Fabric revitalizing system and treatment appliance

Abstract

An appliance comprises a rotatable drum; at least one opening into the drum; a closure adapted to selectively close the opening to the drum; a low absorbency textured surface disposed on at least one of the inside surface of the drum and the closure; a motor in driving engagement with the drum and configured to selectively rotate the drum and cause movement of the fabric load within the drum; a fluid delivery system in fluid communication with the interior of the drum; and a fluid removal system in fluid communication with the interior of the drum.

1 . An appliance for treating a fabric load, the appliance comprising:
 a rotatable drum having an inside surface defining an interior for holding the fabric load;   at least one opening into the drum for enabling user access to the interior of the drum;   a closure adapted to selectively close the opening to the interior of the drum;   a low absorbency textured surface disposed on at least one of the inside surface of the drum and the closure;   a motor in driving engagement with the drum and configured to selectively rotate the drum and cause movement of the fabric load within the drum;   a fluid delivery system in fluid communication with the interior of the drum; and   a fluid removal system in fluid communication with the interior of the drum.   
   
   
       2 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the low absorbency textured surface is substantially non-absorbant. 
   
   
       3 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the drum comprises a plurality of baffles disposed along at least one surface defining an interior circumference of the drum, wherein the textured surface comprises a textured substrate surface disposed on at least one of the plurality of baffles. 
   
   
       4 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the motor is configured to selectively drive the drum in opposite directions. 
   
   
       5 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a particulate removal system in communication with the interior of the drum, wherein the particulate removal system comprises a lint filter. 
   
   
       6 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the low absorbency textured surface comprises a textured substrate. 
   
   
       7 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the low absorbency textured surface comprises a textured surface on at least one surface selected from a group consisting of: a front wall of the drum, a back wall of the drum, an interior circumference of the drum, an interior surface of the closure, a baffle extending inwardly from the inside surface of the drum, and a depression in the inside surface of the drum. 
   
   
       8 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the textured surface comprises a structural attribute comprising at least one member selected from a group consisting of: a plurality of directional fibers, an open cell structure, a closed cell structure, a plurality of break-away particulate surface substructures, a plurality of microparticulate substructures, a textured substrate, and a coating. 
   
   
       9 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the textured surface is in the form of an insert mounted on at least one surface selected from a group consisting of: a front wall of the drum, a back wall of the drum, an interior circumference of the drum, an interior surface of the closure, a baffle extending inwardly from the inside surface of the drum, and a depression in the inside surface of the drum. 
   
   
       10 . The appliance of  claim 9  wherein the insert is selected from a group consisting of: a removable pad, a permanently attached pad, a removable pad liner with a covering, and a permanently attached pad liner with a covering. 
   
   
       11 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises at least one of a sprayer, an injector, a capillary channel, a vortex tube, a device with means for fluid displacement due to chemical reactions, and a nebulizer. 
   
   
       12 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises at least one of a nebulizer, a pump, and a sanitization system. 
   
   
       13 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid removal fluid system comprises a vacuum system. 
   
   
       14 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a means for controlling the moisture level in the fabric. 
   
   
       15 . The appliance of  claim 14  wherein the means for controlling the moisture level in the fabric further comprises a refrigerant system. 
   
   
       16 . The appliance of  claim 1  further comprising a sanitization system. 
   
   
       17 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid removal system comprises at least one of a heater, a fan, a variable speed fan, an air compressor, an air source, an air tank, an air pump, a condenser system, a desiccant system, a steam drying system, an electrostatic drying system, a microwave drying system, a conduction drying system, a convection drying system, and a radiation drying system. 
   
   
       18 . The appliance of  claim 1  where in the fluid removal system comprises a heater and an air flow system. 
   
   
       19 . The appliance of  claim 18  wherein the heater has at least one heating element in fluid communication with the air flow system, and wherein the heater and the air flow system are in fluid communication with the interior of the drum. 
   
   
       20 . The appliance of  claim 18  wherein the air flow system comprises a fan motor and a blower fan, wherein the fan motor is in mechanical communication with the blower fan to drive the blower fan, and wherein the blower fan is in fluid communication with the interior of the drum to generate an air flow through the interior of the drum. 
   
   
       21 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid removal system comprises a sensor detecting at least one of temperature, pressure, force, torque, inertia, frequency, acceleration, mass, humidity, vapor, moisture, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, electrical conduction, enzyme, aqueous vapor, non-aqueous vapor, turbidity, optical spectrum, ultrasonic, shaped electronic field, float, laser deflection, chemical, petro-chemical, electric field imaging, capacitance, resistance, pH, non-dispersive infrared, acoustic wave, and oxidation reduction potential. 
   
   
       22 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface to selectively control the operation of the motor, the fluid delivery system, and the fluid removal system. 
   
