Dishwasher Sorption Drying Airflow Equalization to Prevent Overheating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dishwasher sorption drying systems face challenges in consistently and efficiently drying reversibly dehydratable sorption material, leading to inadequate drying results and potential material damage due to local overheating during desorption.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating flow conditioning elements in the sorption container and air ducting channel to equalize the local cross-sectional profile of the air flow, ensuring consistent and energy-efficient drying and regeneration of the sorption material through controlled air flow management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a blower is used to duct moist air through the sorption column for drying dishes, then drying function is achieved, but local overheating of sorption material occurs during desorption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces flow conditioning elements with specifically designed air passages that create non-uniform flow distribution across the sorption column cross-section. This localizes and distributes air flow to prevent concentrated hot spots, ensuring each region of the sorption material experiences appropriate thermal conditions during desorption without causing local overheating.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow conditioning elements act as intermediary components between the blower and the sorption column. These elements condition the air flow by creating controlled flow patterns that distribute air uniformly across the sorption material, mediating the thermal interaction and preventing direct localized overheating while maintaining effective drying.
2Productivity
If sorption material is heated to very high temperatures for regeneration, then desorption efficiency is improved, but material damage and energy waste occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the thermal parameters during desorption by controlling air flow distribution through flow conditioning elements. This ensures uniform heat distribution across the sorption column, allowing effective desorption at lower temperatures and preventing the need for excessively high temperatures that would waste energy and potentially damage the material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of uneven heat distribution into a benefit by using flow conditioning elements to create controlled flow patterns. The air flow conditions that could potentially cause local overheating are instead designed to distribute heat uniformly, turning a risk into an advantage for energy-efficient desorption.
3Volume of moving object
If air flow is not evenly distributed through the sorption container, then compact design is achieved, but drying performance becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The flow conditioning elements introduce local variations in air passage geometry to compensate for overall compact design constraints. By creating specific flow patterns at the local level within the compact sorption container, the patent ensures uniform air distribution across different regions, maintaining consistent drying performance despite the compact overall structure.
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
This approach enables reliable, energy-efficient drying of items in the washing compartment and economical regeneration of the sorption material, preventing material damage and improving overall drying performance.
Implementation Method 1
moisture is extracted from the ducted-through air flow by condensation
Implementation Method 2
reversibly dehydratable sorption material
Implementation Method 3
water stored in said material escapes as hot water vapor
Implementation Method 4
desorption of the sorption column, its reversible dehydratable sorption material is heated
Data Source
AI summary
A dishwasher is provided that includes a washing compartment and a sorption drying system to dry items to be washed, wherein the sorption drying system has a sorption container that contains reversibly dehydratable sorption material. The dishwasher further includes an air ducting channel to connect the sorption container with the washing compartment in order to generate an air flow. The air ducting channel has an inlet-side tube section and the sorption container and/or the inlet-side tube section has flow conditioning elements. Each flow conditioning elements has an air passage such that, to a large extent, an equalization of a local cross-sectional profile of an air flow is effected when air flows through the sorption container in a throughflow direction of the sorption container.