Magnetic Drum Balancing for Quiet Washing Machine Spin Cycles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing washing machines experience mechanical vibrations and noise due to imbalances in the laundry drum during the washing process, which can lead to mechanical stress on the appliance and floor covering, and prior imbalance compensation methods are not fully effective in reducing these issues.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance with a laundry drum equipped with an imbalance compensation device featuring magnetic compensating elements and a magnetically interacting component, where the magnetic holding force is designed to release at a predetermined reference speed, allowing compensating elements to rotate freely and counterbalance imbalances without generating noise at lower speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If magnetic compensating elements are used to counterbalance laundry drum vibrations, then vibration reduction is improved, but noise is generated at lower speeds due to element movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical balancing system with a hybrid magnetic-mechanical system. Magnetic compensating elements interact with a magnetically interacting component to provide controlled magnetic holding force, substituting mechanical constraints with magnetic fields to reduce noise while maintaining vibration compensation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the compensating elements by introducing speed-dependent magnetic holding force. The magnetic force parameter is designed to maintain elements at lower speeds (reducing noise) and release at higher speeds (above reference speed), allowing the system to adapt its behavior based on rotational speed to optimize both noise and vibration performance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If compensating elements are allowed to move freely to counterbalance imbalances, then vibration compensation is improved, but mechanical noise increases due to element movement and impact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical constraints with magnetic fields by introducing a magnetically interacting component that generates magnetic holding force. This replaces physical mechanical retention mechanisms with a magnetic field-based system that holds compensating elements in position without mechanical contact, thereby eliminating impact noise while maintaining effective vibration compensation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If magnetic holding force is strong to retain compensating elements at low speeds, then element positioning is improved, but element detachment at higher speeds becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the magnetic holding force parameter to be speed-dependent, allowing the magnetic field strength to automatically adjust with rotational speed. The magnetic holding force is calibrated so that it strongly retains compensating elements at low speeds for stable positioning, while naturally decreasing or becoming overcome by centrifugal forces at higher speeds (above reference speed), enabling automatic element detachment without additional mechanical mechanisms.
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
The solution effectively reduces mechanical vibrations and noise by providing precise magnetic holding forces that detach at higher speeds, ensuring balanced operation and minimizing resonance-related disturbances, thereby enhancing the appliance's stability and reducing noise across various speeds.
Implementation Method 1
the magnetic compensating elements and the magnetically interacting component being designed with such a magnetic holding force in relation to one another that the compensation elements can be detached from the magnetically interacting component takes place only at a speed of the laundry drum greater than a predetermined reference speed
Implementation Method 2
the compensation elements can be detached from the magnetically interacting component takes place only at a speed of the laundry drum greater than a predetermined reference speed
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a domestic appliance (1) for caring for laundry items (31), comprising at least one laundry drum (3) for holding laundry items and at least one imbalance-compensating device (13, 14), which is arranged on the laundry drum (3) and which has a housing (18, 21), in which a plurality of compensating elements (20, 23, 27, 29, 32, 33) are movably contained, of which at least some are magnetic and, at least in some regions, are designed as permanent magnets, wherein the imbalance-compensating device (13, 14) has at least one magnetically interacting component (26, 30) for magnetically interacting with the magnetic compensating elements (20, 23, 27, 29), which magnetically interacting component is rotationally coupled to the laundry drum (3), wherein the magnetic compensating elements (20, 23) and the magnetically interacting component (26, 30) have such a magnetic holding force with respect to each other that the compensating elements (20, 23) are not released from the magnetically interacting component (26, 30) until a rotational speed of the laundry drum (3) is greater than a specified reference rotational speed UR of the laundry drum (3). The invention also relates to a method for operating a domestic appliance (1).