Perforated Rotating Cage for Low-Water Particulate Fabric Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aqueous textile fabric washing processes face challenges in reducing energy, water, and detergent consumption while maintaining effective mechanical action, which is essential for efficient cleaning without causing fabric damage.
Innovation Solution
The development of an apparatus with a rotatably mounted cylindrical cage and a recirculation system that uses solid particulate cleaning media, such as polymeric particles, to promote continuous circulation and separation, reducing the need for high water levels and detergent usage, and allowing for efficient cleaning without the requirement for an outer drum skin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If higher water levels are used in the drum, then better mechanical action is achieved, but energy consumption increases due to heating requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts water from the washing system, replacing it with solid particulate cleaning material. This eliminates the need for large water volumes required for mechanical action, thereby removing the energy burden of heating extensive water while preserving the necessary mechanical cleaning forces through the particulate media and drum motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and form of the cleaning medium from liquid (water) to solid (particulate material). This parameter change fundamentally alters the relationship between water volume and mechanical action, allowing effective cleaning with minimal fluid while reducing the thermal energy required to heat the cleaning medium.
2Force
If higher water levels are used in the drum, then better mechanical action is achieved, but detergent dosage increases to maintain desired concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes water as the primary cleaning medium and replaces it with solid particulate material. This extraction of water eliminates the volume-based dilution effect, allowing detergent to be used in much smaller quantities since it is no longer dispersed in large water volumes but rather works in conjunction with the particulate media.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the cleaning medium from liquid to solid phase, the invention fundamentally alters detergent concentration dynamics. The particulate material provides a concentrated cleaning environment where detergent is more effectively utilized, reducing the total quantity needed while maintaining or enhancing cleaning performance.
3Force
If higher water levels are used in the drum, then better mechanical action is achieved, but water consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes water from the washing system, replacing it with solid particulate cleaning material. This eliminates the need for large water volumes that are required to provide mechanical action in conventional washing, thereby dramatically reducing water consumption while preserving cleaning effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the phase and form of the cleaning medium from liquid water to solid particulate material. This parameter transformation allows mechanical action to be achieved through the motion and interaction of solid particles with the fabric, eliminating the need for large water volumes and thus reducing water loss and consumption.
4Loss of substance
If solid particulate cleaning material is used, then water consumption is reduced, but device complexity increases due to recirculation system requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of cleaning, separation, and recirculation into an integrated system. The drum structure itself serves multiple purposes: it provides mechanical action, facilitates separation of particulate material from cleaned fabric through perforations, and enables recirculation of the cleaning media. This merging reduces overall device complexity despite the added recirculation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The drum and associated components are designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: washing, separating, and recirculating the solid particulate cleaning material. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby managing device complexity while enabling water reduction through particulate media usage.
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 cleaning with reduced energy, water, and detergent consumption, while minimizing fabric damage and allowing for the reuse of cleaning media, thereby offering economic and environmental benefits.
Implementation Method 1
pumping means, by virtue of which solid particulate material is transferred from said lower chamber to said cylindrical cage
Implementation Method 2
a rotatably mounted cylindrical cage
Implementation Method 3
fluids and solid particulate material are caused to fall through perforations in said rotatably mounted cylindrical cage into said second lower chamber
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed an apparatus and method for use in the cleaning of soiled substrates, the apparatus including housing means having a first upper chamber having mounted therein a rotatably mounted cylindrical cage and a second lower chamber located beneath the cylindrical cage; at least one recirculation means; access means; pumping means and a multiplicity of delivery means, wherein the rotatably mounted cylindrical cage includes a drum including perforated side walls wherein up to 60% of the surface area of the side walls includes perforations and the perforations include holes having a diameter of no greater than 25.0 mm. The method carried out by the apparatus involves cleaning a soiled substrate by treatment of the moistened substrate with a formulation including solid particulate cleaning material and wash water.