   
       23 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the drum is imperforate. 
   
   
       24 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a recirculation system for recirculating fluids removed from the interior of the drum back into the interior of the drum. 
   
   
       25 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a stain pre-treatment module. 
   
   
       26 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a sanitizing module. 
   
   
       27 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising an alternative chemistry module permitting resetting the appliance to operate with a first or a second preselected revitalizing chemistry. 
   
   
       28 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the low absorbency textured surface comprises a pad, and the fluid delivery system comprises a fluid dispensing means associated with the pad to dispense fluid from the pad. 
   
   
       29 . The appliance of  claim 28  wherein the fluid dispensing means comprises an inner reservoir for wicking fluid through the pad to dispense fluid from the pad. 
   
   
       30 . The appliance of  claim 28  wherein the fluid is impregnated on the pad. 
   
   
       31 . The appliance of the  claim 30  wherein the fluid is a micro-encapsulated perfume. 
   
   
       32 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising an air flow system configured to generate an air flow through the interior of the drum and comprising an ionizer configured to ionize the air flow. 
   
   
       33 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising an air flow system configured to generate an air flow through the interior of the drum, wherein the appliance can be operated as a conventional clothes dryer. 
   
   
       34 . The appliance of  claim 33  wherein the air flow system can be used to at least one of: (a) dry a wet load of clothes and then revitalize the clothes and (b) revitalize an initially dry load of clothes. 
   
   
       35 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a steamer. 
   
   
       36 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a vapor insertion system. 
   
   
       37 . The appliance of  claim 1  wherein the appliance components are disposed in a plurality of modules wherein at least one of the modules is a drying module and at least one other of the modules is selected from a group consisting of: a stain pretreatment module, a sanitizing module, and an alternative chemistry module. 
   
   
       38 . The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a particulate removal system in communication with the interior of the drum, wherein the particulate removal system comprises a filter selected from:
 a locked down sealed edge filter;   a filter for at least one of a vapor, a fog, and a colloidal suspension;   an electrostatic filter;   a filter impregnated with a catalyst for producing at least one of a species and radical for cleaning;   a filter impregnated with a reactant to chemically treat a substance present in air;   a neutralizing filter to remove a previous treatment, and   an air permeable matrix having a plurality of pores with a greatest pore dimension in a range from about 0.10 micron to about 1500 microns.   
   
   
       39 . An appliance for revitalizing fabrics, the appliance comprising:
 an enclosure;   a bi-directional rotatable drum mounted within the enclosure and comprising an inside surface defining an interior for holding a fabric load;   at least one opening into the drum for enabling user access to the interior of the drum;   a closure adapted to selectively close the at least one opening to the interior of the drum;   a motor in driving engagement with the drum to selectively rotate the drum and cause movement of the fabric load;   a fluid delivery system disposed within the enclosure and in fluid communication with the interior of the drum; and   a fluid removal system disposed within the enclosure and in fluid communication with the interior of the drum.   
   
   
       40 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the motor is selectively operable to rotate the drum in opposite directions so as to cause movement of the fabric load. 
   
   
       41 . The appliance of  claim 40  wherein the motor is selectively operable at a plurality of speeds to rotate the drum in the opposite directions and at variable speeds so as to cause movement of the fabric load. 
   
   
       42 . The appliance of  claim 40 , further comprising a low absorbency textured surface disposed within the drum. 
   
   
       43 . The appliance of  claim 42  wherein the low absorbency textured surface is substantially non-absorbant. 
   
   
       44 . The appliance of  claim 42  wherein the low absorbency textured surface is disposed on the inside surface of the drum. 
   
   
       45 . The appliance of  claim 42 , wherein the drum comprises a plurality of baffles disposed along at least one surface defining an interior circumference of the drum, wherein the textured surface comprises a textured substrate surface disposed on at least one of the plurality of baffles. 
   
   
       46 . The appliance of  claim 42  wherein the low absorbency textured surface comprises a textured substrate. 
   
   
       47 . The appliance of  claim 42  wherein the low absorbency textured surface comprises a textured surface on at least one surface selected from a group consisting of: a front wall of the drum, a back wall of the drum, an interior circumference of the drum, an interior surface of the closure, a baffle extending inwardly from the inside surface of the drum, and a depression in the inside surface of the drum. 
   
   
       48 . The appliance of  claim 42 , wherein the textured surface comprises a structural attribute comprising at least one member selected from a group consisting of: a plurality of directional fibers, an open cell structure, a closed cell structure, a plurality of break-away particulate surface substructures, a plurality of microparticulate substructures, a textured substrate, and a coating. 
   
   
       49 . The appliance of  claim 42  wherein the textured surface is in the form of an insert mounted on the inside surface of the drum. 
   
