Pitch-washing-controlled washing machine

Technischer Lösungsvorschlag A2017-006
Unternehmenseinheit: Diehl AKO Stiftung & Co. KG

Description:

A device is proposed to adjust the inclination of a washing machine drum.

An inclined drum offers two advantages that can be used separately: On the one hand, the unbalance can be reduced or the unbalance distribution is improved. Secondly, an inclined drum saves water and energy.

The aim is to minimize the unbalance mass or to guide it into a favourable position, as unbalance in washing machines generates high losses and vibrations. In some cases, the desired spin speed cannot be achieved due to unbalance. The imbalance caused by laundry distribution in the drum should therefore be minimized.

In washing machines, it matters where on the longitudinal axis of the drum the unbalance is located or whether the centre of gravity of the unbalance is at the front or the back. How strong the influence of an unbalance is depends on the damper system.

A suitable distribution of the laundry along the drum reduces the losses during spinning and reduces the mechanical stress caused by vibrations. However, the control of the drum does not yet allow the laundry to be distributed along the axis of rotation in order to reduce the imbalance in this way.

Another benefit of the special design of the invention is the saving of water and energy.

By tilting the longitudinal axis in a targeted manner, the distribution of the laundry can be evenly distributed during washing or this can be adjusted in a targeted manner. If an uneven distribution of the laundry is detected, for example by sensors, the drum can be tilted in the horizontal axis by actuators, such as an actuator by means of a spindle or by another targeted action on the adjustable dampers. This allows the centre of gravity of the laundry to be adjusted along the axis of rotation, for example towards the centre or to the rear.

By tilting the drum, both water and laundry are concentrated on a smaller part of the drum. At the same time, energy is saved during washing.

In this way, it is possible to influence the distribution of the laundry or the imbalance along the drum. The "tumbling" of the drum along the axis of rotation is minimized. As a result, less power is required and less power is absorbed during spinning. Furthermore, the mechanical load can be evenly distributed among the dampers and the unbalance movement can be specifically kept away from the sensitive front.

Normally the drum is hung horizontally in the washing machine. Now it may be that laundry is mainly on one side of the drum. (e.g. at the front due to loading at the front). If this laundry is also unevenly distributed around the circumference of the drum, an imbalance can occur that puts more strain on the dampers at the front than on the dampers at the rear. Large movements at the front also place greater demands on the sealing system at the front and on the door system and are therefore problematic.

In addition, an unfavourable unbalance distribution causes increased mechanical losses, which must be compensated for by higher electrical power.

To improve the situation, the drum can now be tilted in washing mode so that the laundry slides further back into the drum. This means that any imbalance is better controlled mechanically and less power is needed for spinning.

A further benefit would be achieved by being able to guide the laundry specifically near the removal opening at the end of the spin cycle, thus enabling better laundry removal for the user.

The inclination of the drum concentrates a small amount of laundry, for example in the rear area of the drum, which saves water because the laundry is sufficiently wetted even with a small amount of water. Water and energy-saving washing with a small amount of laundry is now possible despite a large washing machine / washing drum.

To save water and energy, the laundry (especially if there are only a few items) can be transported to the back. If the amount of water in the drum is low at the same time, the laundry is still surrounded by a sufficiently high water level to develop the washing effect. As the front area protrudes out of the water, this area is not braked and is virtually not used. The drum behaves like a drum that has been reduced in size for the small amount of laundry and has a smaller water volume.