Clothes Dryer Water Tank Stopper Guide for Safe Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face accidents when pulling out the water tank from a clothes dryer due to its sudden weight, as existing designs do not provide adequate support or guidance during separation.
Innovation Solution
A safety guide system is implemented, featuring a first stopper at the water tank housing and a second stopper at the water tank, which limits movement in one direction and allows safe lifting and removal in another direction, preventing the weight of the water tank from being applied directly to the user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the water tank is made detachable for easy removal, then the ease of operation is improved, but the user safety deteriorates due to sudden weight acting on the user during separation
Solution Approach 1:
The safety guide performs a preliminary action by limiting the water tank's movement in the first direction before the user completes the removal. The stoppers are positioned to engage first, guiding the tank to tilt upward and transfer weight to the housing structure before the tank is fully detached, preventing sudden weight impact on the user.
2Ease of operation
If the water tank is allowed to move freely during removal, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases due to safety guide mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The safety guide is segmented into separate stoppers: a first stopper on the water tank housing and a second stopper on the water tank. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function in the movement sequence, managing complexity through modular design while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety guide acts as an intermediary mechanism between the water tank and the user during removal. It mediates the weight transfer by engaging stoppers that guide the tank's movement, allowing the housing structure to support the tank weight before complete detachment, thus protecting the user without requiring complex active control systems.
3Reliability
If stoppers are positioned to limit water tank movement, then the user safety is improved, but the ease of manufacture deteriorates due to precise positioning requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The stoppers are designed with specific geometric parameters (protrusion and recess shapes) that allow for tolerance compensation. The engagement between the first stopper protrusion and second stopper recess, along with the seating recess geometry, provides self-aligning features that reduce the need for extremely precise positioning during manufacturing while still ensuring safe operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A clothes dryer having an improved configuration to allow a user to safely pull out a water tank is disclosed. The clothes dryer includes a body having a water tank housing, a water tank detachably mounted into the water tank housing and serving to store water collected from an object to be dried, and a safety guide to limit movement of the water tank in a first direction when the water tank is separated from the water tank housing in the first direction, so as to allow a user to guide movement of the water tank in a second direction. The safety guide includes a first stopper provided at the water tank housing, and a second stopper provided at the water tank to correspond to the first stopper when the water tank is separated in the first direction.