KR100631722B1 - Heat exchanger for a drier and condensing type drier utilizing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A heat exchanger for a drying device and a condensing type drying device utilizing the same are provided to be remarkably mass-produced by improving tube form and prevent condensed water from leaking, thereby improving product reliability of the drying device employing the heat exchanger. A heat exchanger for a drying device includes a plurality of tubes and a plurality of pin structures. The plurality of pin structure is provided with a plurality of air channels formed by repeatedly cutting a planar metal plate in a zigzag type and a plurality of pins formed on a surface of the air channels. And, a tube(60) is formed by being extruded in a shape of a duct, wherein the duct is opened at both ends thereof.

Description

Heat exchanger for dryer and condensation dryer using the same {HEAT EXCHANGER FOR A DRIER AND CONDENSING TYPE DRIER UTILIZING THE SAME}

1A is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a clothes dryer.

FIG. 1B is a top view of the clothes dryer of FIG. 1A; FIG.

2 is a perspective view showing an example of a heat exchanger;

Figure 3 is an exploded view showing the components of the heat exchanger of the present invention.

4A is a cross-sectional view showing a plate-shaped metal for forming a tube.

4B is a cross-sectional view showing a tube formed by bending the plate-like metal of FIG. 4A.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a tube according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the joint structure of the tube and the fin structure.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a joint structure of the tube and the fin structure according to the present invention.

8 is a sectional view showing a tube according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a photograph showing a portion of the actual heat exchanger manufactured of the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

30: heat exchange part 32: tube

34: pin structure 40: front cover

42: rear cover 52: tube

54: fin structure 56: epoxy layer

60: tube 62: fin structure

70: tube 72: channel wall

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger for a dryer, and more particularly, to a heat exchanger having a new structure with improved heat transfer efficiency.

In general, a drying machine such as a combined-use washing machine or a clothes dryer blows hot air generated by a heater into a drum to perform drying on a drying object, and greatly depends on a treatment method of wet air generated by drying the drying object. It is divided into exhaust method and condensation method.

In the case of the exhaust method, the wet air discharged from the drum is discharged to the outside of the dryer, and in the condensation method, the wet air discharged from the drum is condensed in the condenser to remove moisture, and the dried air, which has been removed, is sent back to the drum for recycling.

Condensation dryers typically include drums for drying laundry, filters for filtering debris, heat exchangers (or condensers) that remove moisture from the laundry through heat exchange, fans that create flow to facilitate drying, and drying to create hot winds. It consists of a heater which shortens, piping which connects each component, etc.

An example of a condenser dryer is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, arrow I shows the flow of outside air, and arrow II shows the flow of circulating air.

As shown in the drawing, the drum 11 in which the drying object is accommodated is rotatably installed in the main body 10 in which the door 12 is installed on the front surface. The drum 11 is connected to the belt 19 by a motor 17 installed below the main body 10 so as to rotate.

In addition, a heat exchanger (or condenser) 13 is installed below the main body 10 to condense the hot and humid air circulating through the drum 11 to remove the moisture to dry the circulating air. The front part and the rear part of the heat exchanger 13 are connected to circulation ducts 14 connected to the front and rear of the drum 11, respectively, so that the air discharged through the drum 11 causes the heat exchanger 13 to pass through. It is configured to be introduced into the drum 11 again.

In addition, the circulation duct 14 is provided with a heater 15 for heating the air passing through the heat exchanger 13 and a circulation fan 16 for forcibly circulating the air through the circulation duct 14, The circulation fan 16 is driven in connection with the other shaft of the motor 17 for driving the drum 11.

In order to condense the air circulating through the circulation duct 14 by heat exchange in the heat exchanger 13, external cool air must be supplied to the heat exchanger 13. One side is connected to the outside air supply duct 18 is connected to the outside of the main body 10, the outside of the heat exchanger 13 to which the outside air supply duct 18 is connected to forcibly suck the outside air through the outside air supply duct 18 The cooling fan 20 and the cooling fan drive motor 21 for discharging into the main body 10 is installed. Reference numeral 22 is a filter for filtering foreign matter such as seams from the air discharged to the circulation duct 14 through the front of the drum (11). In the lower part of the heat exchanger 13, a drip tray (not shown) is installed to collect condensed water dropped during the condensation process, and a pump 23 for sending the condensed water collected in the drip tray to the condensate storage tank 2 is provided. It is installed.

