Sanyo Aqua Inc announced the "AWD-AQ4000" (Aqua), a new version of its drum type washing and drying machines equipped with an ozone (O3) generator.
The new product is characterized by the following two features. (1) It is equipped with a new ozone generator, which increased the amount of ozone generated to roughly twice that of the existing product (the AWD-AQ3000). (2) The "rinsing process" for washing out detergent and dirt was changed by replacing one of the two rinsing cycles that use water pooled in the tub with a "high-speed shower rinse," in which the laundry is rinsed with a shower of water.
Through these improvements, the amount of water to be used was decreased by about 10% to 68L (for washing 9kg laundry) and the washing time by about 34% to 39 minutes, while maintaining washing performance equivalent to that of the existing product, according to the company.
In respect to (1), the output of the O3 generator was increased from 285ppm of the existing product to 600ppm. In the previous model, circular generating elements are laid out on a plane surface, while the new generator has linear electrodes in the center of a cylindrical glass tube. Ozone can be more effectively generated using the entire glass tube because the linear electrodes discharge electricity toward the wall of the tube while air is sent into the glass tube.
The power consumption was reduced to about 6Wh, which is roughly 1/3 compared with that of the existing product. For the 60-minute course of the "air wash," in which sterilization and deodorization by O3 are carried out, electricity cost can be reduced from ¥14 (approx US$0.14) to ¥3, according to the company.
As for the high-speed shower rinsing (2), the washing tub rotates at a high speed of 900 times per minute while showering the laundry with water from the area near the door of the main body. Detergent and dirt in the laundry are "forced out of the clothes" by water and centrifugal force, according to the company.
Some of upright washing machines that employed a vertical rotating shaft have a shower rinsing system. But rotating speeds of washing tubs of these machines were set low to prevent water from flowing out of the upper part of the machine.
On the other hand, the drum of the new product can be rotated at a high speed because it is a drum type and the washing tub's rotating axis is rather horizontal than vertical and, as a result, water always passes through the clothes and only flows out of the side wall of the washing tub. If the washing tub is rotated at a high speed, the clothes continue to stick on the side wall of the washing tub, enabling stable rotation and less vibration.
The method of showering laundry with water was an issue. One solution that was initially considered was to extend the water shower nozzle toward the rotating shaft of the washing tub. However, with this method, there was a risk of clothes becoming entangled on the nozzle and torn. Therefore, the shower outlet was located near the door of the main body, and high-pressure water is squirted against a projection on the door of the main body to splash the water inside the washing tub.
Washing time was shortened by adopting the high-speed shower rinsing system. With the existing products, an intermediate spinning process in which water is supplied and the washing tub is rotated to untangle and balance the clothes is needed prior to each of the two cycles of rinsing in pool water. It is difficult to have the laundry evenly stuck on the washing tub of a drum type washing machine, and this intermediate spinning process sometimes takes a long time, resulting in a long washing time.
The new product requires only one cycle of balancing the clothes during the rinsing process, reducing the washing time, according to Sanyo Aqua. Previously, O3 solution (O3 water) was used for rinsing in pool water.
With the new product, however, one cycle of rinsing in pool water achieves rinsing performance equivalent to that of two pool water rinsing cycles by the previous model because the O3 generation amount was doubled, the company said.
Like the AWD-AQ3000, the AWD-AQ4000 features the "aqua loop direct" function, which utilizes bathwater by purifying it with O3. For the new product, Sanyo Aqua improved the priming and initial water supply for starting the pump and further reduced the amount of tap water to be used by 2L to 5L.
The new product will be released June 1, 2009, and the company plans to produce 20,000 units per month. The capacity is 9.0kg for washing and 6.0kg for drying. The suggested retail price is ¥283,500 (approx US$2,801).
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