WO2019192777A1

WO2019192777A1 - A laundry dryer with enhanced drying performance

Info

Publication number: WO2019192777A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/054609
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mutlu IPEK; Samet HOCAOGLU; Faruk KOCABIYIK; Vasi Kadir Ertis
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2018-04-02
Filing date: 2019-02-25
Publication date: 2019-10-10

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer (1) comprising a body (2), a drum (4) in which the laundry items are placed, an air inlet (5) provided on the drum (4), enabling air to reach into the drum (4), a condensation duct (6) into which the air in the drum (4) is sucked by means of a fan (7), a nozzle (8) provided in the condensation duct (6), enabling spraying water into the condensation duct (6), a cover (10) provided on the rear wall (3) of the body (2), enabling directing the air coming from the condensation duct (6) to the air inlet (5), on which a heater (9) is disposed enabling heating air, and a discharge line (12) enabling the water sucked by means of a pump (11) from the condensation duct (6) to be conveyed out of the body (2) to the waste water network.

Description

A LAUNDRY DRYER WITH ENHANCED DRYING PERFORMANCE

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer comprising a cover provided on the rear wall of a body.

Generally, in dryers with water cooled condensation systems, the hot and humid air coming from a drum is passed through a condensation duct in which it is dehumidified by being condensed by means of cooling water sprayed thereon. In order to send it back to the drum, the dehumidified air is directed to an air inlet on the drum by means of a cover. In general, the cover is made of metal sheet and is mounted on the rear wall of the body so as to cover a fan enabling air circulation and a heater enabling heating the dehumidified air. The cover through which hot air is passed, heats up and reaches high temperatures. As the temperature difference between the cover and the environment of the laundry dryer increases, the thermal energy dissipated from the cover to the environment also increases, thereby causing the temperature of the air passed through the cover to decrease before the air reaches the drum. This increases thermal losses particularly when the laundry dryer is used in colder environments, thereby reducing drying performance significantly.

State of the art United States patent application no. US20090113742 describes a dryer having an air duct in which a heater is disposed.

The aim of the present invention is to realize a laundry dryer with reduced thermal losses.

The laundry dryer realized to achieve the aim of the present invention and disclosed in the first claim and the dependent claims, comprises a cylindrical drum supported on the rear wall of a body, a condensation duct in which the air from the drum is received, a nozzle provided in the condensation duct, enabling humidity of the air from the drum to be condensed in the condensation duct by spraying water on the air, a cover provided on the rear wall of the body, having a concave shape so as to allow the air coming from the condensation duct to be passed in between itself and the rear wall of the body, an air inlet provided on the rear portion of the drum facing the cover, enabling the air passed through the cover to pass into the drum, and a discharge line enabling the waste water collecting on the base of the condensation duct to be discharged from the body to the waste water network. At least a portion of the tubular discharge line generally made of a material with low thermal transmission coefficient such as plastic, extends on the cover so as to externally contact the cover. The surface area of the cover in direct contact with ambient air is thus reduced. This enables the discharge line to provide thermal insulation between ambient air and the cover, reducing the amount of thermal energy transmitted to the ambient air.

In an embodiment of the invention, the discharge line extends vertically along the surface of the cover disposed between the fan and the air inlet in air flow direction. Thus, the temperature of the air blown by the fan into the cover is considerably inhibited from deceasing until it reaches the air inlet.

In another embodiment of the invention, the discharge line has a curved shape so as to enable increasing the surface area it covers on the cover. The contact surface between the discharge line and the cover is thus increased, enhancing insulation efficiency between the outer environment and the cover.

In another embodiment of the invention, at least one collection tank is provided on the discharge line, into which the waste water fills. The collection tank has a flat shape such that it has a large surface contacting the cover. The tank is thus enabled to widely cover the outer surface of the cover, minimizing thermal losses.

In another embodiment of the invention, the surface of the tank contacting the cover almost completely covers the surface of the cover disposed between the fan and the heater. The contact surface between the tank and the cover is thus advantageously increased.

Contact of the cover with ambient air is reduced by means of the present invention, thereby effectively decreasing temperature drops of the air flowing between the cover and the rear wall of the body.

The laundry dryer realized to achieve the aims of the present invention is illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the laundry dryer of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the laundry dryer of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is a rear view of the laundry dryer of an embodiment of the invention.

The elements in the figures are numbered as follows:

Laundry dryer
Body
Rear wall
Drum
Air inlet
Condensation duct
Fan
Nozzle
Heater
Cover
Pump
Discharge line
Water inlet
Water outlet
Collection tank

