Laundry Drum Ventilation Using Siphon-Triggered Water Discharge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clothing washing apparatuses, such as drum washing machines, suffer from damp interiors post-washing, leading to bacterial growth and odor, and secondary pollution of subsequently washed clothes due to inadequate ventilation, with air inflow pipes prone to clogging.
Innovation Solution
A ventilation control method involving a U-shaped water inflow pipe with a siphon device and an air inflow fan to detect and clear water seals, ensuring effective ventilation by injecting water when necessary to trigger siphoning and discharge residual water, combined with an air inflow pipe featuring a foam overflow prevention member and air filtering to maintain dryness and prevent contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an air inflow pipe is used to ventilate the drum assembly, then the internal dryness is improved, but the air inflow pipe is easily clogged by water
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the water-blocking function from the ventilation path by introducing a separate siphon device connected to the water inflow pipe. This allows water to be removed through a different pathway than the air inflow pipe, preventing water clogging while maintaining ventilation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The siphon device acts as an intermediary between the water inflow pipe and the external environment. It mediates the removal of water from the system without interfering with the air inflow pipe's ventilation function, thus preventing water clogging while maintaining reliable ventilation.
2Reliability
If water is injected into the water inflow pipe to trigger siphoning, then the water seal is cleared and ventilation is improved, but additional control complexity is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The siphon device is designed to automatically activate when water reaches a certain level in the water inflow pipe, eliminating the need for external control mechanisms. The system self-regulates by using the water itself to trigger the siphoning effect, thus improving ventilation without adding control complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in water level parameters to trigger the siphon effect. When water reaches a critical height in the water inflow pipe, the siphon automatically activates, clearing the water seal and improving ventilation. This parameter-based triggering avoids complex control systems while maintaining effective ventilation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the drum assembly is ventilated after washing, then bacterial growth and odor are prevented, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The water inflow pipe and siphon device are designed to serve multiple functions: water supply during washing and water removal during ventilation. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve effective ventilation and prevent bacterial growth without adding separate dedicated components, thus controlling production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the water supply function and water removal function into a single integrated system using the water inflow pipe and siphon device. By combining these functions, the system achieves effective ventilation to prevent odor and bacterial growth without requiring additional separate components, thereby controlling manufacturing costs.
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
Ensures the drum assembly remains dry, preventing bacterial growth and odor, while avoiding secondary pollution without significant structural changes, improving user experience and safety, and reducing production costs.
Implementation Method 1
a siphon device connected with the water inflow pipe; the siphon device is arranged to be capable of discharging water in the water inflow pipe when the water in the water inflow pipe reaches a siphoning height
Implementation Method 2
an air inflow fan arranged in the air inflow pipe; acquiring a present current of the air inflow fan when the air inflow fan is turned on; ventilating the drum assembly
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 6
AI summary
A ventilation control method for a laundry device, which method is aimed at solving the problems of bacteria being prone to breeding and peculiar smells being easily generated, after clothes are washed in an existing laundry device, due to the extremely moist interior of a drum assembly thereof, and subsequently washed clothes being subjected to secondary pollution. In this regard, when an air intake fan (8) is started, the present current of the air intake fan (8) is acquired; if the present current of the air intake fan (8) reaches a pre-set current value, water is injected into a water intake pipe, so as to trigger a siphoning apparatus to discharge water from the water intake pipe, and a drum assembly is then ventilated; and if the present current of the air intake fan (8) does not reach the pre-set current value, the drum assembly is directly ventilated. After clothes are washed, residual water inside a drum assembly can be air-dried, such that the breeding of bacteria and the generation of peculiar smells are prevented, and clothes are not subjected to secondary pollution during subsequent washes, thereby improving the user experience.