The purpose of the dryer is to dry the laundry in less time and with less power consumption. There is a method of increasing the heater capacity or the capacity of the fan in order to reduce the power consumption and to satisfy the drying time at the same time, but there is a problem due to additional cost burden, an increase in electric bills due to power consumption, noise increase.

An alternative to this problem is to increase the efficiency of the heat exchanger. An example of a heat exchanger used in a condensation type clothes dryer or a dry washing machine is shown in FIG. 2. The heat exchanger as shown in FIG. 2 exchanges heat with wet air circulated into the wet air inlet 13b inside the heat exchanger while dry air introduced into the external air inlet 13a is in the process. Moisture air is condensed by heat exchange, resulting in water droplets. In the condensation type dryer, the heat exchanger is a key component that has an important effect on the drying efficiency, and there is a great need for a new heat exchanger to improve the heat exchange efficiency.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new heat exchanger structure with improved heat exchange efficiency.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to ensure the economics of manufacturing a heat exchanger.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to improve the drying efficiency and product reliability of the dryer or the combined use washing machine.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a heat exchanger in which a plurality of tubes in which wet air circulates and a plurality of fin structures in which external air flows are alternately stacked, and the fin structures are zigzag in a flat metal shape. It consists of a plurality of air flow paths formed by repeatedly bending, and a plurality of fins formed on the surface of the air flow path, the tube provides a heat exchanger for a dryer, characterized in that formed by extrusion in the form of a duct open at both ends. .

A plurality of channel walls may be formed in the tube to form multiple channels. In this case, the channel wall may be integrally formed with the tube.

In order to improve heat transfer characteristics, the tube is preferably smaller than the fin structure.

The material of the tube and the fin structure is preferably a metal or an alloy having a high heat transfer rate, and aluminum is suitable in consideration of weight, price, molding problems, and the like, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

The present invention also provides a heat exchanger in which a plurality of tubes in which wet air circulates and a plurality of fin structures in which external air flows are alternately stacked, and the fin structures are repeatedly bent in a zigzag manner by flat metal. And a plurality of fins formed on the surface of the air channel, wherein the tube is formed in a duct shape at both ends thereof, and includes a plurality of channels separated by a plurality of walls formed therein. It provides a dryer heat exchanger.

The heat exchanger according to the present invention may be applied to a condensation type dryer or a combined drying machine to improve drying efficiency as well as to reduce power consumption for drying and to lower the overall cost of the product.

Referring to the structure of the heat exchanger for a dryer, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of tubes 32 and a plurality of fin structures 34 are alternately stacked as the heat exchanger 30, and the heat exchanger 30 is formed. Both ends of the front cover 40 and the rear cover 42 is mainly formed by injection molding is combined.

The tube 32 is a duct structure having both ends open and having a rectangular cross section, and the fin structure 34 is a structure having a constant thickness in the form of a zigzag by repeatedly bending plate metal, and an inner surface thereof. A plurality of pins are formed in the.

Each of the tube 32 and the fin structure 34 is a passage through which the internal circulating wet air of the dryer and the external dry air flow, respectively, and both of them contact each other to mediate thermal contact between the respective flow air. In this process, since heat is transferred between the outside air and the inside air, the tube 32 and the fin structure 34 use a metal material having excellent heat transfer characteristics, and mainly aluminum is used.

As an example of the forming method of the tube, a plate metal 50 as shown in FIG. 4A is bent close to a rectangular shape so as to form a duct, and so-called seaming treatment is performed so that both ends overlap the joints. do. 4b shows a tube 52 that is bent and shaped in the form of a duct, and the joint portions 52 'at both ends are bent to overlap each other as shown in the enlarged view in the circle.

However, this seaming treatment has a problem in mass productivity because the individual tubes must be bent and formed individually, and the joint portion 52 'cannot solve the problem of leakage of condensate generated by heat exchange in the heat exchanger. have.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention not only secure the economics of the tube forming process, but also improved the tube structure and forming method so that the condensate generated in the heat exchange process does not leak. Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the tube 60 is integrally formed without a seam. Such a form can be formed by extruding the tube material under high pressure (and, if desired, high temperature).

