Tank soldiers improvise solar-powered clothes drying racks.

(Baonghean.vn) - With his innovative smart clothes drying rack, Captain Pham Van Dong from the Staff Department impressed the judges of the 2017 Innovation and Improvement Competition for Training Aids organized by the 215th Armored Brigade.

"Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc incites parishioners."

To address the problem of drying clothes during the rainy season, Captain Pham Van Dong - Staff Department, 215th Armored Brigade - came up with the idea and successfully created the "Smart Clothes Drying Rack".

According to Captain Dong, the smart clothes drying rack consists of several parts: a clothes storage compartment, a rail system, a motor, an electrical circuit system, sensors, and finally, the power source for the drying rack... Of these, the rail system is one of the most important parts of the drying rack. The rail system is made of aluminum, using a ball bearing mechanism combined with an axle, similar to a train wheel on a track, to pull clothes in and out quickly and accurately.

The operating principle of an automatic clothes drying rack is that when it starts raining, raindrops fall on the rain sensor attached to the rack. The circuit transmits a signal to the motor, causing the motor to rotate and pull the clothes into the storage compartment via sliders on the rails.

When clothes are brought into the storage area, the ventilation system will activate, ensuring that the humidity inside the rack does not increase due to water vapor escaping from the clothes. When the rain stops, the clothes will be automatically pulled out. When the drying rack is not in operation, solar power will be used to charge the backup battery…

The rail section is one of the most important parts of the clothes drying rack; being made of aluminum increases its durability when used outdoors. Photo: Thanh Toan.

The clothes drying rack can be used anywhere and can be easily moved to another location. In particular, the drying rack has a fast clothes retrieval speed, consumes little electricity, reduces electricity costs, and is environmentally friendly.

The clothes drying rack is designed with a length of 6m, a height of 1.9m, and a width of 1.5m, capable of holding 40-50 clothes hangers. The dome-shaped housing is made of aluminum, increasing durability for outdoor use. The total cost of the product is nearly 5 million VND. For smaller families, a smaller product can be made at a cost of 1.5-2 million VND.

Colonel Phan Hai Long, Commander of the 215th Armored Brigade, commented: “This product just won first prize at the 2017 competition for innovative teaching aids and is very useful for the unit. Soon, Captain Dong's smart clothes drying rack will be sent to Hanoi to participate in the technical innovation competition at the branch level. We hope the product will win a high prize and be widely adopted not only within the military but also for all citizens to use.”

Thanh Toan