Humidity Sensor Detection of Leftover Laundry Items to Prevent Mold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often fail to remove all laundry items from laundry treatment appliances after a cycle, leading to issues like mold growth, foul smells, and repeated cycles due to overlooked items.
Innovation Solution
A laundry treatment appliance equipped with a humidity sensor and controller that measures chamber humidity after a cycle to identify leftover items and alert the user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users manually check and remove laundry items after a cycle, then they can ensure complete removal of items, but users frequently fail to remove all articles resulting in repeated cycles and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection and removal of laundry items with an automated optical detection system. A camera captures images of the drum interior, and image processing algorithms automatically identify and locate remaining laundry items, eliminating the need for users to manually check and ensuring reliable detection of all items.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If no detection system is used, then the appliance structure remains simple, but leftover items produce mold, mildew, or foul smells
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs optical detection using a camera and image processing to identify leftover laundry items, replacing the need for complex sensor arrays or humidity detection systems. The image processing system analyzes visual data to detect items in various positions within the drum, providing reliable detection without excessive complexity.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used to detect leftover items, then detection accuracy improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a single camera system with advanced image processing capabilities to detect leftover laundry items, replacing the need for multiple physical sensors. The image processing algorithms analyze visual information to accurately identify items regardless of their position, orientation, or size within the drum, achieving high detection precision with a single sensing device.
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
Effectively detects and notifies users of remaining laundry items, preventing mold and ensuring complete removal.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor positioned within the cabinet, the sensor configured to measure a humidity of air within the cabinet
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry treatment appliance includes a cabinet; a basket rotatably mounted within the cabinet and defining a chamber configured for receiving a load of clothes; a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet; a sensor positioned within the cabinet, the sensor configured to measure a humidity of air within the cabinet; and a controller operably coupled to the sensor, the controller being configured to determine that an operating cycle of the laundry treatment appliance has been completed; determine that a user has removed the load of clothes; obtain one or more humidity measurements of the chamber using the sensor after determining that the user has removed the load of clothes; identify a leftover article remaining in the chamber by analyzing the one or more humidity measurements of the chamber; and implement a responsive action in response to identifying the leftover article remaining in the chamber.