Detergent Drawer Air Cooling to Maintain Liquid Substance Viscosity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The viscosity of washing substances like liquid detergents and fabric softeners increases with temperature, making dosing difficult or impossible in existing systems, as they become more viscous and less effective.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance with a dispenser bowl featuring an air duct for cooling the liquid substance and an electric fan to maintain viscosity and effectiveness, where the air duct is designed to cool the entire liquid substance efficiently, and a temperature-dependent control system adjusts fan speed to prevent overheating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the liquid substance is stored in the dispenser at ambient temperature, then the dispensing system operates normally, but the liquid substance heats up and becomes more viscous, making dosing difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by actively controlling the temperature of the liquid substance through cooling means (such as Peltier elements or thermoelectric coolers) to maintain it below a threshold temperature (e.g., 25°C). This prevents the liquid from becoming too viscous for accurate dosing, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining dosing reliability and preventing temperature increase.
2Manufacturing precision
If cooling means are added to maintain liquid substance temperature, then dosing accuracy is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical cooling systems (such as compressors or fan-based cooling) with solid-state thermoelectric cooling elements (Peltier elements). This substitution reduces mechanical complexity while maintaining the ability to control liquid substance temperature for precise dosing, thus resolving the contradiction between dosing precision and device complexity.
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
The solution ensures precise dosing and maintains the effectiveness of the liquid substance by cooling the entire substance, preventing viscosity increases that would hinder dosing, and ensuring consistent performance across varying temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
an electric fan (107) for generating an airflow (109) through the air duct (105)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a household appliance (100) comprising a detergent drawer (103) for receiving a liquid substance, said household appliance (100) comprising an air channel (105) for cooling the liquid substance in the detergent drawer (103) and a cooling fan (107) for generating an air flow (109) through the air channel (105).