Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F25/00—Washing machines with receptacles, e.g. perforated, having a rotary movement, e.g. oscillatory movement, the receptacle serving both for washing and for centrifugally separating water from the laundry and having further drying means, e.g. using hot air 
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F58/00—Domestic laundry dryers
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F58/00—Domestic laundry dryers
  • D06F58/02—Domestic laundry dryers having dryer drums rotating about a horizontal axis
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F58/00—Domestic laundry dryers
  • D06F58/02—Domestic laundry dryers having dryer drums rotating about a horizontal axis
  • D06F58/04—Details 

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a drum type washing machine which performs a drying function, and more particularly to a drum type washing machine that has improved drying efficiency.
• a front-loaded, drum type washing machine is a machine designed to clean laundry with detergent and water in a drum by rotating the drum about a horizontal axis, with a drive force of a motor.
• the front-loaded drum type washing machine has many advantages when compared to a top-loading washing machine, such as less laundry damage and entanglement, and more cleaning effectiveness due to laundry pounding and rubbing effects in a washing operation.
• FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation view of a conventional drum type washing machine.
• the washing machine includes a cabinet 1 having an opening defined in a front side thereof, a door 2 hingably attached to the cabinet 1 to open or close the opening, and a tub 3 disposed inside the cabinet 1 to receive water.
• a drum 4 having holes on an outer peripheral surface is rotatably disposed inside the tub 3, and a motor assembly 5 is disposed through the tub 3 to supply a drive force to the drum 4.
• the door 2 is provided with a door glass 2a that protrudes outside an opening of the tub 3.
• a spring 6 is disposed between an inner upper side of the cabinet 1 and an outer upper side of the tub 3 to support the tub 3, and a damper (not shown) is disposed between an inner lower side of the cabinet 1 and an outer lower side of the tub 3 to reduce vibration of the tub 3 generated during the operation of the drum type washing machine.
• the motor assembly 5 is generally operated in an indirect drive manner such that the drive force of a motor 5a is transferred to a washing operation shaft 5c via a belt 5b to rotate the drum 4.
• the washing machine includes a drying duct 7 disposed at the inner upper side of the cabinet 1.
• the drying duct 7 has a heater 7b and a blow fan 7a to generate and blow hot air.
• the drying duct 7 is connected at one end to a gasket 8, which bridges the circumference of the opening of the tub 3 to the circumference of the opening in the cabinet 1 for the door 2.
• the gasket 8 is disposed along a front inner circumference of the tub 3 and has a corrugated shape to receive vibration from the tub 3.
• the tub 3 is provided with a condensing duct 9 that communicates with the drying duct 7.
• the condensing duct 9 is connected at one end to the rear of the tub 3, and at the other end to the drying duct 7.
• the condensing duct 9 is provided with a condensed water supply tube to supply condensing water that serves to condense and remove moisture from air.
• the condensing water supply tube 9a is a separate component independent of the condensing duct 9 and is fitted into a securing groove formed on an upper portion of the condensing duct 9. At this time, the condensing water supply tube 9a is connected at one side to a water supply hose.
• the operation of the drum type washing machine with a drying function includes a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, spin-drying cycle, and a drying cycle.
• the hot air evaporates moisture from laundry while heating the laundry.
• the drum 4 is rotated at a low speed to stir the laundry in the drum 4 such that the laundry can be uniformly exposed to the hot air, thereby promoting evaporation of moisture from the laundry.
• Evaporated moisture is discharged in a state of being contained in air through the condensing duct 9. At this time, the moisture is removed from the air by spraying water from the condensing water supply tube 9a. Then, the air, after having the moisture removed, is introduced again into the drying duct 7, and is changed to hot air by the heater 7b and blow fan 7a, which in turn flows again into the drum 4 for the drying operation. In this manner, laundry is dried by repeating such an aforementioned series of processes.
• the present invention is conceived to solve the problems of the conventional washing machine as described above, and an aspect of the present invention is to provide a drum type washing machine that has improved drying efficiency.
