EP3813625A1

EP3813625A1 - A heat pump dishwasher

Info

Publication number: EP3813625A1
Application number: EP19727372.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Emre SAGLICAN; Onur Poyraz; Deha GULSEN; Cetin Aydintug; Seren YUNLU; Zerrin YILMAZ
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2018-06-26
Filing date: 2019-05-28
Publication date: 2021-05-05
Also published as: WO2020001898A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dishwasher (1) comprising; a heat pump (2) and a fan (3) for moving ambient air via an air inlet (4) and transferring it towards the heat pump (2) wherein the heat from ambient air is absorbed via an evaporator (5) and an air outlet (6) whereby ambient air is discharged.

Description

A HEAT PUMP DISHWASHER

The present invention relates to a dishwasher, in particular to a dishwasher comprising a heat pump for providing heat to the water to be used in washing and rinsing phases.
Dishwashers with heat pump systems having a compressor, a condenser, a capillary and an evaporator are commonly used in domestic kitchens. These components are fluidly connected to each other via a conduit, transferring the refrigerant. In heat pump systems, the evaporator is utilized to absorb heat energy from environment, preferably from ambient air and transfer this energy to refrigerant which is pumped by the compressor. Refrigerant pumped by the compressor is then transferred by the conduit to the condenser wherein the heat energy is transferred to water which in turn will be used in washing and rinsing of the dishes. In order to acquire more heat energy from the ambient air, a fan with a high air flow rate is required. Ambient air sucked inside the dishwasher travels through a duct formed respectively by an air inlet, an evaporator and an outlet. Heat energy of the ambient air is absorbed by the wings of the evaporator as the ambient air passes through the evaporator. The noise created by the fan, along with the noise created as the ambient air exits the air outlet is transmitted outside the dishwasher causing discomfort to the users.
A prior art publication in the technical field of the present invention may be referred to as EP3082555 among others, the document disclosing a dishwasher comprising a heat pump system for use during the washing and drying phases.
An objective of the present invention is to prevent and eliminate the noise induced by the fan and the flow of the ambient air through the air outlet and the duct of the dishwasher.
The method realized to achieve the aim of the present invention and disclosed in the first claim and the dependent claims comprises a dishwasher having a heat pump. The Dishwasher comprises a body, wherein a washing tub is arranged so as to realize washing, rinsing and drying steps. The heat pump is disposed inside the body having an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and a capillary. A conduit is transferring the refrigerant compressed by the compressor to the evaporator, the capillary, the condenser and back to the compressor respectively. A water reservoir and a pump is provided in order to pump the water stored inside the water reservoir to a container enclosing the condenser in a watertight manner. Condenser is immersed inside the water to transfer heat energy acquired by the evaporator to the water which in turn will be used for rinsing and washing operations. A duct is provided having an air inlet, an air outlet, a fan for moving ambient air through the duct and the evaporator. A noise damper is placed after the fan so as to lessen the noise level caused both by the fan and also the flow of the ambient air though the duct and the air outlet. The noise damper has multiple surfaces whereon the ambient air passing through is bent multiple times therefore losing acoustic and kinetic energy.
In the dishwasher of the present invention multiple primary fins are provided on a first absorber. First absorber is part of the noise damper and the primary fins are placed in a row in vertical direction. Primary fins are extending lengthwise along the noise damper so as to cover at least a surface of the noise damper. The consecutive primary fins form a jalousie structure with the primary air canal in between the two consecutive primary fins. The ambient air moved by the fan is directed to the primary fins which divide the ambient air and direct it towards the primary air canals. Therefore, the noise induced by the fan and the flowing ambient air is reduced.
In an embodiment of the invention a second absorber is provided as part of the noise damper. The second noise damper has multiple secondary fins being placed consecutively in vertical direction. The secondary fins form a jalousie structure with the secondary air canal in between the two consecutive secondary fins. Use of the second absorber provides further noise reduction.
In an embodiment of the invention, the second absorber is a mirror symmetry of the first absorber.
In an embodiment of the invention, the second absorber and the first absorber are placed reciprocally and face to face such that the air canal of one of the absorbers coincide with the fin of the other absorber. Therefore, ambient air is forced to travel through a maze formed by the fins. An advantage of using multiple absorbers is to provide further noise reduction caused by the fan and the flowing ambient air.
In an embodiment of the invention, the primary fins of the first absorber and the secondary fins of the second absorber are formed in the shape of an “L” profile. “L” shaped profiles are readily available and easy to produce. Therefore, the primary absorbers and the secondary absorbers are easy and economical to produce.
Additionally, by placing absorbers having “L” shaped fins reciprocally, a labyrinth has been obtained which creates an obstacle that divides, disperses and reflects the ambient air as it passes through it.
In another embodiment of the invention, the first absorber has the primary fins that are positioned around a central fin that extends horizontally along the central line of the air outlet (6).The primary fins are located in mirror symmetry with respect to the central fin. An acute angle is formed between the primary fins and the central fin so as to gently divert and disperse flowing air through the air outlet thereby decreasing the operational noise of the dishwasher.
In another embodiment of the invention, the noise damper is made from a material having mesh structure and high soundproofing properties. Therefore, the incoming sound waves and flowing air is divided into smaller parts decreasing the overall noise level of the dishwasher.
In another embodiment of the invention, the noise damper is placed adjacent to the evaporator or the air outlet.
In another embodiment of the invention, a buffer having randomly distributed, continuous network of interconnected air channels is provided. Incoming sound waves and flowing air is forced to pass through the air channels thereby decreasing the noise of the dishwasher. Buffer is made from a material with soundproofing properties so as to further diminish the noise of the dishwasher.
The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.
Figure 1 – is a schematic view of dishwasher.
Figure 2 – is a sectional view of the heat pump along the duct according to an embodiment
Figure 3 – is a sectional view of the heat pump along the duct according to another embodiment.
Figure 4 – is a sectional view of the heat pump along the duct according to another embodiment.
