Misting chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing domestic appliances and drying apparatuses face challenges in providing a large contact surface area between hygroscopic liquids and air to be dried, and effectively recollecting and re-supplying the liquids, leading to inefficient drying times due to the formation of small droplets that are difficult to separate from dried air.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of nozzles for atomizing or sprinkling hygroscopic liquids in the contact chamber, combined with a pressure-generating unit or pump, creates a large active surface area, allowing for effective and rapid drying by distributing the liquid as drizzle, mist, or vapor, and utilizing rotatable and fan-type nozzles for thorough mixing with drying air, along with separate contact chambers for varying drying conditions and droplet sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hygroscopic liquid is used to dry air in a contact chamber, then drying effectiveness is improved, but the liquid forms small droplets that are difficult to separate from the dried air
Solution Approach 1:
The contact chamber is divided into multiple zones: a first contact chamber where liquid is atomized into fine droplets for effective drying, and a second contact chamber where coarser droplets are generated for easier separation. This segmentation allows different droplet sizes to serve different functions - fine droplets maximize drying efficiency while coarser droplets facilitate separation.
Solution Approach 2:
A separator is introduced as an intermediary component between the two contact chambers. This separator removes the fine droplets from the dried air stream before the air exits the system, effectively mediating the transition from fine droplet generation to droplet removal and solving the separation difficulty problem.
2Productivity
If a large contact surface area is provided between hygroscopic liquid and air, then drying efficiency is improved, but the structural complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
A pump is used to generate pressure and circulate the hygroscopic liquid through the system. This hydraulic approach enables the liquid to be delivered under pressure to atomization nozzles, creating a large contact surface area efficiently without requiring excessively complex structural arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of the hygroscopic liquid by controlling its temperature and pressure. The liquid is heated and pressurized before atomization, which optimizes its drying performance and allows for efficient heat exchange in the contact chambers without requiring excessive surface area.
3Productivity
If the hygroscopic liquid is recirculated from storage depot through pump, then liquid utilization is improved, but the pump requires additional power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The system recovers and recirculates the hygroscopic liquid from the storage depot back through the contact chambers and pump. This closed-loop approach maximizes liquid utilization by repeatedly using the same liquid for drying operations, and the recovered liquid is reheated and repressurized for continued use, reducing the need for fresh liquid supply.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump serves multiple functions: it circulates the hygroscopic liquid from storage, delivers it to the atomization system, and maintains pressure throughout the recirculation loop. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate pumping systems and optimizes energy utilization.
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 enables efficient and rapid drying by ensuring thorough mixing and separation of hygroscopic liquids from drying air, optimizing the contact space and reducing drying time through uniform distribution and efficient utilization of the contact area.
Implementation Method 1
at least one nozzle for atomizing the hygroscopic liquid in the contact chamber
Implementation Method 2
a contact chamber in which a hygroscopic liquid comes into contact with a drying air stream to be dried
Implementation Method 3
a pressure-generating unit or pump for applying pressure to the hygroscopic liquid
Implementation Method 4
at least one rotatable nozzle and/or at least one fan-type nozzle... allows advantageous mixing, possibly eddying, with the drying air
Data Source
AI summary
The invention proposes a domestic appliance having a drying apparatus, such as a dishwasher, a tumble dryer, a washing machine or the like, wherein the drying apparatus (8) has a contact space (8, 14) for establishing contact between drying air which originates from a working space (11) in the domestic appliance and a hygroscopic liquid (4) which is provided for drying purposes, in which domestic appliance effective drying is possible in a comparatively short time. According to the invention, this is achieved in that at least one nozzle (15, 16) for atomizing the hygroscopic liquid (4) in the contact chamber (8, 14) and/or for sprinkling the hygroscopic liquid (4) in the contact chamber (8, 14) is provided.