Laundry Rinsing With Pre-Wetting for Selective Bleach Delivery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry treating appliances lack an automatic system to dispense bleach selectively during the rinsing phase, requiring manual user intervention.
Innovation Solution
A clothes washer design with separate flow paths for water and bleach application, using a spray nozzle for initial wetting and a dispensing nozzle for applying a bleach solution, allowing user control over bleach usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single dispensing system is used for both water and bleach, then the device structure is simpler, but the user cannot control bleach usage selectively and the application precision is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing system is divided into separate flow paths: a first flow path for water delivery and a second flow path for bleach delivery. This segmentation allows independent control of each chemical, enabling users to selectively apply bleach while maintaining simple operation through separate control mechanisms for each dispensing path.
Solution Approach 2:
A controller acts as an intermediary between the user and the dispensing system, receiving user input and automatically activating the appropriate flow path (water or bleach) through electronic control signals. This mediator enables precise user control without requiring direct manual intervention in the complex valve and pump system.
2Manufacturing precision
If bleach is applied directly to dry laundry, then the application process is shorter, but the bleach distribution is uneven and effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary wetting of the laundry by delivering water through the first flow path before applying bleach through the second flow path. This preliminary action ensures the laundry is adequately moistened to receive uniform bleach distribution, improving effectiveness without significantly extending the total rinsing time due to automated sequence control.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing system uses periodic, sequenced delivery cycles where water is delivered in controlled intervals followed by bleach delivery in subsequent intervals. This periodic action pattern ensures thorough wetting before bleach application and maintains efficient time management through automated timing control.
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
Enables automatic and controlled application of bleach during the rinsing phase, ensuring all laundry areas are wetted before bleach application, allowing users to decide on bleach usage per cycle.
Implementation Method 1
spraying the laundry load with water to form a wetted laundry load
Implementation Method 2
applying a bleach solution to the wetted laundry load
Data Source
AI summary
A cycle of operation for a laundry treating appliance having a rotatable treating chamber for receiving a laundry load including a washing phase having an application of a treating chemistry to the laundry load to separate soils from the laundry load, an extracting phase having a centrifugal extraction of at least some of the treating chemistry from the laundry load, and a rinsing phase having a spraying of an amount of rinse water onto the laundry load to evenly wet the laundry load to form a wetted laundry load and an applying of a bleach solution to the wetted laundry load.