Pressure sensitive passive laundry microplastic filtration
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorMuhammad KHIZAR
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This disclosure relates to a laundry appliance having a cylindrical drum rotating about an axis, equipped with a clothes mover with a pressure-sensitive material. This material may comprise a blend of ceramic grinding beads and transition metal or lanthanide-stabilized zirconium materials coated with poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate), which adheres to microplastics present in laundry items and water. The drum of the laundry appliance may include a curved portion and a rear wall portion, providing a receptacle for laundry processing, while the clothes mover captures microplastics during the laundry cycle.
Claims20
A laundry appliance comprising:
- a cylindrical drum rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation, the cylindrical drum including a drum wall defining a receptacle for receiving laundry items and water therein, the drum wall including a curved portion and a rear wall portion having an inner surface;
- at least one lifter on the inner surface and extending into the receptacle, the lifter defining a surface in contact with the laundry items and the water;
- and
- a pressure-sensitive coating applied to the surface of the lifter, the pressure-sensitive coating including a fused ceramic grinding bead combination of two or more transition metal or lanthanide-stabilized zirconium materials coated with poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate), wherein the pressure-sensitive coating adheres microplastics from the laundry items and water during a laundry cycle.
A laundry appliance comprising:
- a cylindrical drum rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation, the cylindrical drum including a drum wall defining a receptacle for receiving laundry items and water therein;
- an agitator disposed within the receptacle, the agitator defining a surface in contact with the laundry items and the water;
- and
- a pressure-sensitive coating applied to the surface of the agitator, the pressure-sensitive coating, including a fused ceramic grinding bead combination of two or more transition metal or lanthanide-stabilized zirconium materials coated with poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate), wherein the pressure-sensitive coating adheres microplastics from the laundry items and water during a laundry cycle.
A laundry appliance comprising:
- a cylindrical drum rotatable about an axis of rotation, the cylindrical drum including a drum wall defining a receptacle for receiving laundry items and water therein, the drum wall including a curved portion and a bottom portion having an inner surface;
- and
- at least one pressure-sensitive material-based clothes mover, comprising a fused ceramic grinding bead combination of two or more transition metal or lanthanide-stabilized zirconium materials coated with poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate), wherein the pressure-sensitive material-based lifter adheres microplastics from laundry items and water during a laundry cycle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.