EP2589699A1 - Laundry treatment cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

The cabinet has a working chamber (12) for receiving laundry. Below the working chamber, an engine room (14) comprising a heat pump device, compressor, condenser (21), expansion valve, and evaporator (24), is arranged. A lower ventilation opening is formed at lower end of working chamber and an upper vent hole (30) is formed at upper end. An air conveying unit (40) processes the air from working chamber through lower ventilation opening. A connecting channel (41) extending between engine room and upper vent hole, is extended laterally beyond one of the sidewalls (13c) of the chamber.

Description

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a laundry treatment cabinet, such as e.g. a clothes drying cabinet. This is a device with a resting in operation, i. non-rotating, useful space in which the laundry is introduced for treatment. In addition, the device has means for laundry treatment provided, such. a drying plant or a vaporization plant. Cabinets of this kind serve e.g. for drying laundry, but also for refreshing or for the odor treatment of laundry.

background

In EP 2 330 247 is described a cabinet dryer for laundry, in which the process air sucked through a lower vent opening from the work space and drying and heating by the evaporator and the condenser a heat pump assembly is guided. Then the air is conveyed by air conveyors through a connecting channel at the back of the unit to upper vents, from where the air is reintroduced into the utility room. The heat pump assembly is housed in a machine room below the utility room.

Presentation of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a device of the type mentioned, which has a compact design.

This object is achieved by the device according to claim 1. Accordingly, the device has a housing with a front and a back. In the housing, an interior space and an engine room arranged below the interior are provided. In the engine room, a heat pump assembly with compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator is arranged. With the compressor, a heat pump medium is pumped through the condenser, the expansion valve and the evaporator, which heats the condenser and cools the evaporator. At least one lower ventilation opening is provided at the lower end of the utility space and at least one upper ventilation opening is provided at the upper end. A connecting channel extends between the engine room and the upper ventilation opening. Further, air conveying means are provided to convey air from the work space through the lower vent opening, the heat pump assembly, the connection duct and the upper vent opening back into the work space, or vice versa. The connecting channel is arranged according to claim laterally outside one of the side walls of the work space. In contrast to the solution according to the prior art, where the connecting channel behind is the utility room, is thus at the same depth more space for receiving the laundry available.

This arrangement is based on the recognition that in practice the overall depth of the device is more limited than its width.

Preferably, the evaporator and the condenser, in a direction parallel to the front of the housing, are arranged side by side, i. air delivered in this direction first hits the evaporator and then the condenser. In this way, the air without further substantial horizontal deflection to the connecting channel (or possibly in the opposite direction) are performed.

The lower ventilation opening is advantageously located at the bottom of the utility room, where a large area is available. In this case, the bottom vent may be followed by a downwardly tapered (i.e., narrower towards the bottom) first duct section which terminates at an inlet side of the evaporator. So the air can be collected and led to the entrance of the evaporator.

Advantageously, the compressor is disposed in a portion of the engine room behind the evaporator and the condenser, thereby reducing the noise emission to the front.

In a further preferred embodiment, in addition to the condenser and the evaporator, the heat pump arrangement has an additional heat exchanger through which the heat pump medium, but not the process air, flows. This is preferably arranged in the path of the medium between the condenser and the expansion valve. Further, a fan for cooling the additional heat exchanger is provided. In this way, excess heat can be removed from the device. In this case, the additional heat exchanger is advantageously arranged in the section of the engine room behind the evaporator and the condenser, resulting in a compact design with low noise emissions leads to the front. Also, the expansion valve may be disposed in the portion of the engine room behind the evaporator and the condenser, whereby it is also cooled.

Preferably, a plurality of upper ventilation openings are arranged on the ceiling of the work space, which lead to a ceiling duct above the working space. The ceiling channel is connected to the connection channel and tapers away from the connection channel, i. the height of the ceiling channel decreases starting from the connecting channel. In this way, the air can be distributed evenly to the upper vents. To control the air distribution to the ventilation openings, a plurality of air baffles can further be provided which protrude transversely to the ceiling of the working space in the ceiling channel.