   
       50 . The appliance of  claim 49  wherein the insert is selected from a group consisting of: a removable pad, a permanently attached pad, a removable pad liner with a covering, and a permanently attached pad liner with a covering. 
   
   
       51 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises at least one member selected from a group consisting of: a sprayer, an injector, a capillary channel, a vortex tube, a device with means for fluid displacement due to chemical reactions, and a nebulizer. 
   
   
       52 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises:
 a nebulizer assembly in fluid communication with the interior of the drum so that the nebulizer assembly provides a mist to the fabric load during operation of the nebulizer assembly, and a transitional assembly interposed between the nebulizer assembly and the interior of the drum such that the nebulizer communicates with the interior of the drum through the transitional assembly.   
   
   
       53 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a nebulizer, a pump, and a sanitization system. 
   
   
       54 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid removal fluid system comprises a vacuum system. 
   
   
       55 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a means for controlling a moisture level in the fabric. 
   
   
       56 . The appliance of  claim 55  wherein the means for controlling the moisture level in the fabric comprises a refrigerant system. 
   
   
       57 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a stain pretreatment station external to the drum. 
   
   
       58 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a sanitizing system. 
   
   
       59 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid removal system comprises at least one of a heater, a fan, a variable speed fan, an air compressor, an air tank, an air pump, a condenser system, a desiccant system, a steam drying system, an electrostatic drying system, a microwave drying system, a conduction drying system, a convection drying system, and a radiation drying system. 
   
   
       60 . The appliance of  claim 39 , where in the fluid removal system comprises a heating system and an air flow system. 
   
   
       61 . The appliance of  claim 60 , wherein the heating system has at least one heating element in fluid communication with the air flow system, and wherein the heating system and the air flow system are in fluid communication with an inlet to the enclosure, the interior of the drum, and an outlet of the enclosure. 
   
   
       62 . The appliance of  claim 60  wherein the air flow system comprises a fan motor and a blower fan, wherein the fan motor is in mechanical communication with the blower fan to drive the blower fan, and wherein the blower fan is in fluid communication with the interior of the drum to generate an air flow through the interior of the drum. 
   
   
       63 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid removal system comprises a heater control adapted to limit the temperature of the fabric load to below about 145° F. 
   
   
       64 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid removal system has at least two sets of heating elements, wherein at least one of the sets of heating elements is adapted to rapidly raise the temperature of the fabric load to a predetermined temperature level and at least one other of the sets of heating elements is adapted to provide continued heating of the fabric load after the predetermined temperature level has been reached. 
   
   
       65 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid removal system comprises a sensor detecting at least one of temperature, pressure, humidity, vapor, force, acceleration, mass, torque, inertia, frequency, moisture, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, electrical conduction, enzyme, aqueous vapor, non-aqueous vapor, turbidity, optical spectrum, ultrasonic, shaped electronic field, float, laser deflection, chemical, petro-chemical, electric field imaging, capacitance, resistance, pH, non-dispersive infrared, acoustic wave, and oxidation reduction potential. 
   
   
       66 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a user interface to selectively control the operation of the motor, the fluid delivery system, and the fluid removal system. 
   
   
       67 . The appliance of  claim 66  wherein the user interface provides information related to at least one of status, safety, emergency, time remaining, cycle step, unbalanced load, blocked conduit, valve failure, clogged filter, breach of closed system, fluid leak, fluid level, pressure drops, temperature increase, and chemical leakage. 
   
   
       68 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a low absorbency textured surface in the form of a pad disposed within the drum and configured to reduce noise during operation of the appliance. 
   
   
       69 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the closure comprises at least one door. 
   
   
       70 . The appliance of  claim 69  wherein the door comprises a transparent window. 
   
   
       71 . The appliance of  claim 69 , further comprising a locking mechanism to lock the door. 
   
   
       72 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a recirculation system for recirculating fluids removed from the interior of the drum back into the interior of the drum. 
   
   
       73 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a stain pre-treatment module. 
   
   
       74 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a sanitizing module. 
   
   
       75 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising an alternative chemistry module permitting resetting the appliance to operate with a first or a second preselected revitalizing chemistry. 
   
   
       76 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a low absorbency pad having fluid dispensing means. 
   
   
       77 . The appliance of  claim 39  further comprising an air flow system configured to generate an air flow through the interior of the drum, wherein the appliance can be operated as a conventional clothes dryer. 
   
   
       78 . The appliance of  claim 77  wherein the system can be used to at least one of: (a) dry a wet load of clothes and then revitalize the clothes and (b) revitalize an initially dry load of clothes. 
   
   
       79 . The appliance of  claim 39  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises at least one of a steamer and a vapor insertion system. 
   
   
       80 . The appliance of  claim 39 , further comprising a particulate removal and collection system disposed within the enclosure and in fluid communication with the interior of the drum.