Laundry treatment appliance with a lye pump
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laundry care appliances often face issues with undissolved laundry care substances causing damage due to improper dosing, as these substances are not fully dissolved in the washing liquor, leading to potential discoloration and damage to laundry.
Innovation Solution
A laundry care appliance with a suds container and a drain pump system that actively pumps washing suds out and back into the tub, creating strong convection to dissolve undissolved residues, and uses a controller to manage the pumping process to prevent undissolved substances from re-entering the washing drum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If laundry care substance is placed in the dispensing bowl and water is supplied to wash it out, then the laundry care substance is fed to the tub, but undissolved residues can damage the laundry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating a pre-wash phase where water is supplied to the dispensing bowl to dissolve laundry care substance before it enters the washing drum. This preliminary dissolution step prevents undissolved residues from damaging the laundry during the main wash cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an intermediary approach by introducing a separate dispensing bowl and pre-wash water supply system as a mediator between the laundry care substance and the washing drum. This intermediary system ensures complete dissolution before the substance contacts the laundry.
2Productivity
If conventional pump-over system pumps suds out and back into tub, then suds are recirculated, but additional components are needed to prevent suds loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the tub seal component from the pump-over system by using a suds container positioned above the washing drum that receives suds through gravity. This extraction eliminates the need for seals and valves while maintaining the recirculation function, reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies equipotentiality by positioning the suds container and inlet opening at the same height level, allowing suds to flow back into the tub through gravity without requiring additional pumping components. This eliminates the need for complex sealing mechanisms.
3Productivity
If drain pump pumps suds out of suds container continuously, then suds are conveyed back into tub, but undissolved substances may contact laundry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by controlling the drain pump to operate in alternating phases: first pumping suds from the container to create strong convection for dissolution, then stopping to allow suds to settle and undissolved residues to separate. This periodic operation ensures dissolved substances contact the laundry while preventing undissolved residues from causing damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary action by creating a preliminary convection phase where the pump actively circulates suds to dissolve laundry care substances before the suds are allowed to contact the laundry. This preliminary dissolution step prevents undissolved residues from damaging the laundry.
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 effective dissolution of laundry care substances, preventing damage to laundry by maintaining undissolved residues out of the washing drum during the initial pumping phase and allowing safe washing without discoloration or damage.
Implementation Method 1
The advantageous dissolving of the laundry care substance is ensured by strong convection of the suds, which occurs when the suds actively flow through the suds pump, the strong convection being caused in particular by the high flow speeds of the suds on the pump impeller of the suds pump
Implementation Method 2
the strong convection being caused in particular by the high flow speeds of the suds on the pump impeller of the suds pump
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a laundry-care appliance (100), comprising a detergent-solution container (109) for holding detergent solution, wherein the detergent-solution container (109) comprises a drain opening (113) and an inlet opening (111), wherein the drain opening (113) is arranged below the inlet opening (111) and is connected to the inlet opening (111) by means of a line (115), wherein a detergent-solution pump (117) is arranged in the line (115), and comprising a controller (127) for controlling the detergent-solution pump (117). The controller (127) is designed to activate conveying operation of the detergent-solution pump (117) in a first time segment in order to pump detergent solution out of the detergent-solution container (109) through the drain opening (113) into the line (115) up to a detergent-solution level (131) in the line (115). The controller (127) is designed to stop the conveying operation of the detergent-solution pump (117) in a second time segment following the first time segment in order to transport the detergent solution out of the line (115) through the drain opening (113) back into the detergent-solution container (109).