Brief description of the drawings

• Fig. 1 eine Vorderansicht eines Geräts mit geschlossener Türe,
• Fig. 2 das Gerät nach Fig. 1 ohne Türe,
• Fig. 3 einen Schnitt entlang Linie III-III von Fig. 2,
• Fig. 4 einen Schnitt entlang Linie IV-IV von Fig. 3,
• Fig. 5 einen Schnitt entlang Linie V-V von Fig. 4 und
• Fig. 6 ein Blockdiagramm der wichtigsten Funktionskomponenten des Geräts.

Further embodiments, advantages and applications of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and from the following description with reference to FIGS. Showing:

• Fig. 1 a front view of a device with a closed door,
• Fig. 2 the device after Fig. 1 without door,
• Fig. 3 a section along line III-III of Fig. 2 .
• Fig. 4 a section along line IV-IV of Fig. 3 .
• Fig. 5 a section along line VV of Fig. 4 and
• Fig. 6 a block diagram of the main functional components of the device.

Ways to carry out the invention definitions:

As the front of the device that side of the device is referred to, on which the door is arranged, via which the user has access to the work space. The back is the side opposite the front. Terms of the type "forward," "front," "rear," and "rear" refer to this frame of reference, i. For example, the door is in front of the utility room and the utility room is located in front of the back.

The term "lateral" refers to a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction between front and back. For example, the connection channel is arranged laterally of a side wall of the work space, i. in horizontal direction parallel to the front side, the side wall of the work space and the connecting channel overlap.

Terms such as "up," "above," "below," and "below" refer to the device when properly installed, where the machine room is below the utility room and the hanger bar is mounted in an upper end of the utility room , Likewise, terms such as "horizontal" and "vertical" refer to this intended assembly, i. the bottom wall of the work space separating the work space from the machine room is e.g. arranged substantially horizontally, while the approximately perpendicular to the bottom wall side walls, the rear wall and the door of the work space are arranged substantially vertically.

An advantageous embodiment of the laundry treatment cabinet is in Fig. 1-5 shown, and the main functional components are in Fig. 6 shown.

As can be seen, the laundry treatment cabinet has a substantially cuboid housing 1 with a front 2 and a back 3 ( FIGS. 3 and 5 ), two perpendicular to the front and rear side walls 4, 5 ( Fig. 1 and 5 ), a bottom 6 and a top 7 ( Fig. 1 ).

On the front side 2 of the device, a door 10 is provided, which can be opened about a vertical pivot axis 11 ( Fig. 1 and 3 ). The door 10 closes a work space 12, which also has a substantially cuboid shape. Below the working space 12, an engine room 14 adjoins. Laterally on the device, the side of the work space 12, a shaft space 15 is provided and above the work space 12, a ceiling space 16 (FIG. Fig. 4 ).

The work space 12 is to the rear of a rear wall 13 a ( Fig. 3 ), laterally of side walls 13b, 13c ( Fig. 2 . 4 ) is bounded above by a ceiling 13d, downwardly by a floor 13e and forwardly by a door opening 13f which can be closed by the door 10 ( Fig. 4 ). It serves to receive the laundry. For this purpose, suitable means are provided for receiving laundry in the useful space, such as a rod 17 for receiving hangers, a pivoting rake 18 for suspending individual pieces of clothing or baskets 19 (FIGS. Fig. 2 . 3, 4 ). For the user, the usable space 12 is accessible via the door 10.

In the engine room 14, a heat pump assembly including a compressor 20, a condenser 21, an auxiliary heat exchanger 22, an expansion valve 23 and an evaporator 24 is provided. With the compressor 20, a medium is passed in a known manner through the condenser 21, the additional heat exchanger 22, the expansion valve 23, the evaporator 24 and back to the compressor, whereby the condenser 21 is heated and the evaporator 21 is cooled ( Fig. 5 . 6 ). The additional heat exchanger 22 serves in the in EP 2 034 084 described manner to deprive the system heat. For this purpose, a fan 26 is provided, the cooling air from the environment through the additional heat exchanger 22 and via the expansion valve 23 and the compressor 20 leads.

