Moveable laundry treatment apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Stow away washing machines in urban dwellings face challenges in stabilization and leveling due to uneven floors and the inconvenience of adjusting multiple screws for leveling, leading to potential movement during operation.
Innovation Solution
A laundry treatment apparatus with a base equipped with swivel casters, including braked and vertically adjustable casters, and a linkage system that allows for easy leveling and stabilization by locking the casters to prevent movement, ensuring the machine rests firmly on the floor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a stow away washing machine is provided with wheels for easy moving, then the ease of operation is improved, but the stability of the machine during operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The washing machine employs a dynamic base structure that can transition between mobile and stable states. The base includes retractable wheels that can be extended for moving the machine and retracted for stable operation, allowing the machine to adapt its configuration based on the operational phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The machine uses adjustable leveling feet that can be extended or retracted to change the contact parameters with the floor. This allows the machine to compensate for uneven floors and achieve stable positioning when the wheels are retracted, while maintaining ease of movement when wheels are extended.
2Volume of moving object
If the washing machine is designed to be compact for storage, then the volume is reduced, but the ability to level on uneven floors deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The base structure incorporates dynamically adjustable elements including extendable leveling feet and retractable wheels. These components can be deployed when needed for leveling or moving, and retracted when not needed, allowing the compact machine to achieve stable positioning on uneven floors without permanently increasing its storage footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling feet and wheels are designed to nest within the compact base structure when not in use. The leveling feet can be retracted into the base, and the wheels can be stored within the frame, maintaining a small storage footprint while providing full leveling capability when deployed.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple leveling screws are provided for precise leveling, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to the complexity of adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The machine combines multiple leveling functions into a single integrated mechanism. The adjustable base includes coordinated leveling feet that can be simultaneously adjusted through a unified system, eliminating the need for users to manually adjust multiple independent screws and simplifying the leveling process while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The base structure incorporates self-leveling features that automatically compensate for floor unevenness. The adjustable feet and mechanical linkages are designed to self-adjust during the leveling process, reducing the manual intervention and complexity required from the user while achieving precise leveling.
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry treatment apparatus including a plurality of swivel casters. Two of the swivel casters are braked swivel casters. One of the swivel casters other than the braked swivel casters is a vertically adjustable swivel caster. The braked swivel casters restrain translational movement of the laundry treatment apparatus across a floor. The vertically adjustable swivel caster can help fix the position of the laundry treatment apparatus so as to restrain rocking and twisting of the laundry treatment apparatus.