Method for wet treating articles of laundry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry items, particularly shirts with sleeves, are prone to excessive stretching and damage during wet treatment in centrifuges and washer extractors due to the formation and collapse of the laundry ring, which occurs when the drum speed increases, causing sleeves to intertwine and the body part to stretch excessively.
Innovation Solution
A method where the laundry ring is maintained throughout the wet treatment process by controlling the drum speed to prevent collapse, ensuring that sleeves are pulled out during washing and rinsing, and maintaining the ring's structure during dewatering to prevent excessive stretching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drum speed is increased to dewater the laundry, then the dewatering efficiency is improved, but the laundry ring inner diameter increases causing excessive stretching of laundry items
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeves are pulled out of the laundry ring during the washing phase at lower speeds, before the dewatering phase begins. This preliminary action positions the sleeves outside the ring so that when the drum speed increases during dewatering, the sleeves do not get stretched by the expanding ring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different drum speeds at different phases of the washing cycle. During washing, a lower speed is used to maintain a compact laundry ring that can hold sleeves. During dewatering, the speed is increased to remove water, but since sleeves are already positioned outside the ring, the stretching problem is avoided.
2Ease of operation
If the drum speed is reduced during rinsing to collapse the laundry ring, then the rinsing is performed, but the dewatering becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts drum speed based on the washing phase. During rinsing, the speed is reduced to allow the laundry ring to collapse for effective rinsing. During dewatering, the speed is increased to maintain ring structure and ensure adequate water removal. The key innovation is pulling sleeves out during rinsing so they don't get stretched during subsequent dewatering.
Solution Approach 2:
The washing cycle alternates between different drum speeds for different phases: lower speed during rinsing to collapse the ring, then higher speed during dewatering to expand the ring. This periodic variation in speed allows both effective rinsing and adequate dewatering while protecting laundry items.
3Ease of operation
If the laundry ring is rebuilt before each rinsing step, then the rinsing can be performed, but the laundry items are excessively stretched during ring formation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of allowing the ring to collapse and reform during rinsing (which causes stretching), the patent pulls the sleeves out of the ring during the rinsing phase. This preliminary positioning of sleeves outside the ring prevents stretching that would occur during ring reconstruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains the laundry ring structure throughout the washing and rinsing phases without complete collapse and reformation. By keeping the ring intact and pulling sleeves out, the system avoids the harmful stretching that occurs during repeated ring construction while still allowing effective rinsing.
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 method prevents the excessive stretching and potential damage of laundry items by maintaining the laundry ring's structure, ensuring that sleeves are not overstretched during dewatering, thus protecting the items from destruction.
Implementation Method 1
A rotating drum is driven at such a high speed that the items of laundry are pressed from the inside against the cylindrical surface of the drum by their centrifugal force.
Implementation Method 2
the washing additives still present in the washing liquid or main wash liquid give the laundry items a certain lubricity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The method involves flushing and dewatering laundry articles (10) in a rotatably driven drum (12) with different rotational speeds. The rotational speed of the drum is selected such that a rotatable laundry ring (24) is maintained in circumference of the drum during the wet processing. The articles are arranged in an inner side of an outer surface (13) of the drum until the termination of dewatering continuous. The rotational speed of the drum is reduced during flushing process, so that extension of the ring is maintained during the flushing of the articles.