Further, a steam generator 28 is provided in the engine room 14, with which steam for introduction into the process air can be generated. As in EP 2 330 247 described, the steam can be used to refresh the laundry and / or wrinkle.

In order to treat the process air in the working space 12, at least one upper or lower ventilation opening 30, 31 are provided at the upper and at the lower end of the work space 12. In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of small upper vents 30 and a large lower vents 31 are shown. In order to obtain as uniform a flow as possible through the working space 12, the area covered in the ceiling and / or in the bottom of the work space 12 by the ventilation opening or ventilation openings 30 preferably comprises at least 50%, in particular at least 75%, of the total area the ceiling or the floor of the utility room. If several ventilation openings are provided, the "covered area" is to be understood as the area covered by the convex envelope of the ventilation openings.

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the air exits the lower vents 31 from the work space 12, is treated, and then reintroduced into the work space 12 through the upper vents 30. Basically, however, an air circulation in the opposite direction is conceivable.

For protection, the lower vent opening 31 is covered by a grid plate 33, ie a rigid plate in which a plurality of openings is provided. The grid plate 33 is inserted at the bottom of the work space 12 and can be removed by the user from the work space, for example, to gain access to the underlying air filter, which are described below.

At the lower ventilation opening 31, a first channel section 34 arranged in the machine room 14 and tapering towards the bottom, which adjoins an inlet side of the evaporator 24, closes.

In the first channel section 34, a first and a second air filter 35 and 36 are spaced above each other. These form a two-stage filter to keep contaminants away from the heat exchangers of the evaporator 24 and the condenser 21. In this case, the first, upper air filter 35 is preferably coarser than the second, lower air filter 36.

Since the upper, first air filter 35 must be replaced or cleaned more often than the second, lower air filter, the two air filters 35, 36 can be removed from the first channel section 34, one after the other, from above.

For receiving the two air filters 35, 36, a first shoulder 37 and a second shoulder 38 are provided in the first channel portion 34, which is spaced apart and on each of which the edge of one of the air filters 35 and 36 rests.

The evaporator 24 and the condenser 21 are arranged in a second passage section 38 adjoining the first passage section 34, which passes the air through the heat exchangers of the evaporator 24 and the condenser 21.

In the direction of the air flow downstream of the condenser 21, a third channel section 39 adjoins, which tapers and opens in the suction region of a radial fan 40, which forms the air conveying means for conveying the process air.

The radial fan 40 and a connecting to the radial fan 40 connecting channel 41 are arranged in the lateral shaft space 15 of the laundry treatment cabinet. The air is passed from the radial fan 40 in the connecting channel 41, in which it rises to the ceiling space 16 of the device.

In the connecting channel 41, a light source 42 and at least one catalyst surface 43 are arranged for the photocatalytic air treatment ( Fig. 4 ). With such an arrangement, such as in EP 2 241 826 described in more detail, unwanted organic compounds in the process air can be degraded.

Above the light source 42, a heater 44 is arranged in the connecting channel 41, with which the purified air can be heated if necessary. The arrangement of the heater 44 after, i. above, the light source 42 improves the photocatalysis, which thus occurs at lower temperatures.

At its upper end, the connecting channel 41 merges into a horizontally extending ceiling channel 46, which is arranged above the useful space 12. The upper ventilation openings 30 of the work space 12 are connected to this ceiling channel, so that the air from the ceiling channel 46 can flow from above into the working space.

In order to promote a laminar deflection of the air from the vertical connecting channel 41 to the horizontal ceiling channel 46, at least one bent deflecting plate 47 may be provided in the interior of the transitional region between the connecting channel 41 and the ceiling channel 46.

How out Fig. 4 can be seen, the ceiling channel 46 tapers in the direction away from the connecting channel 41, which helps that the local pressure at each of the upper openings 30 is approximately equal, so that in the work space 12 as homogeneous a flow of air is established.

