Laundry care appliance with a controller and associated method for care of laundry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laundry care appliances lack the ability to accurately determine the absorbency of laundry, leading to oversaturation with washing liquid, increased detergent consumption, and higher heating energy usage.
Innovation Solution
A laundry care appliance with a tub, laundry drum, washing liquid supply device, pump, and volume detection system, where a controller gradually supplies washing liquid and pumps it back through a liquid line to achieve optimal saturation by detecting volumes not bound to the laundry, deactivating the supply when a volume limit is reached.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If washing liquid is supplied in large quantity to ensure effective laundry care, then laundry wetting is improved, but detergent consumption and heating energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism using a volume detection device to monitor the volume of washing liquid not bound to laundry. The controller continuously adjusts the washing liquid supply based on this feedback, comparing detected volumes against stored reference values to determine when optimal saturation is reached, thereby preventing oversaturation and reducing detergent consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the parameter of washing liquid supply volume based on detected conditions. By monitoring the volume of unbound washing liquid and comparing it against reference values, the controller adjusts the supply parameter in real-time to achieve optimal saturation without excessive detergent usage.
2Reliability
If washing liquid is supplied in large quantity to ensure effective laundry care, then laundry wetting is improved, but heating energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The volume detection device provides continuous feedback on the volume of unbound washing liquid, enabling the controller to precisely control the heating requirement. By stopping supply when the detected volume matches reference values indicating optimal saturation, the system minimizes the amount of washing liquid that requires heating, thereby reducing energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the washing liquid supply parameter based on detected conditions, changing from fixed quantity supply to variable quantity supply. This parameter change ensures that only the necessary amount of washing liquid is heated, optimizing energy efficiency while maintaining effective laundry care.
3Device complexity
If the absorbency of laundry is not known to the controller, then device complexity is reduced, but washing liquid supply accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the laundry to effectively determine its own absorbency characteristics through the volume detection device. By monitoring the volume of washing liquid not bound to the laundry and comparing it against stored reference values, the system allows the laundry to 'self-report' its saturation state, eliminating the need for the controller to have prior knowledge of absorbency while maintaining high supply accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for complex absorbency sensing mechanisms with a volume detection system. Instead of mechanically or sensorially determining laundry absorbency properties, the system uses volume measurement of unbound washing liquid combined with stored reference values to indirectly and accurately determine saturation state, simplifying the overall system while maintaining precision.
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
This method ensures controlled and resource-efficient washing by preventing oversaturation, reducing detergent and energy consumption, while ensuring optimal wetting and washing effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a pump which is designed to pump off washing liquid through the drain opening into the liquid line and to feed the pumped-off washing liquid back to the tub through the inlet opening
Implementation Method 2
a volume detection device for detecting a volume of no washing liquid bound to the laundry
Implementation Method 3
the laundry becomes increasingly saturated with wash liquid. With increasing saturation of the laundry with washing liquid, the washing liquid absorption capacity of the laundry is reduced, so that an increasing proportion of washing liquid is not bound by the laundry and flows off into the tub
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a laundry care appliance (100) with a tub (105) for receiving washing liquid, wherein the tub (105) has a drain opening (111) and an inlet opening (113) which are fluidically connected by a liquid line (115), a washing drum (107) for receiving laundry, a washing liquid supply device (129) for supplying washing liquid to the tub (105), a pump (117) which is configured to pump washing liquid through the drain opening (111) into the liquid line (115) and to supply the pumped washing liquid again to the tub (105) through the inlet opening (113) in order to wet the laundry in the washing drum (107), a volume sensing device (135) for sensing a volume (157-1, 157-2) of washing liquid not bound to the laundry, and a control system. (119) for controlling the pump (117) and the washing liquid supply device (129),wherein the controller (119) is configured to activate the washing liquid supply device (129) during a first time interval (147-1) and to supply a first quantity of washing liquid (149-1) to the washing tub (105), wherein the controller (119) is configured to activate the pump (117) during the first time interval (147-1) to pump the supplied washing liquid through the liquid line (115), wherein the volume sensing device (135) is configured to detect a first volume (157-1) of the washing liquid not bound to the laundry, wherein the controller (119) is configured to activate the washing liquid supply device (129) during a further time interval (147-2) following the first time interval (147-1) and to supply a further quantity of washing liquid (149-2) to the washing tub (105), wherein the controller (119) is to activate the pump (117) during the further time period (147-2),to pump the supplied washing liquid through the liquid line (115), wherein the volume detection device (135) is configured to detect a further volume (157-2) of the washing liquid not bound to the laundry, and wherein the control (119) is configured to deactivate the washing liquid supply device (129) after the further time interval (147-2) if the sum of the first volume (157-1) and the further volume (157-2) exceeds a volume limit (159).