Laundry appliance with controls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laundry care devices face challenges in accurately adjusting turbidity sensors due to residual washing liquid from previous cycles, leading to measurement inaccuracies when fresh water is introduced, causing the turbidity detection to be influenced by contaminated washing liquid.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that utilize a pump and fresh water supply to remove residual washing liquid from the turbidity detection area, ensuring fresh water is used to set the zero value for the turbidity sensor, thereby minimizing contamination and achieving accurate calibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If fresh water is supplied to the tub without removing residual washing liquid first, then water consumption is reduced, but the turbidity sensor calibration becomes inaccurate due to contamination from residual washing liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is activated before fresh water is supplied to remove residual washing liquid from the tub. This preliminary action ensures that the tub is cleared of contaminated water before calibration begins, allowing for accurate turbidity sensor calibration with fresh water without excessive water consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump extracts and removes residual washing liquid from the tub before the fresh water supply element introduces fresh water for calibration. This separation ensures that contaminated water is removed before fresh water is used for setting the zero value, preventing contamination and ensuring accurate calibration.
2Measurement precision
If the pump is activated to remove residual washing liquid before calibration, then calibration accuracy is improved, but the device complexity and operation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pump serves multiple functions: it removes residual washing liquid during calibration, and it also performs drainage during normal washing operations. The fresh water supply element similarly serves both calibration and normal washing functions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional dedicated components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Productivity
If residual washing liquid is not removed before calibration, then the calibration process is simpler and faster, but the turbidity readings are influenced by contamination leading to inaccurate measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is activated in advance to remove residual washing liquid from the tub before fresh water is supplied for calibration. This preliminary removal action ensures that the calibration process can proceed quickly with uncontaminated water, maintaining both calibration speed and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration process is designed to flow continuously: the pump removes residual water, then fresh water is immediately supplied, and the turbidity sensor continuously monitors the process. This continuous action minimizes idle time and maintains calibration speed while ensuring accuracy through the removal of contaminated water.
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 approach ensures effective calibration of the turbidity sensor by eliminating the influence of contaminated washing liquid, providing accurate turbidity readings for controlling laundry care processes and minimizing water consumption.
Implementation Method 1
a pump (111) arranged in the drain line (107) and designed to pump washing liquid (103) from the tub (101) and through the drain line (107) from the laundry care appliance (100)
Implementation Method 2
a turbidity sensor (121) for detecting a turbidity of the washing liquid (103) received in the tub (101)
Implementation Method 3
a fresh water supply element (113) fluidically connected to the tub (101) and designed to supply fresh water to the tub (101)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a laundry care appliance (100) comprising a tub (101) for receiving washing liquid (103), a turbidity sensor (121) for detecting turbidity of the washing liquid (103) received in the tub (101), wherein the turbidity sensor (121) is arranged within a turbidity detection area located in the tub (101) or in a line communicating fluidically with the tub (101), a fresh water supply element (113) which is fluidically connected to the turbidity detection area and configured to supply fresh water (113-1) to the turbidity detection area, a drain line (107) which fluidly connects the turbidity detection area to a drain (109) of the laundry care appliance (100), and a pump (111) which is arranged and configured in the drain line (107).The washing liquid (103) is pumped from the turbidity detection area and through the drain line (107) out of the laundry care appliance (100), and a control unit (125) is connected to the fresh water supply element (113), the turbidity sensor (121), and the pump (111). The control unit (125) is configured to activate the pump (111) during a turbidity sensor calibration process to pump washing liquid (103) from the turbidity detection area into the drain line (107). The control unit (125) is also configured to activate the fresh water supply element (113) during the turbidity sensor calibration process to supply fresh water (113-1) to the turbidity detection area. The control unit (125) is designed to store, after the supply of fresh water (113-1) to the turbidity detection area, a turbidity of the washing liquid (103) detected by the turbidity sensor (121) in the turbidity detection area as a zero value for the turbidity sensor (121),to calibrate the turbidity sensor (121).