Next, as in Fig. 4 shown, in the ceiling duct 46 baffles 48 may be provided to redirect the air to the upper ventilation openings 30. For this purpose, these air baffles 48 project transversely to the ceiling of the work space 12 in the ceiling duct 46.

As already mentioned, the connecting channel 41 is arranged in the shaft space 15 laterally of the work space 12. In front of this shaft space 15, ie laterally outside of the work space 12 and in front of the connection channel 41, an operating area 50 with input and / or output means 51, which serves to control or monitor the laundry treatment cabinet, is arranged on the front side of the appliance ( Fig. 1, 2 ). How out Fig. 4 can be seen, the door 10 does not extend beyond the operating area 50 in the closed state, so that it is not covered and, for example, remains accessible during operation.

The input and / or output means 51 are connected to a device control 52 ( Fig. 6 ), which controls the operation of the various components of the device.

The machine room 14 of the laundry treatment cabinet is, as already mentioned, designed for a compact, low-noise construction. Various measures contribute to this.

First, the evaporator 24 and the condenser 21 are arranged side by side in the direction parallel to the front side 2, as is apparent from Fig. 5 can be seen, so that the air without further horizontal deflection to the radial fan 40 and the connecting channel 41 can be performed.

The first channel section 34 is able to draw off the air over a large area of the bottom of the interior and lead to the evaporator 24 specifically due to its downwardly tapered shape.

How out Fig. 5 Obviously, the compressor 20, the expansion valve 23, the auxiliary heat exchanger 22 and the fan 26 use the space in a portion 54 of the engine room 14 behind the evaporator 24 and condenser 21. The forward noise emissions can thus be reduced. Preferably, this section 54 is limited to the front at least partially by a wall 55, which guides the cooling air from the fan 26 and at the same time causes a sound insulation. The wall is located in particular in the region between the additional heat exchanger 22 and the evaporator 24 and the condenser 21 and / or in a region between the compressor 20 and the evaporator 24 and the condenser 21.

On the rear side 3 of the device, in the area of the machine room 14, rear ventilation openings 56 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) are provided, and on the front side 2 are located at the bottom front ventilation holes 57 ( Fig. 1, 2 . 3, 5 ). With the fan 40, ambient air can be conveyed between these ventilation openings, preferably from the front ventilation openings 57 to the rear ventilation openings 56.

In order to supply the fan 26, which is arranged behind the evaporator 24 and the Kondensattor 21, with air from the front ventilation openings 57, below the evaporator 24 and / or the condenser 21, a channel gap 58 is provided ( Fig. 3, 4 ), which connects the front vents 57 with the suction region of the fan 26. In this way, an indicated by arrows 59 air flow ( Fig. 3, 5 ) are led from the front through the device to the fan 26.

Alternatively, the direction of the airflow can also be from back to front.

As in particular from Fig. 5 As can be seen, the steam generator 28 is also located in section 54 behind the evaporator 24 and the condenser 21, where it fits well. In addition, it can be cooled by the air of the fan 26, if so desired.

Further, two pivotable container 61 are arranged in the machine room 14, each of which receives a removable tank 62. One of these tanks forms a fresh water tank for the steam generator 28, and the other a waste water tank, which is received in the bottom of the engine room 14 by a trough, not shown, in particular for water, which was excreted from the evaporator 24 from the process air.

While preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the present application, it should be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to this is limited and may be practiced otherwise within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (16)

