Description

Washing machine with integrated warm- and cold water usage

Today´s washing machine are designed for using cold water, expensive electric power is needed every time
to heat up the soapsuds. If you want to use more cheaper warmed water or regenerative warmed water, then
this washing machines offers no possibility.

To use environmentally friendly warmed water for example from the gas central heater, you have to take a hose
or a bucket and fill it in to the washing machine by hand. This is not practically for every day use. Although many
washing machines would pump out the water, that was filled in this way, because the washing machines will
detect it as wrong placed. There are already external devices that switches from cold to hot water by a simple
time control (pa_script2.pdf and others), but this devices lead to more effort and they are also not able to deal
with the water that cooled down in warm water pipe.

This invention is about to create a system that makes a washing machine capable to use environmentally
friendly and cheaper warmed water from a central heater or from the solar collector.
The washing machine decides itself when using hot water and when cold water.
By this, a lot of energy and energy costs can be saved, without any loss of comfort.
An additional insulation of the washing chamber reduces warmth and noise emissions. The intelligent control
sets the right temperature automatically. The usage of the hot water intake is always preferred. If you choose a
40° C wash, then the control unit will use hot and cold water and mix it in the right way, so that you have 40°C in
the washing chamber. To achieve this, temperature and mass sensors are installed at the water intakes, so the
controlling unit can figure out in real time how many hot and how many cold water is necessary to have 40°C.
The result is 40°C temperature in washing chamber without any usage of electric power for heating. If you
choose an 95°C wash, then the control unit will use hot water and will see that in there are now 62°C in the
washing chamber, then the control unit will switch on the electric power and heat up to 95°C. If you choose a
cold wash, control unit of course will use only cold water. For rinsing process there is of course always cold
water is use. For all other washing temperatures the control unit will do it the same way.
By having temperature sensors at the water intakes, the control unit will notice at start if there is some cooled
down water in the hot water pipe ( because the hot water wasn´t in use the last hours). A bypass pipe within the
washing machine enables to let this cooled water through, until the temperature of the water has a suitable
temperature. - Then control unit switches off the bypass and let the hot water into the washing chamber.
In cases of defect central heater or similar control unit will notice that there is no increase of temperature at the
hot water pipe. Control unit will stop bypassing will proceed the wash with electrical power as far as the user
haven´t has allowed is. If not, washing machine will wait until for instance central heater maintenance is over.
The user can program the control unit – if the user is living in the 4 th level of an house and there is no circulation
system and a lot of cooled water is in the hot water pipe, so he can program, that there is very large amount of
cooled water to let through. (That amount would differ from the standard value of the control unit).
Facing low cost washing machines, then it would be possible to have less sensors in the washing machine. The
control unit, has to estimate more and do the right mix step by step. For good washing results it is not important
if there would be 43°C or 38°C, instead of exact 40°C for instance. A very useful feature is a washing program,
that will use the maximum temperature from the hot water pipe, without additional electric heating. For instance
“50°C/60°C” pipe max”. Control unit of course knows what the maximum temperature of the hot water is and will
always mix the wanted washing temperature.
As the insurance companies requires , there will be of course a version with external intake valves (Aqua Stop
System – prevents damages by defect hoses). For a material saving construction one main hose would also be
enough. For instance customers in Iceland have 100% renewable electric power. For those it doesn´t make
sense to use WW20, therefore WW20 features can also be switched off.

An example of the invention is given in figures 1-3, it shows:

Fig.1 : A washing machine with integrated hot- and cold water usage 3D illustration , front view
Fig.2 : A washing machine with integrated hot- and cold water usage 3D illustration , back view
Fig.3 : A washing machine with integrated hot- and cold water usage 3D illustration , with external intake valves
(Aqua Stop System), front view
a mindengine patent and design

Reference of signs
(1) hot water intake
(2) cold water intake
(3) insulation material
(4) bypass pipe
(5) water mass counters
(6) temperature sensors