Patent ID: 9359706
Filing Date: 2016-06-07
CPC Classification: D06F

Claim Text:
1. A method of implementing a fire containment system in a combination washer-dryer appliance equipped with air-vented exhaust, the appliance including a cold water inlet in fluid communication with multiple cold water valve outlets to which different ones of valve actuators are associated, the multiple cold water valve outlets configured for selective delivery of cold water along associated conduits to an interior space of a tub and actuatable in response to valve control signals applied to associated ones of the valve actuators, the tub having a top portion, and the interior space of the tub having an opening through which a user can access the interior space to load items intended for washing, drying, or both, the method comprising: forming a fire suppression fluid inlet to the interior space of the tub, the fire suppression fluid inlet positioned in the top portion of the tub; connecting a fire suppression fluid conduit between one of the multiple cold water valve outlets and the fire suppression fluid inlet to provide a path of cold water flow into the interior space of the tub; setting a water-resistant electromechanical switch in an aperture formed in and positioned in the top portion of the tub, the electromechanical switch having a heat sensitive surface and secured in a fluid-tight seal to the tub so that the heat sensitive surface is exposed to the interior of the tub to measure an internal temperature in the interior of the tub, the electromechanical switch having electrical conductors for providing first and second switching states that indicate respective first and second electrical conduction conditions of the electromechanical switch, and the electromechanical switch characterized by upper and lower temperature thresholds, the first electrical conduction condition representing a temperature indicative of fire in the interior space of the tub and developed in response to a rise in the measured internal temperature above the upper temperature threshold and to a subsequent fall in the measured internal temperature to the lower temperature threshold, and the second electrical conduction condition representing a temperature indicative of absence of fire in the interior space of the tub and developed in response to the measured internal temperature when it is below the lower temperature threshold; and producing and applying to the valve actuator associated with the one of the multiple cold water valve outlets connected to the fire suppression fluid inlet, upon occurrence of the first switching state of the electromechanical switch, the valve control signal that actuates the one of the multiple cold water valve outlets and thereby causes cold water flow through the fire suppression fluid conduit and into the interior space of the tub to contain and extinguish a fire burning within the interior space.