Laundry treatment cabinet with
a housing (1) having a front side (2) and a back side (3),
a work space (12) for receiving laundry, the work space (12) having a rear wall (13a) and transverse to the rear wall (13a) vertical side walls (13b, c) and a front-side door opening (13f),
a door (10) arranged on a front side (2) of the housing (1), with which the door opening (13f) of the work space (12) can be closed,
a machine space (14) arranged below the work space (12),
a heat pump arrangement (20-24) arranged in the machine room (14), comprising a compressor (20), a condenser (21), an expansion valve (23) and an evaporator (24), with the compressor (20) a medium passing through the condenser (21), the expansion valve (23) and the evaporator (24) can be conveyed for heating the condenser (21) and for cooling the evaporator (24),
at least one lower ventilation opening (31) at a lower end of the utility space (12) and at least one upper ventilation opening (30) at an upper end of the utility space (12),
a connection channel (41) between the engine room (14) and the at least one upper ventilation opening (30),
Air conveying means (40) to process air from the work space (12) through the lower vent opening (31), the heat pump assembly (20 - 24), the connecting channel (41) and the upper vent opening (30) back into the work space (12), or conversely, to promote
characterized in that the connecting channel (41) is arranged laterally outside one of the side walls (13c) of the work space (12). Laundry treatment cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the connecting channel (41) in a laterally of the usable space (12) arranged shaft space (15), wherein at a front of the shaft space (15) in an operating area (50) in front of the connecting channel (41) and / or output means (51) are arranged for controlling or monitoring the laundry treatment cabinet. Laundry treatment cabinet according to claim 2, wherein the door (10) in the closed state does not cover the operating area (50). Laundry treatment cabinet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the evaporator (24) and the condenser (21) are arranged side by side in a direction parallel to the front side (2). Laundry treatment cabinet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lower ventilation opening (31) is located at a bottom of the useful space (12). Laundry treatment cabinet according to claim 5, wherein the lower vent opening (31) adjoins a downwardly tapering first channel section (34), which opens at an inlet side of the evaporator (24). A laundry treating cabinet according to claim 6, wherein first and second air filters (35, 36) are spaced above each other in the first channel section (34), and in particular wherein the first and second air filters (35, 36) are sequentially topped from the first channel section (35, 36). 34) are removable. Laundry treatment cabinet according to claim 7, wherein in the first channel section (34) a first and a second shoulder (37, 38) for receiving the first and the second air filter (35, 36) are provided. Laundry treatment cabinet according to one of claims 5 to 8, wherein at the bottom of the work space (12) a grid plate (34) is inserted, which covers the lower vent opening (31). A laundry treating cabinet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the compressor (20) is disposed in a portion (54) of the engine room (14) behind the evaporator (24) and the condenser (21), and in particular wherein the section (54) is at least forward to the front partially bounded by a wall (55). The laundry treating cabinet of claim 10, wherein the heat pump assembly (20-24) includes an auxiliary heat exchanger (22) through which the medium but not the process air flows, and wherein a fan (26) is provided for cooling the auxiliary heat exchanger (22) Additional heat exchanger (22) and / or the fan (26) in the section of the engine room (14) behind the evaporator (24) and the condenser (21) is arranged, and
in particular wherein also the expansion valve (23) in the section of the engine room (14) behind the evaporator (24) and the condenser (21) is arranged and / or in particular wherein the additional heat exchanger (22) in the path of the medium between the condenser (21) and the expansion valve (23) is arranged. Laundry treatment cabinet according to claim 11, wherein at the engine room (14) at the back (3) rear ventilation openings (56) and at the front (2) front ventilation openings (57) are provided, wherein the fan (26) ambient air between the front and the rear ventilation openings (57, 56) is conveyed. The laundry treating cabinet of claim 12, wherein the fan (26) is connected to the front vents (57) via a channel gap (58) below the vaporizer (24) and / or condenser (21). The laundry treating cabinet according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein in the section (54) of the engine room (14) behind the evaporator (24) and the condenser (21) there is further arranged a steam generator (28) for generating steam for laundry treatment. Laundry treatment cabinet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein in the connecting channel (41) a light source (42) and at least one catalyst surface (43) for the catalytic air treatment and a heater (44) are arranged, in particular wherein the heater (44) above the light source (42). is arranged. Laundry treatment cabinet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of upper ventilation openings (30) on a ceiling (13d) of the work space (12) are arranged, which lead to a ceiling duct (46) above the work space (12), wherein the ceiling duct (46) is connected to the connecting channel (41) and tapers away from the connecting channel (41), and in particular wherein a plurality of air guide plates (48) are provided, which project transversely to the ceiling of the working space (12) in the ceiling channel (46).

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