Shoe Dryer with Camera-Based Air Direction Control for Uniform Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shoe dryers often inadequately dry the toe portion of shoes due to air being blown in the same direction regardless of the shoe's position, leading to insufficient drying or excessive drying when temperature or wind volume is increased.
Innovation Solution
A shoe dryer with a camera that captures images of the shoe to determine the position of the shoe's mouth portion and adjusts the direction of air blown by the blowing unit to target the center of the mouth portion, ensuring efficient drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If air is blown in the same direction regardless of the shoe's position, then the blowing unit structure is simple, but the toe portion of the shoe is insufficiently dried
Solution Approach 1:
The blowing unit is made rotatable to dynamically adjust its blowing direction based on the detected shoe position, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one that can adapt to different shoe orientations, thereby achieving uniform drying without increasing structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses image recognition to detect shoe position and provides feedback to control the rotation of the blowing unit, creating a closed-loop control system that automatically adjusts the blowing direction to match the shoe's actual position, ensuring precise and uniform drying
2Productivity
If the temperature of air blowing is increased, then the drying speed is improved, but the shoe may be excessively dried
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different blowing conditions to different regions of the shoe by adjusting the blowing direction to match the shoe's actual position, ensuring that air is concentrated on undried areas like the toe portion while avoiding already dried areas, thus achieving uniform drying without excessive heat exposure
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable blowing unit dynamically adjusts its direction based on real-time shoe position detection, allowing the system to maintain high drying efficiency by concentrating air flow on undried areas while preventing excessive drying in already treated areas
3Productivity
If the wind volume is increased, then the drying efficiency is improved, but the shoe may be excessively dried
Solution Approach 1:
The system concentrates high-volume air flow precisely on the undried toe portion by adjusting the blowing direction according to shoe position, rather than dispersing it uniformly, thereby achieving high drying efficiency without causing excessive drying in already dried areas
Solution Approach 2:
The image recognition system continuously monitors shoe position and provides feedback to adjust the blowing unit's direction, ensuring that high wind volume is always directed at the correct location (toe portion), maximizing drying efficiency while preventing damage to already dried areas
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
Prevents shoes from being insufficiently or excessively dried by precisely directing air to the toe area, improving drying efficiency and effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a camera configured to obtain an image of the shoe by photographing the shoe received in the shoe receiving portion
Implementation Method 2
a blowing unit configured to blow air toward the shoe received in the shoe receiving portion
Data Source
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AI summary
A shoe dryer including a main body, a shoe receiver provided inside the main body and configured to receive a shoe, a blower configured to blow air toward the shoe received in the shoe receiving portion, a camera configured to obtain an image of the shoe by photographing the shoe received in the shoe receiver, and a control device configured to recognize information about the shoe from the image of the shoe obtained by the camera, and control a direction of air blown by the blower based on the information about the shoe.