTMAN CHEM CO

AI summary

A washing machine door assembly (100) is provided comprising a plastic bowl (102) fixedly engaged with an outer door frame (112) by one or more integral engagement features. The washing machine door assembly (100) does not include an inner door frame ring.