The laundry dryer (1) comprises a body (2), a drum (4) in which the laundry items are placed, an air inlet (5) provided on the drum (4), enabling air to reach into the drum (4), a condensation duct (6) into which the air from the drum (4) is sucked by means of a fan (7), a nozzle (8) provided in the condensation duct (6), enabling spraying water into the condensation duct (6), a cover (10) provided on the rear wall (3) of the body (2), enabling directing the air coming from the condensation duct (6) to the air inlet (5), on which a heater (9) is disposed enabling heating air, and a discharge line (12) enabling the water sucked by means of a pump (11) from the condensation duct (6) to be conveyed out of the body (2) to the waste water network. The fan (7) and the heater (9) are placed so as to be disposed between the rear wall (3) of the body (2) and the cover (10), and the cover (10) covers the fan (7) and the heater (9). The dry and hot air introduced into the drum (4) through the air inlet (5) is loaded with humidity while being passed through the laundry items, and is then sucked by the fan (7) into the discharge line (6) disposed after the drum (4) in flow direction. The humidity loaded hot air cools by contacting the water sprayed thereon by the nozzle (8) in the discharge line (6), and leaves its humidity in the condensation line (6). The air in the discharge line (6) is blown by means of the fan (7) into the cover (10), and is heated by being passed over a heater (9) disposed on the inner surface of the cover (10). The air thus heated and dried is sent back into the drum (4) through the air inlet (5), and this cycle is repeated throughout a drying process.

The laundry dryer (1) of the invention comprises the discharge line (12) extending on the cover (10) such that at least a portion thereof contacts the cover (10). The water sprayed through the nozzle (8) heats up by contacting the hot air coming from the drum (4), enabling condensing humidity in the air. The water collecting in the condensation duct (6) is sucked by means of a pump (11) into the discharge line (6), and is pumped out of the body (2) in order to be transmitted to waste water network. The discharge line (12) extends on the cover (10) such that at least a portion thereof is passed over the cover (10). The water which is relatively hotter than ambient air by being heated by contacting hot air, is passed through the discharge line (12) contacting the cover (10). By this, thermal transfer is reduced between the cover (10) and the ambient air which is cooler compared to water, mitigating cooling of the air flowing in the cover (10), likely to occur until it reaches the air inlet (5), thereby enhancing drying performance of the laundry dryer (1).

In an embodiment of the invention, the discharge line (12) extends almost all along the cover (10). The discharge line (12) extends on the outer surface of the cover (10) almost from an end of the cover (10) to the other end. The thermal loss of the air flowing in the cover (10) occurring until it reaches the air inlet (5) is thus reduced, effectively increasing the temperature of air reaching into the drum (4).

In another embodiment of the invention, the discharge line (12) has a curved shape. The portion of the discharge line (12) contacting the cover (10) is curved so as to have at least one "S" shaped curvature. By this, the hot water passed through the discharge line (12) is enabled to homogeneously heat the related surface of the cover (10), thereby reducing the temperature difference between the cover (10) and the air flowing through the cover (10).

In another embodiment of the invention, the laundry dryer (1) comprises a collection tank (15) provided on the discharge line (12) so as to be adjacent to the cover (10), having a water inlet (13) through which the water coming from the condensation duct (6) is drawn from the discharge line (12) and a water outlet (14) through which the water filled therein is sent to the discharge line (12) in order to be transmitted to the waste water network. The collection tank (15) is shaped as a prismatic container provided on the cover (10), having a large base area contacting the cover (10). The waste water coming from the body (2) fills into the collection tank (15) by means of a water inlet (13) connected to an end of the discharge line (12), and the water overflowing after the collection tank (15) being almost completely filled, is sent to the waste water network by means of a water outlet (14) connected to the other end of the discharge line (12). Insulation between the cover (10) and ambient air is enhanced by means of the collection tank (15) filled with hot water coming through the condensation duct (6).

In another embodiment of the invention, the collection tank (15) is provided on the middle portion of the cover (10) disposed between the fan (7) and the air inlet (5). This embodiment is advantageous in that the middle portion of the cover (10) wherein the highest amount of air flow is insulated from ambient air.

By means of the present invention, the amount of thermal energy lost by being transferred to the outer environment through the cover (10), is reduced in a simple and effective manner without using an additional insulation element. By this, air is enabled to reach the drum (4) with high temperatures, cost effectively increasing the drying performance of the laundry dryer (1).

Claims

A laundry dryer (1) comprising a body (2), a drum (4) in which the laundry items are placed, an air inlet (5) provided on the drum (4), enabling air to reach into the drum (4), a condensation duct (6) into which the air in the drum (4) is sucked by means of a fan (7), a nozzle (8) provided in the condensation duct (6), enabling spraying water into the condensation duct (6), a cover (10) provided on the rear wall (3) of the body (2), enabling directing the air coming from the condensation duct (6) to the air inlet (5), on which a heater (9) is disposed enabling heating air, and a discharge line (12) enabling the water sucked by means of a pump (11) from the condensation duct (6) to be conveyed out of the body (2) to the waste water network, characterized by the discharge line (12) extending on the cover (10) such that at least a portion thereof contacts the cover (10).
A laundry dryer (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the discharge line (12) extending almost all along the cover (10).
A laundry dryer (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by the discharge line (12) having a curved shape.
A laundry dryer (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by a collection tank (15) provided on the discharge line (12) so as to be adjacent to the cover (10), having a water inlet (13) through which the water coming from the condensation duct (6) is drawn from the discharge line (12) and a water outlet (14) through which the water filled therein is sent to the discharge line (12) in order to be transmitted to the waste water network.
A laundry dryer (1) according to claim 4, characterized by the collection tank (14) provided on the middle portion of the cover (10) disposed between the fan (7) and the air inlet (5).