Vaporizing device for a laundry care device, laundry care device and method of vaporizing a liquid in a laundry care device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face uncertainty in recognizing the operation of laundry care appliances due to invisible ozone or hot air treatments, leading to potential incorrect operation and increased service requests, as there is no visual feedback on the treatment process.
Innovation Solution
An evaporation device integrated into the laundry care appliance that vaporizes a visible liquid, which is pumped into the treatment room, providing visual feedback to the user through a mist or fog, and is controlled by the appliance's control device to synchronize with the treatment program.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ozone treatment or hot air treatment is used for laundry hygiene, then germ-killing and disinfecting effects are achieved, but visual feedback for users is lost making it difficult to recognize treatment operation
Solution Approach 1:
A visible liquid (water or alcohol) is introduced as an intermediary substance that can be vaporized to create visible steam or vapor. This intermediary provides visual feedback to users while the actual disinfection is performed by the invisible ozone or hot air treatment, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining disinfecting effectiveness and providing visual information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the visual property of steam or vapor (phase change of liquid) to provide color/visibility changes in the treatment chamber. The visible white vapor makes the treatment process observable to users, addressing the information loss problem while the underlying ozone or hot air treatment continues to provide reliable disinfection.
2Device complexity
If no visual indication is provided during treatment, then the treatment process remains simple and invisible, but user uncertainty increases leading to incorrect operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces visual feedback through vaporization of liquid in the treatment chamber. Users can observe the steam or vapor to confirm the treatment is running, which builds user confidence and prevents incorrect operation. The feedback mechanism is simple (visible vapor) and does not significantly complicate the overall device structure.
3Loss of information
If a visible liquid is vaporized and supplied to the treatment room, then visual feedback is provided to users, but additional components (liquid tank, pump mechanism, collection container) increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The vaporization device is designed to be integrated into existing laundry care appliances, allowing the same system to serve multiple functions: the liquid tank can store both water for vaporization and serve as part of the existing fluid management system; the pump mechanism can handle both vapor transport and potentially other fluid movements in the appliance. This multi-functionality reduces the net increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The vaporization system components (liquid tank, evaporator, collection container, pump mechanism) are designed to be nested or integrated within the existing appliance structure. The liquid tank may be positioned within or adjacent to existing chambers, the pump mechanism can share mounting space with other components, and the collection container can be integrated into the existing fluid management architecture, thereby minimizing the overall space and complexity increase.
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
The evaporation device ensures users can visually confirm the running of the treatment program, reducing uncertainty and incorrect operation, while maintaining neutrality to laundry and appliance components, and optionally providing additional odor treatment.
Implementation Method 1
an evaporator (4) that is designed to vaporize the liquid
Implementation Method 2
The evaporator can preferably be designed to heat the liquid through direct contact and/or through radiation, in particular thermal radiation, and thereby to evaporate it
Implementation Method 3
a pump mechanism (8) that is designed to supply evaporated liquid from the collection container (6) to a treatment room (12)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to an evaporation device (1) for a laundry care appliance (24), comprising a liquid tank (2) filled and/or fillable with a liquid, an evaporator (4) designed to evaporate the liquid, a collection container (6) designed to receive the evaporated liquid, and a pump mechanism (8) designed to supply the evaporated liquid from the collection container (6) to a treatment chamber (12) of the laundry care appliance (24).