Low pressure laundry treating appliance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional vapor compression distillation systems for water reclamation in laundry treating appliances are inefficient, requiring high operating temperatures, significant energy input, and expensive materials, with long start-up times and energy wastage, and produce distillate at unsuitable temperatures for immediate use.
Innovation Solution
A laundry treating appliance with a drum assembly featuring an outer drum with an infrared absorbing coating and a vacuum pump to create negative pressure between inner and outer drums, facilitating flash evaporation at or near room temperature, reducing the need for high heat and expensive materials, and allowing for efficient water reclamation and reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional vapor compression distillation is used for water reclamation, then water can be purified and reclaimed, but high operating temperatures and significant energy input are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating parameters from high temperature to low temperature operation by introducing a vacuum environment. The vacuum pump creates negative pressure in the interstitial space, allowing water to evaporate at or near room temperature instead of requiring high temperatures, thus reducing energy input while maintaining water reclamation efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a vacuum environment (inert atmosphere) in the interstitial space between the inner and outer drums. This vacuum environment enables flash evaporation of water from laundry items at low temperatures, eliminating the need for high-temperature heating while still achieving effective water purification and reclamation
2Quantity of substance
If traditional vapor compression distillation is used, then water evaporation can be achieved, but long start-up times and energy wastage occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pressure parameter by introducing a vacuum environment, which allows water to evaporate at or near room temperature. This eliminates the need for lengthy pre-heating periods required by traditional high-temperature systems, dramatically reducing start-up time while maintaining effective water evaporation rates
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum pump is activated before the heating phase to pre-establish the low-pressure environment. This preliminary action allows the system to skip the lengthy heating-up period, as water can immediately begin evaporating at low temperatures once the vacuum is established, reducing overall start-up time
3Quantity of substance
If high temperature operation is used for water reclamation, then evaporation can be promoted, but expensive materials are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating temperature parameter from high to low by introducing a vacuum environment. This allows evaporation to occur at or near room temperature, eliminating the need for expensive high-temperature resistant materials while maintaining effective evaporation efficiency through the pressure difference
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum environment (inert atmosphere) enables flash evaporation at low temperatures, removing the requirement for expensive heat-resistant materials that would be necessary in traditional high-temperature vapor compression distillation systems, thus reducing manufacturing costs
4Quantity of substance
If high temperature distillation is used, then water can be purified, but distillate is produced at unsuitable temperatures for immediate use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating temperature from high to low by using a vacuum environment. This produces distillate at or near room temperature, which is suitable for immediate reuse in laundry cycles, while still achieving effective water purification through low-temperature flash evaporation and condensation
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 solution reduces start-up time, eliminates the need for high-temperature materials, and produces distillate at room temperature, enabling efficient water reuse and reducing energy consumption and costs.
Implementation Method 1
The outer drum has an outer surface with an infrared absorbing coating and an infrared heater connected with the outer surface
Implementation Method 2
facilitating flash evaporation at or near room temperature
Implementation Method 3
a vacuum pump fluidly coupled to the interstitial space
Implementation Method 4
a cooling assembly fluidly coupled to the vacuum pump
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for a low pressure laundry treating appliance having a cabinet defining an interior, and a drum provided within the interior, the drum including at least an inner wall and an outer wall. Pressure differentiations and flash evaporation can enable drying without excess use of conventional heating methods.