Corner-Entry Horizontal Axis Washer for Ergonomic Small-Space Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional automatic laundry treatment machines are inconvenient and space-inefficient, particularly in small living spaces, due to their design requiring users to bend and reach to load and unload laundry, and they occupy too much space for urban environments.
Innovation Solution
A top corner loading laundry treatment machine with a horizontal axis drum and a circumferential entry section that spans between 30 to 60 degrees, allowing for convenient corner access and a slim profile to fit in tight spaces, along with a door that seals the entry section for efficient use and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a top loading machine is used, then the machine can be operated with a vertical axis drum, but the user must bend over and stand up multiple times to transfer laundry, which is ergonomically inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a vertical axis drum (top loading) to a horizontal axis drum (front loading), changing the dimensional orientation of the drum axis. This allows the user to load and unload laundry from the front at a more ergonomic height, eliminating the need to bend over and stand up repeatedly.
2Ease of operation
If a front loading machine is used, then the user can load laundry from the front, but the laundry basket or bag placed in front of the machine obstructs opening of the door and the user must reach deeply into the drum to retrieve laundered articles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a circumferential entry section that provides access to the drum from the front, allowing the user to load and unload laundry without reaching deeply into the drum. This changes the access dimension from deep vertical reach to shallow horizontal access at the front opening.
3Productivity
If traditional top loading or front loading machines are used, then the machines can treat laundry effectively, but they require too much space for storage and use in small living spaces such as apartments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the drum geometry parameters, specifically using a drum with a diameter-to-width ratio from 1.5:1 to 3.25:1, and positioning the circumferential entry section to span 30 to 60 degrees above the horizontal axis. These parameter changes enable a more compact machine design that fits in small spaces while maintaining effective laundry treatment capability.
4Quantity of substance
If the drum has a deep design to increase capacity, then more laundry can be treated, but it becomes inconvenient for slightly built users to reach all the way to the bottom of the drum
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides access to the bottom of the drum through the circumferential entry section at the front, allowing users to reach laundry at the bottom without having to extend their arms deeply into the drum from the top. This changes the access path from deep vertical reach to shallow horizontal access.
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry treatment machine including: a cabinet; a tub within the cabinet; a horizontal axis fluid pervious drum within the tub rotatable about a horizontal axis, wherein the drum has a diameter orthogonal to the horizontal axis and an average width in line with the horizontal axis and a ratio of diameter to average width from 1.5:1 to 3.25:1; a circumferential entry section into the tub that spans at least across an intermediate range of from 30 degrees to 60 degrees above and rotationally about the horizontal axis and is bounded within a front position of more than 2 degrees above and rotationally about the horizontal axis and a top position less than 90 degrees above and rotationally about the horizontal axis; and a door in the cabinet, the door sealingly engaged with the entry section.