By integrally forming one tube structure by extrusion, there is no seam, which prevents condensate from leaking from the side of the tube at the source, and the tube thickness becomes inconsistent in the bending of the plate metal. The disadvantages can also be solved. In addition, it is also possible to mold a fairly long tube structure by extrusion and cut it into a number of tubes at once, which greatly improves productivity.

On the other hand, the tube and the fin structure constituting the heat exchanger should be formed in a structure in contact with each other for heat transfer. Such contact is typically made by epoxy bonding the tube 52 and the fin structure 54 as shown in FIG. 6. Epoxy bonding is not only time consuming (usually 2 days) but also has a disadvantage in terms of mass production because epoxy itself is a toxic material. In addition, the epoxy layer 56 formed at the junction between the tube 52 and the fin structure 54 generally has a thickness of about 0.5 mm and has poor heat transfer characteristics, which may act as a main factor to deteriorate the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger.

In the present invention, the bonding process is performed without interfering a low heat transfer material such as epoxy to the tube 60 and the fin structure 62. To this end, the present invention uses brazing. Brazing has a merit that it can greatly reduce the time required for joining, because it includes a very thin metal bonding medium at the time of metal bonding to perform the instantaneous bonding at a high temperature, and also prevents a decrease in heat transfer between the joints. FIG. 7 schematically shows the joining structure of the tube 60 and the fin structure 62 in which the joining media layer is substantially not present at the joining portion by brazing.

For example, in the case of bonding by brazing, when the tube 60 and the fin structure 62 are aluminum, the melting point of the aluminum and the melting point of the bonding medium are lowered by using a metallic material having a lower melting point as the bonding medium. Heat to a temperature above the point. In this process, the tube 60 and the fin structure 62 are joined in a short time (usually about 2 minutes), and there is almost no joining medium, so that the heat transfer loss at the contact portion of the heat exchanger is greatly alleviated.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the strength in the thickness direction of the tube is enhanced to maintain the tube thickness more consistently. Referring to FIG. 8, it can be seen that a number of channel walls 72 are formed in the interior space of the integral tube 70 having no seam. The channel wall 72 is formed at regular intervals in the tube 70 to uniformly distribute the force in the thickness direction of the tube, thereby preventing deformation of the thickness.

The channel wall 72 is preferably formed integrally by extrusion in the same manner when the tube 70 is formed. If the channel wall 72 is formed integrally with the tube 70, the space in the tube 70 is partitioned into several channels, thereby increasing the probability that the flow air can transfer heat, thereby improving the overall heat exchange efficiency.

9 is a picture showing the actual tube shape, it can be seen that the tube is integrally formed by extrusion without a joint portion and a plurality of channel walls are formed in the tube inner space. The plurality of channel walls formed inside the tube serve as a support in the thickness direction of the tube, thereby preventing bending of the tube. In addition, the plurality of channel walls not only serves to support the tube thickness not to change by dividing the space in the tube into a plurality of channels, as well as itself as a mediator for heat transfer effectively heat transfer of the upper and lower parts of the tube Promote.

According to the present invention, the heat transfer characteristics of the heat exchanger for the dryer can be improved, and the heat exchange efficiency is greatly increased. In particular, by improving the shape of the tube, which is a component of the heat exchanger, to increase productivity and prevent leakage of condensate at the source, it is possible to greatly improve the product reliability of the dryer or combined-use washing machine employing this heat exchanger.

Claims (7)

A heat exchanger in which a plurality of tubes in which wet air circulates and a plurality of fin structures in which external air flows are alternately stacked. The fin structure includes a plurality of air flow paths formed by repeatedly bending a flat metal in a zigzag manner, and a plurality of fins formed on a surface of the air flow paths. The tube is formed by extrusion as a form of a duct open at both ends. Heat exchanger for dryer. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein a plurality of channel walls are formed in the tube. 3. The heat exchanger of claim 2, wherein said channel wall is integrally formed with said tube. The dryer heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the tube is smaller in thickness than the fin structure. The dryer heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the tube and the fin structure are made of aluminum. A condensation type dryer using the heat exchanger of claim 1. A heat exchanger in which a plurality of tubes in which wet air circulates and a plurality of fin structures in which external air flows are alternately stacked. The fin structure includes a plurality of air flow paths formed by repeatedly bending a flat metal in a zigzag manner, and a plurality of fins formed on a surface of the air flow paths. The tube is in the form of a duct open at both ends, the heat exchanger for a dryer, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of channels separated by a plurality of walls formed therein.

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