Laundry Inlet Vapor Barrier With Ventilation Channel Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household appliances for laundry care face challenges in achieving a compact construction that integrates liquid flushing and ventilation effectively, often resulting in inefficient steam prevention and condensation during washing and drying processes.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance design featuring a dispensing bowl and a suds container connected via an inlet line with a vapor barrier device in a curved line section, incorporating a ventilation channel that separates from the supply channel at one end, allowing for a compact and space-efficient integration of water and air pathways, preventing steam escape and facilitating temperature equalization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If separate air and water pathways are integrated in one component, then device complexity is reduced and space is minimized, but manufacturing precision and assembly reliability become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet line is segmented into separate functional channels: a supply channel for liquid medium and a ventilation channel for air flow. These channels are physically separated within the same line section, allowing independent functionality while maintaining compact integration. The separation ensures that liquid and gas flows do not interfere with each other, resolving the manufacturing precision challenge through clear functional segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The ventilation channel is nested within the line section structure, with the supply channel also integrated in the same component. This nesting approach allows both channels to coexist in a compact arrangement, reducing overall device complexity and space requirements while maintaining the necessary separation between channels for reliable manufacturing.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a vapor barrier device is formed in the inlet line, then steam escape is prevented, but the risk of water condensation and freezing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation channel acts as an intermediary pathway that allows warm process air to flow through the inlet line section. This warm air serves as a mediator that prevents water condensation and freezing in the vapor barrier device while maintaining the steam escape prevention function. The ventilation channel enables thermal management without compromising the vapor barrier integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temperature parameter within the inlet line by introducing warm process air through the ventilation channel. This parameter change prevents water condensation and freezing in the vapor barrier device while maintaining effective steam prevention, resolving the contradiction between steam escape prevention and condensation risk.
3Productivity
If the ventilation channel opens at the first end of the line section, then ventilation efficiency is improved, but the structural complexity of the connection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation channel and supply channel are merged into a single integrated line section component. Both channels share the same connection structure at the first end, eliminating the need for separate connections and reducing overall structural complexity. This merging maintains ventilation efficiency by providing direct access at the first end while simplifying the connection architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The line section is designed as a multi-functional component that houses both the supply channel and ventilation channel. The connection at the first end serves both channels simultaneously, providing universal functionality that improves ventilation efficiency while reducing the number of separate connection points and overall structural complexity.
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 design effectively prevents steam from escaping from the tub, achieves reliable ventilation, and ensures mechanical stability, while allowing for targeted and efficient air and water management, thereby enhancing the appliance's performance during washing and drying cycles.
Implementation Method 1
A vapor barrier device is formed in a curved line section in the supply line
Implementation Method 2
ventilation in the area of the cold water inflow of the flushing tray is functionally achieved by the warm process air. This brings about temperature equalization and prevents water condensation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5~8
AI summary
The invention relates to a household appliance (1) for the care of laundry items, with a dispensing tray (8a) and a suds container (2), which is connected to the dispensing tray (8a) via at least one supply duct (4a, 4b), wherein a vapour barrier device (17a, 17b) is formed in a curved line section (18a, 18b) in the supply duct (4a, 4b), wherein a ventilating channel (22) is formed in the line section (18a, 18b) and opens into a first end (19) of the line section (18a, 18b) and is separated at the first end (19) from a supply channel (21), associated with the vapour barrier device (17a, 17b), for supplying liquid medium from the dispensing tray (8a) to the suds container (2).