Washer Water Softening Layout to Isolate Brine From the Drum
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current front-loading laundry washing machines with integrated water softening devices face complications due to the placement of the salt reservoir on the detergent drawer, leading to increased production costs, limited capacity, and potential brine leakage causing rust on metal components.
Innovation Solution
A redesigned laundry washing machine with a separate, accessible regeneration-agent reservoir and water supply circuit featuring a sprinkler head for gravity-fed water distribution, which simplifies the detergent dispenser structure and prevents brine from reaching the revolving drum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the salt reservoir is integrated on the detergent drawer, then the water softening function is achieved, but the detergent dispenser structure becomes complicated and production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the water softening system into separate components: the salt reservoir is separated from the detergent dispenser, and the ion exchange resin container is placed in a different location. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining the water softening function.
Solution Approach 2:
The salt reservoir is extracted from the detergent dispenser assembly and positioned as a separate accessible component. This extraction eliminates the structural complexity caused by integrating multiple functions into one unit, while the water softening capability is preserved through the separate resin container.
2Volume of stationary object
If the salt reservoir capacity is limited, then the device size is reduced, but brine leakage occurs during drawer extraction causing rust on metal components
Solution Approach 1:
The brine discharge path is extracted from the detergent drawer area and redirected to a separate drainage location. This prevents brine from contacting the metal components of the detergent dispenser and revolving drum, eliminating the rust problem while maintaining a compact salt reservoir design.
Solution Approach 2:
A dedicated drainage pathway acts as an intermediary between the salt reservoir and the washing tub area, channeling brine away from sensitive metal components. This intermediary pathway prevents direct contact between brine and the detergent dispenser structure.
3Ease of operation
If the salt reservoir is made accessible for user loading, then ease of operation is improved, but the detergent dispenser structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The salt reservoir is segmented from the detergent dispenser, with its own separate access point and loading mechanism. This allows users to access and load salt independently without interacting with the detergent dispenser structure, improving ease of operation while avoiding structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The salt reservoir access is extracted from the detergent drawer assembly and positioned as a separate user interface element. This extraction allows for simple, direct user access to the salt reservoir without requiring complex mechanisms or modifying the detergent dispenser structure.
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 solution reduces production costs, enhances accessibility for user loading, and prevents rusting of metal components by isolating the brine from the detergent dispenser and revolving drum.
Implementation Method 1
a first sprinkler head provided with a shower-making portion which is structured for feeding a shower of water droplets by gravity into said regeneration-agent container
Implementation Method 2
This water softening device uses ion-exchange resins to restrain calcium and magnesium ions (Ca++ an Mg++) dissolved in the tap water channeled to the washing tub
Implementation Method 3
Salt water, in fact, is able to remove from the ion-exchange resins the calcium and magnesium ions previously combined/fixed to said resins
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry washing machine includes an outer casing and, inside the casing, a washing tub arranged inside the casing directly facing a laundry loading/unloading opening realized in a front wall of said casing, a rotatable drum arranged in axially rotating manner inside the washing tub and structured for receiving the laundry to be washed, a detergent dispenser which is structured for supplying detergent into the washing tub, and a water softening device which is structured for reducing the hardness degree of the fresh water supplied to the washing tub. The water softening device includes a water-softening agent container filled with a water softening agent able to reduce the hardness degree of the fresh water supplied to the washing tub, a regeneration-agent reservoir which is structured to receive a salt or other regeneration agent for performing a regeneration of the water softening function of the water softening agents, and a water supply circuit which is structured for selectively spilling/pouring a given amount of fresh water into the regeneration-agent reservoir. The regeneration-agent reservoir includes a regeneration-agent container which is fillable with a given quantity of regeneration agents, and the water supply circuit includes a first sprinkler head provided with a shower-making portion which is structured for feeding a shower of water droplets by gravity into the regeneration-agent container.