Flexible Agitator Vanes for Lower-Energy Clothes Circulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional washing machine agitators have thick roots due to injection molding processes, leading to long cycle times, mold wear, warpage, and increased mechanical energy requirements, which strain motors and result in high energy consumption and reduced washing performance.
Innovation Solution
The agitator assembly features vanes with a base and a flexible tail made of a different material, such as elastomer, allowing side-to-side flexing and reducing root thickness, enabling more efficient energy transfer and improved washing performance by moving clothes both outward and upward along a toroidal path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the helical vane is made with a thick root to accommodate the injection molding process and desired undercut angle and pitch, then the auger can be manufactured with the required geometric characteristics, but the cycle time increases, mold life decreases, and the auger body warps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the helical vane thickness non-uniform along its length. The vane has a thinner root section at the base and a thicker tip section, allowing the root area to be optimized for rapid cooling and short cycle times while the tip maintains sufficient thickness for structural integrity and washing performance. This localized variation in thickness resolves the contradiction between manufacturability and cycle time.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the helical vane has a thick root to achieve the desired undercut angle and pitch, then the auger geometry can be maintained, but the auger body warps into an oblong shape and depressions form on the inner wall
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses local quality by varying the vane thickness locally at the root section. The thinner root reduces the outward pulling force on the auger body during cooling, preventing warpage and depression formation, while the vane tip maintains adequate thickness to preserve the required auger geometry and washing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the thickness parameter of the helical vane along its length. By changing the thickness from thick at the root to thinner at the tip (or maintaining uniform thin thickness), the thermal and mechanical parameters are optimized to prevent body warping while maintaining functional geometry.
3Productivity
If the helical vane width is increased to improve auger performance, then the washing effectiveness increases, but the root thickness increases proportionally, requiring more material and longer cooling time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the necessary thickness only where structurally required (at the root for attachment strength) and reducing thickness in the vane body and tip regions. This allows increased vane width for improved washing performance without proportionally increasing material volume, as the thickness distribution is optimized locally rather than uniformly throughout.
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 design reduces mechanical energy requirements, lowers electrical energy consumption, prevents clothes from collecting at the bottom, and enhances washing efficiency by applying both upward and outward forces, resulting in improved cleaning performance and reduced motor strain.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one vane comprises a base mounted to the body and a tail extending from the base and having an upper edge that transitions into a tip, the tail being free of the body for side-to-side flexing and configured such that a portion of the tail extending between the upper edge and the tip can flex from a generally vertical position toward the body
Data Source
AI summary
A clothes mover in a washing machine comprises a body mounted for reciprocal rotational movement about a generally vertical axis and at least one vane, which comprises a base mounted to the body and a tail extending from the base and having an upper edge that transitions into a tip. The tail can be free of the body for side-to-side flexing and can be configured such that a portion of the tail extending between the upper edge and the tip can flex from a generally vertical position toward the body. The body can be made of a first material, and the vane can be made of a second material different from the first material.