Laundry Fastening Structure to Prevent Bedding Tangling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large laundry items such as bedding and clothing often twist, tangle, or wad during washing and drying, leading to inefficient cleaning and drying, appliance imbalance, and increased wear-and-tear, with no effective method to prevent these issues in existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
A novel laundry device with a center base and attachment system that secures multiple corners or portions of laundry items, using male and female elements to prevent twisting, tangling, and wadding, and includes materials that withstand various temperatures and laundry agents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large laundry items are laundered in washing machine or dryer, then cleaning and drying function is achieved, but the articles twist, tangle, ball, and wad preventing proper cleaning and drying
Solution Approach 1:
The laundry article is divided into multiple sections with coupling members distributed throughout its length. Each coupling member secures a specific section to prevent twisting and tangling, transforming the continuous fabric into segmented, controlled units that maintain proper configuration during laundering.
Solution Approach 2:
Coupling members act as intermediary elements between different sections of the laundry article. These members couple sections together at spaced intervals, preventing the fabric from twisting and tangling by maintaining controlled spacing and orientation between sections during the laundering process.
2Reliability
If consumers manually manipulate laundry loads to eliminate twists and tangles, then cleaning effectiveness improves, but time and energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling members are attached to the laundry article before laundering, performing the preventive function in advance. This preliminary action eliminates the need for manual manipulation during and after the washing cycle, as the articles are pre-configured to resist twisting and tangling throughout the entire laundering process.
3Productivity
If washing machine capacity is increased, then productivity improves, but twisting and tangling problems worsen
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the laundry article into multiple coupled sections, the invention enables larger items to be washed effectively in high-capacity machines. The segmented structure with spaced coupling members prevents excessive tangling even in large-capacity washers, allowing increased productivity without sacrificing article configuration.
4Use of energy by moving object
If high-efficiency washing machines are used, then energy consumption reduces, but off-balance operation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling members are pre-attached to the laundry article to maintain balanced distribution of weight and volume during washing. This preliminary configuration prevents off-balance operation in high-efficiency machines, ensuring stable operation throughout the energy-efficient washing cycle without requiring manual intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for attaching large articles of bedding such as bed sheets, blankets, duvet covers, comforters, and quilts, as well as other machine-washable large items such as sleeping bags, tablecloths, shower curtains, and shower curtain liners, in order to prevent or greatly reduce said articles from twisting, tangling, balling and/or wadding either independently or with each other in either or both the automatic washing machine or automatic clothes dryer. Exemplary fabric securing devices include a rigid base having keyholes and slit-holes, and flexible straps or tongues having a hollow post to engage a base keyhole and a crescent-shaped beveled edge to engage a base slit-hole.