Figure 5 – is a sectional view of the heat pump along the duct according to another embodiment.
Figure 6 – is a sectional view of the heat pump along the duct according to another embodiment.
The following numerals are assigned to different parts demonstrated in the drawings and referred to in the present detailed description of the invention:
1. Dishwasher
2. Heat pump
3. Fan
4. Air inlet
5. Evaporator
6. Air outlet
7. Noise damper
8. First absorber
9. Primary fin
10. Primary air canal
11. Second absorber
12. Secondary fin
13. Secondary air canal
14. Central fin
15. Buffer
The present invention relates to a dishwasher (1) comprising; a heat pump (2) and a fan (3) for moving ambient air via an air inlet (4) and transferring it towards the heat pump (2) wherein the heat from ambient air is absorbed via an evaporator (5) and an air outlet (6) whereby ambient air is discharged.
The present invention relates to a dishwasher (1) comprising; a noise damper (7) placed after the fan (3) so as to divide, disperse and reflect the ambient air on multiple surfaces, diminishing the acoustic energy created by the fan (3) and moving ambient air. Ambient air is sucked inside the dishwasher (1) via the air inlet (4) by the suction force generated by the fan (3). Ambient air flows through the evaporator (5) loosing heat energy to the evaporator (5) which in turn transfers the heat energy to the refrigerant. A conduit is transferring refrigerant compressed by the compressor to the evaporator (5), the capillary, the condenser and back to the compressor respectively. The condenser is in a chamber wherein it is at least partly immersed in water so as to be in heat transfer with water. The heated water is transferred to the tub wherein the washing, rinsing and drying operations take place. Afterwards, ambient air is removed from the dishwasher (1) via an air outlet (6). Flowing ambient air is reflected on surfaces of the noise damper (7), divided and dispersed into smaller currents thereby decreasing the operational noise of the dishwasher (1). (Figure 1)
In another embodiment, the noise damper (7) has a first absorber (8); having more than one primary fins (9), being placed consecutively in vertical direction and extending lengthwise, forming a blinds-like structure, with at least one primary air canal (10) in between, the primary fins (9). The first absorber (8) comprises the primary fins (9) that are used to divide, disperse and reflect the ambient air on its surfaces. The primary fins (9) are extending horizontally along the noise damper (7) and are placed vertically with the primary air canals (10) located in between the primary fins (9). The primary fins (9) are making an acute angle with the moving ambient air. A major advantageous effect of using an acute angle is that the ambient air is gently directed towards the primary air canals (10). Thereby, the back pressure can be eliminated or reduced as much as possible, reducing overall noise created by the dishwasher (1). Another advantageous effect of decreasing back pressure is that the fan (3) rotates and sucks the ambient air with relative ease, thereby decreasing the power consumption of the dishwasher (1). (Figure 2)
In another embodiment the noise damper (7) has a second absorber (11); having multiple secondary fins (12) being placed consecutively in vertical direction and extending lengthwise along the air outlet (6) forming a blind-like structure with at least one secondary air canal (13) in between. The second absorber (11) provides a second surface to divide, disperse and reflect the ambient air. Therefore, the noise of the fan (3) and that of the dishwasher (1) is further reduced. (Figure 3)
In another embodiment, the first absorber (8) and the second absorber (11) are placed reciprocally such that the primary air canal (10) is vertically aligned with the secondary fins (12) and the secondary air canal (13) is vertically aligned with the primary fins (9). The first absorber (8) and the second absorber (11) are placed face to face so as to form a labyrinth in between. A major advantageous effect of the present invention is that the labyrinth structure between the first absorber (8) and the second absorber (11) creates a barrier for ambient air, and thus the flow of ambient air slowed, decreasing the overall noise level of the dishwasher (1). (Figure 3)
In another embodiment, the first absorber (8) has the primary fins (9), formed in the shape of an “L” profile. “L” shaped profiles provides an economical and effective way to slow down the ambient air, decreasing the overall noise level of the dishwasher (1). (Figure 2 to 4)
In another embodiment, the second absorber (11) has the secondary fins (12), formed in the shape of an “L” profile. “L” shaped profiles provides an economical and effective way to slow down the ambient air, decreasing the overall noise level of the dishwasher (1). (Figure 2 to 4)
In another embodiment, the first absorber (8) has the primary fins (9) located in mirror symmetry around a central fin (14) extending horizontally along the central line of the air outlet (6) and forming an angle between the central fin (14), the angle being smaller than right angle. Thus, the flow of ambient air is divided symmetrically around the central fin (14). Therefore, airflow and fan-induced noise transmitted to the outside of the dishwasher (1) are reduced. (Figure 5)
In another embodiment, the noise damper (7) is made of a material with soundproofing properties, having a randomly distributed mesh structure. The noise damper (7) is made of a material having high sound proofing properties, meaning that the noise reduction coefficient is higher than 0.5 on a 0 to 1 scale, 1 being highest noise reduction coefficient. Mesh structure creates a labyrinth formed structure for ambient air to pass through. Ambient air that is passing through the noise damper (7) collides with mesh structure and is partly absorbed, transmitted and reflected. Due to high soundproofing property the material has, most of the noise is absorbed by the noise damper (7). (Figure 6)
In another embodiment, the noise damper (7) is placed adjacent the evaporator (5) or the air outlet (6).
In another embodiment, a buffer (15), made of a material having soundproofing properties with randomly distributed, continuous network of interconnected air channels running through the material is placed after the fan (3). Interconnected air channels allow the passage of ambient air whereas sound waves causing the noise is reflected and absorbed before emerging from the other side of the buffer (15). Thereby the total noise level of the dishwasher (1) will be reduced. (Figure 2 to 5)
In another embodiment, the buffer (15) is placed so as to fill the gaps between the first absorber (8) and the second absorber (11). The labyrinth formed between the first absorber (8) and the second absorber (11) is filled by the buffer (15) further reducing the noise level of the dishwasher (1). (Figure 5)
A major advantageous effect of the present invention is that the airflow and fan induced noise of the dishwasher (1) are reduced. Thereby, a dishwasher (1) with low-noise level is acquired increasing the user’s product quality perception. Another major advantageous effect of the present invention is that the back pressure caused by ambient air passing through the noise damper (7) is decreased due to the acute angle between the flowing ambient air and the primary fins (9) and secondary fins (12) thereby improving the power consumption of the dishwasher (1).

