Laundry treating appliance having a removable clothes mover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laundry treating appliances lack flexibility in mechanical energy delivery, often requiring separate machines for different laundry types and soil levels, leading to inefficiencies and increased energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A modular laundry treating appliance design featuring a rotatable drum with a clothes mover that can be configured with either an agitator or impeller, allowing users to select between high-energy agitator-based washing and low-energy impeller-based washing depending on laundry type and soil level, using a removable agitator that couples with an impeller to form a versatile clothes mover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional laundry treating appliance uses a fixed clothes mover configuration, then the structure is simple and reliable, but the adaptability to different laundry types and soil levels is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The clothes mover is divided into separate modular components: an impeller base and a removable agitator assembly. This segmentation allows users to configure the system differently based on laundry needs - using just the impeller for delicate items or combining with the agitator for heavy-duty washing, thus improving adaptability without requiring complete redesign of the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static, fixed configuration to a dynamic, reconfigurable setup. The removable agitator assembly can be attached or detached from the impeller base depending on the washing requirements, enabling the appliance to adapt its mechanical energy delivery characteristics dynamically based on laundry type and soil level.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate machines are used for different laundry types, then the adaptability is high, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The laundry treating appliance is designed with multi-functionality through the reconfigurable clothes mover system. A single appliance can perform multiple washing functions - gentle washing using only the impeller, and vigorous washing using the impeller-agitator combination - effectively replacing what would traditionally require separate machines for different laundry types, thereby reducing the number of devices needed while maintaining versatility.
3Reliability
If high mechanical energy is delivered for heavy soil removal, then the cleaning performance is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts mechanical energy delivery by allowing users to select appropriate clothes mover configurations based on soil level and laundry type. For lightly soiled items, the simpler impeller-only configuration consumes less energy while providing sufficient cleaning. For heavily soiled items, the full impeller-agitator system delivers high mechanical energy for superior cleaning performance, thus optimizing the balance between cleaning effectiveness and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by using only the necessary mechanical energy component for each washing task. Instead of always deploying the full high-energy agitator system, users can employ just the impeller for gentle washing needs, consuming less energy. The agitator is added only when excessive mechanical energy is required for heavy-duty soil removal, avoiding unnecessary energy expenditure for lightly soiled laundry.
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry items according to an automatic cycle of operation can include a cabinet defining an interior and having an access opening providing access to the interior. A tub can be located within the interior and can at least partially define a liquid chamber. A drum is rotatably mounted within the liquid chamber and at least partially defines a treating chamber. A clothes mover is located within the treating chamber and rotatable about a vertical axis. The clothes mover can include a base and a barrel.