Washing Machine Drum Partition Plate for Laundry Entanglement Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Washing machines fail to prevent entanglement of long linen products during washing and drying, making it difficult to remove dried laundry, and insufficiently remove stains due to limited beat-washing operations.
Innovation Solution
A washing machine with a cylindrical drum divided by a partition plate that rotates alternately in two directions to scoop and slide laundry, increasing the rotation angle to prevent entanglement and enhance cleaning efficiency, and incorporating ribs on the partition plate to reduce contact area and prevent rolling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drum is rotated at high speed to spin-dry linen products, then drying efficiency is improved, but the linen products become more entangled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic alternation between high-speed rotation for spin-drying and reverse rotation for untangling. The drum rotates at high speed to achieve efficient drying, then periodically reverses direction to prevent and remove entanglement. This periodic action maintains high productivity while addressing the entanglement issue.
2Ease of operation
If a partition plate is added to divide the drum into two compartments to reduce entanglement, then laundry removal becomes easier, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the drum into two separate washing compartments using a partition plate. This segmentation allows laundry in each compartment to be washed and dried independently, reducing overall entanglement. The simple vertical partition structure achieves this division without adding complex mechanical components.
3Ease of operation
If the partition plate is rotated to a large angle to allow laundry to slip down and prevent entanglement, then laundry removal is improved, but the beat-washing effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The partition plate periodically alternates between small angles for beat-washing and large angles for preventing entanglement. During beat-washing phases, the partition plate maintains a small angle to effectively beat and clean stains. During drying phases, it rotates to a large angle to allow laundry to slip down and prevent entanglement. This periodic alternation resolves the contradiction between the two opposing requirements.
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 allows for easy removal of dried laundry by preventing entanglement and improving stain removal through increased cleaning efficiency by ensuring laundry slips down and is beaten effectively, reducing the time and effort required for laundry handling.
Implementation Method 1
the partition plate is configured to be rotated in the first direction to an angle that allows a first wash as a portion of the laundry in the first washing compartment to be scooped up from the cleaning fluid with use of a first end of the partition plate and slip down along the partition plate
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
There is provided a washing machine including a drum for receiving laundry which washing machine not only prevents the laundry from becoming entangled in a complicated manner when the drum is rotated, but also beat-washes the laundry sufficiently. The washing machine includes a partition plate that is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the drum and that divides the internal space of the drum into two washing compartments. The drum receives two washes in the respective washing compartments, and is rotated while reversing its rotation direction repeatedly. The partition plate (drum) is rotated counterclockwise to an angle within a predetermined range and clockwise to an angle within a predetermined range. This allows the washing machine to repeat an operation of causing one of the two washes to slip down from a high position to be beat-washed and the other wash to be immersed in cleaning fluid for stain decomposition.