Claims

A dishwasher (1) comprising; a heat pump (2) and a fan (3) for moving ambient air via an air inlet (4) and transferring it towards the heat pump (2) wherein the heat from ambient air is absorbed via an evaporator (5) and an air outlet (6) whereby ambient air is discharged, characterized in that a noise damper (7) is placed after the fan (3) so as to divide, disperse and reflect the ambient air on multiple surfaces, diminishing the acoustic energy created by the fan (3) and moving ambient air.
The dishwasher (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the noise damper (7) has a first absorber (8); having more than one primary fins (9), being placed consecutively in vertical direction and extending lengthwise, forming a blinds-like structure, with at least one primary air canal (10) in between the primary fins (9).
The dishwasher (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the noise damper (7) has a second absorber (11); having multiple secondary fins (12) being placed consecutively in vertical direction and extending lengthwise along the air outlet (6) forming a blind-like structure with at least one secondary air canal (13) in between.
The dishwasher (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the first absorber (8) and the second absorber (11) are placed reciprocally such that the primary air canal (10) is vertically aligned with the secondary fins (12) and the secondary air canal (13) is vertically aligned with the primary fins (9).
The dishwasher (1) according to claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the first absorber (8) has the primary fins (9), formed in the shape of an “L” profile.
The dishwasher (1) according to claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the second absorber (11) has the secondary fins (12), formed in the shape of an “L” profile.
The dishwasher (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the first absorber (8) has the primary fins (9) located in mirror symmetry around a central fin (14) extending horizontally along the central line of the air outlet (6) and forming an angle between the central fin (14), the angle being smaller than right angle.
The dishwasher (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the noise damper (7) is made of a material with soundproofing properties, having a randomly distributed mesh structure.
The dishwasher (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the noise damper (7) is placed adjacent the evaporator (5) or the air outlet (6).
The dishwasher (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a buffer (15), made of a material having soundproofing properties with randomly distributed, continuous network of interconnected air channels running through the material is placed after the fan (3).