• a drum type washing machine includes: a tub disposed inside a cabinet; a drum disposed inside the tub; and a suction duct communicating with the tub.
• the suction duct may be disposed at an upper side of the tub.
• the suction duct may be connected at one end to a through-hole formed on a rear side of the tub, and have the opposed end located as a free end inside the cabinet. Further, the drum may formed to have inflow holes at a location correspondng to the location of the tub through-hole. The inflow holes may be arranged in a circular band shape on a rear side of the drum.
• the drum type washing machine may further include: an exhaust duct communicating with the tub and extending to an outside of the cabinet; an exhaust fan disposed at a discharge hole side of the tub; and a motor to drive the exhaust fan.
• the exhaust duct may communicate with the dscharge hole, an extension conduit and a housing may be disposed between the discharge hole and the exhaust duct, and the exhaust fan may be disposed in the housing.
• the tub may be provided with balancers separated from each other, and the extension conduit may be disposed between the balancers.
• the housing may have a bottom surface located a predetermined height higher than that of the extension conduit to form a step between the bottom surfaces of the housing and the extension conduit.
• the washing machine may further include a drainage pump to drain water from the tub to an outside of the cabinet, and a connection pipe extendng between the bottom surface of the extension conduit and the drainage pump.
• the discharge hole may be disposed at a lower side of the tub.
• the washing machine may further include a heater disposed inside the suction duct.
• the washing machine according to the present invention has improved drying efficiency by performing a drying operation with air of high temperature and low humidity.
• the washing machine of the invention circulates air using an exhaust fan, enabling efficient circulation of air, and thus reducing time and cost for the drying operation.
• the free end of a suction duct is located inside the cabinet, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the tub.
• the suction duct is disposed at an upper side of the tub, so that air flowing into the tub is uniformly distributed to laundry inside a drum, and so that air having a low humidity is drawn into the tub.
• the suction duct communicates with the upper side of the tub, and the discharge hole is disposed at the lower side of the tub. Accordingly, the washing machine ensures an extended contact time between inflow air and laundry, uniform distribution of air with respect to the laundry, and improved drying efficiency.
• the washing machine has plural balancers separated from each other to prevent intervention between a drying device and other components, thereby suppressing vibration during the drying and washing operations. Therefore, the washing machine avoids being damaged, and also performs quiet and stable washing and drying operations.
• the washing machine has a step formed between the extension conduit and a housing, and is provided with a connection pipe to guide water accumulated on the bottom of the extension conduit to a drainage pump, so that air and water passing through a discharge hole are discharged in a separated state to the outside, and so that malfunction or corrosion-related damage of an exhaust fan caused by contact between water and the exhaust fan is prevented, thereby extending a lifetime of the washing machine.
• FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation view of a conventional drum type washing machine
• FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation view of a drum type washing machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 3 is a front view of a tub of the drum type washing machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 4 is a rear view of a drum of the drum type washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
• the drum type washing machine includes a cabinet 50, a tub
• a drum 54 rotatably disposed inside the tub 52 to receive laundry
• a drive unit 58 provided to the tub 52 and connected to the drum 54
• a water supply device 56 extending from an outside of the cabinet 50 to the tub 52
• a drainage unit 59 extending through the tub 52 to the outside of the cabinet 50
• a dryer to remove moisture from washed laundry.
• the dryer includes a suction duct 60 communicating with the tub 52, an exhaust duct 70 communicating with the tub 52 and extending to the outside of the cabinet 50, an exhaust fan 72 disposed at a side of a discharge hole 52b of the tub 52, and a motor 74 connected to a rotational shaft of the exhaust fan 72.
• the suction duct 60 is preferably provided therein with a heater 62 to heat air being introduced into the suction duct 60.
• the suction duct 60 is connected at one end 64 to the tub 52, and has a free end 66 formed at the end opposed to the one end 64.
