Laundry Appliance Liquid Recirculation for Water Reuse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Most commercially available household laundry treating appliances dispose of extracted liquids without considering their suitability for reuse, resulting in potential water conservation and resource management inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A method for operating laundry treating appliances to estimate and conserve the amount of liquid for reuse by implementing a liquid recirculation system, where the liquid is extracted during spin cycles and stored for subsequent use, utilizing existing sensors and components to determine the volume of reusable liquid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If extracted liquid is disposed of through household drain, then disposal simplicity is maintained, but water conservation and resource management efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the appliance's existing pump and sensor components to automatically determine and manage liquid recirculation without requiring external intervention or additional complex control systems. The appliance serves itself by reusing its own extracted liquid through existing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Existing appliance components (pump, sensors, drainage system) are made to serve dual functions: original disposal function and new liquid recirculation function. This allows water conservation without adding dedicated specialized equipment.
2Loss of substance
If liquid recirculation system is implemented, then water waste is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discarding extracted liquid through the drain, the system recovers it by redirecting to a recirculation tank and back into the treating chamber. This recovers potentially reusable liquid while using existing components to minimize added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A recirculation tank serves as an intermediary component that temporarily stores extracted liquid before it is pumped back into the treating chamber. This simple intermediary enables liquid recovery without requiring complex direct recirculation piping.
3Quantity of substance
If existing sensors and components are utilized to determine liquid volume, then additional device cost is reduced, but measurement precision may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance uses its own existing level sensors and pump components to measure and track liquid volume in the recirculation tank. No external measurement equipment is needed, as the appliance's existing instrumentation serves the dual purpose of operation control and liquid volume monitoring.
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 allows for the efficient estimation and reuse of extracted liquid, reducing water waste and enabling its utilization in subsequent cycles or other household applications without requiring additional sensors or devices.
Implementation Method 1
The liquids are typically extracted between phases, such as by rotating at high speeds a drum holding the laundry
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a laundry treating appliance by capturing and reusing at least a portion of the liquid supplied during a cycle of operation.