• the free end 66 of the suction duct 60 remains disconnected from nearby structures, and is located inside the cabinet 50 to reduce the amount of dust in the air being drawn in through the suction duct 60.
• a tub through-hole 52a is formed on the rear of the tub 52 to be connected with the suction duct 60, and the discharge hole 52b is formed at the opening of the tub 52 to communicate with the exhaust duct 70.
• the air While being introduced along the suction duct 60, the air is heated and converted to dry hot air by the heater 62. Thus, when it comes into contact with laundry moving inside the drum 54, the dry hot air absorbs moisture from the laundry. Then, the air containing the moisture is discharged outside the cabinet through the exhaust duct 70 via the exhaust fan 72.
• the suction duct 60 is preferably located at an upper side of the tub 52.
• the discharge hole 52b is preferably located at a lower side of the tub 52. IVbre preferably, the discharge hole 52b is located in a diagonal direction with respect to the suction duct 60 through which air is sucked into the cabinet 50.
• an extension conduit 76 and a housing 78 are disposed between the discharge hole 52b and the exhaust duct, and the exhaust fan 72 is disposed inside the housing 78.
• the exhaust fan 72 In combination with operation of the exhaust fan 72, internal air is discharged from the drum 54 to the outside through the exhaust duct 70, and external air of a low humidity is supplied into the drum 52 through the suction duct 60. As such, since air having the low humidity is supplied into the drum 52, the drying efficiency of the washing machine is improved.
• the tub 52 has a pair of balancers 80 disposed in a separated state on opposed sides of the tub opening 52c (Fig. 3).
• the extension conduit 76 is disposed between the balancers 80 so as not to interfere with the balancers 80.
• the rear side of the drum 54 is provided with inflow holes 54a.
• the inflow holes 54a are formed to extend through the rear side of the drum 54 at a location oor- respondng to the location of the tub through-hole 52a.
• the plural inflow holes 54a are spaced at predetermined intervals from each other. Since the drum 54 is rotated during use, the inflow holes 54a are preferably formed in a circular band shape on the rear side of the drum 54. Since the tub through-hole 52a continues to face the inflow holes 54a during the rotation of the drum 54, the air having flowed into the tub 52 through the tub through-hole 52 can be supplied into the drum 54 via the inflow holes 54a.
• the bottom of the housing 78 is located a predetermined height above that of the extension conduit 76 to form a step 77 between the bottom surfaces of the housing 78 and the extension conduit 76, and a connection pipe 79 is disposed between the bottom of the extension conduit 76 and the drainage pump 59b.
• a connection pipe 79 is disposed between the bottom of the extension conduit 76 and the drainage pump 59b.
• water passing through the discharge hole 52b is accumulated on the bottom of the extension conduit 76, and is then discharged outside the cabinet 50 through the drainage pump 59b and drainage pipe 59a via the extension conduit 76.
• Air flowing into the extension conduit 76 through the dscharge hole 52b is directed toward the exhaust duct 70 by the exhaust fan 72, and is then exhausted outside the cabinet 50.
• the water and air passing through the discharge hole 52b are separated and discharged outside the cabinet 50 along the drainage pipe 59a and the exhaust duct 70, respectively.
• extension conduit 76 on the front side of the tub 52 is disposed between the balancers 80 so as to have a predetermined separation between the extension conduit 76 and the balancers 80, the extension conduit 76 is prevented from contacting the balancers 80 when the drying operation or the washing operation is performed as described above.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=39825771

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (9)

Citations (7)

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• 2007
  • 2007-04-06 KR KR1020070034385A patent/KR100860053B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-12-07 EP EP07851317A patent/EP2140060A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2007-12-07 JP JP2010502001A patent/JP4937407B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2007-12-07 WO PCT/KR2007/006346 patent/WO2008123649A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2007-12-07 CN CN200780052458XA patent/CN101688353B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2007-12-14 US US11/956,832 patent/US20080245113A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-12-14 TW TW096148046A patent/TWI350869B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (7)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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