RU2436879C2 - Linen drum dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: textile industry.

SUBSTANCE: linen drum dryer contains a closed drying air circuit (designed so that heated drying air is able to pass through a rotary drum), an air condenser for removal of moisture from hot moisture-saturated drying air coming out of the drum; an open cooling air circuit designed so that to enable circulation through the air condenser. The cooling air flow is taken in from the environment for cooling the said condenser and release of the cooling air flow back into the environment. Additionally the dryer contains units catching and gathering fibres for floss removal from the drying air flow. The closed drying air circuit includes an air channel with an inlet hole fluidly coupled with the drum and an outlet hole fluidly coupled with the air condenser and an air flow deviation surface for deviating air passing through the inlet hole and for the air delivery in the direction of the outlet hole. The units catching and gathering fibres contain a water delivery device adapted for water delivery onto the upper part of the air flow deviation surface with formation of a water film or curtain directed downwards along the said surface so that the drying air flow runs over the water curtain and moves along it ensuring the possibility of floss capture and catching by the water curtain; additionally the units contain a drain device designed so that to enable gathering water containing floss on the lower part of the air flow deviation surface.

EFFECT: easy servicing of the dryer.

8 cl, 6 dwg

Description

The present invention relates to a tumble dryer.

Known condenser-type drum dryers comprise a closed drying air circuit configured to circulate heated drying air through a rotating drum, and an air-cooled condenser, i.e. an air-to-air heat exchanger, configured to remove moisture from the moisture-saturated hot drying air leaving the drum as well as an open cooling air circuit, configured to circulate a flow of cooling air taken from the surrounding red, through an air-cooled condenser to cool said condenser and to discharge said cooling air stream back into the environment.

An example of a tumble dryer of the type mentioned above is shown schematically in FIG.

Through a closed loop of drying air, hot and moisture-saturated drying air exits the rotating drum and is sent to the air-cooled condenser. Then, the dehydrated drying air leaving the condenser, after appropriate heating, is sent back to the drum to further remove moisture from the laundry that is turned inside the drum.

After the air-cooled condenser, means are provided for heating the dehydrated drying air to send it again to the drum.

An air condenser comprises a plurality of fluid channels through which drying air can flow to condense and remove moisture, and these fluid channels are surrounded by a stream of cooling air flowing through an open cooling air circuit.

The closed loop of drying air typically includes units for filtering and collecting fluff designed to remove fluff from the drying air. Such a filtration tool is required to prevent the deposition of fluff or cotton fibers and their accumulation on the heat exchange surfaces of the air condenser, which may affect its performance and efficiency. In addition, this filtering means prevents the dangerous accumulation of fluff on the heating means, which eliminates the possibility of a fire.

However, the filtering means has a major drawback in that it can easily become clogged during drying, which leads to significant pressure losses in the drainage circuit and, therefore, requires a corresponding increase in power to provide a given flow rate through this drainage circuit. This also causes a significant change in the flow rate during the drying process, which reduces the efficiency.

Another disadvantage is that in order to ensure the maximum possible efficiency of the drum dryer, the user must, after the end of each drying cycle, clean the filtering means.

However, the user, as a rule, does not like to perform such routine care and cleaning work, as it requires certain actions, that is, to come into contact with fluff and fibers. In addition, the user usually considers this to be a waste of time. It should be emphasized that the full effectiveness and the ability to ensure the performance of the drum dryer depend on the maintenance actually provided by the user. Therefore, the consequences of poor maintenance or care not performed as often as required are obvious.

However, the fluff is inevitably delayed by the filtering means during the drying process, and such fluff inevitably gradually increases the resistance to the flow of drying air passing through it, as a result of which the flow rate of the process air decreases in one way or another, and the drying time required to complete the current drying cycle, respectively, increases.

The present invention is the solution to the above problems, which eliminates the disadvantages of the above-described known device.

In accordance with the present invention, this task, along with other tasks that will become apparent from the following description, is solved in a tumble dryer, the features of which are defined and presented in the attached claims.

The properties and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description of a non-limiting example with reference to the drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a schematic view of a known drum tumble dryer;

figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a tumble dryer in accordance with the present invention;

figure 3 is a side view with a cut of the channel for air with a surface that deflects the air flow;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a tumble dryer in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

5 is a schematic perspective view of a tumble dryer in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a schematic perspective view of a tumble dryer in accordance with another additional embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawings, a tumble dryer in accordance with the present invention, denoted by reference numeral 1, comprises a closed drying air circuit configured to circulate heated drying air through a rotating drum loaded with laundry to be dried; an air condenser 2 configured to remove moisture from the hot drying air saturated with moisture coming out of the drum; an open cooling air circuit configured to circulate above and through the condenser 2, the flow of cooling air being taken from the environment to cool said condenser and re-fed into the external environment; fiber retention and collection means for removing fluff from the drying air stream.

The closed loop of the drying air includes an air channel 4 with an inlet 5 in fluid communication with the drum and an outlet 6 in fluid communication with the air condenser 2; and a surface air deflecting surface 7 configured to deflect and direct air entering the inlet 5 in the direction of the outlet 7.

The fiber retention and collection means comprise a water supply means 8 adapted to supply water to the upper portion of the air deflecting surface 7 to allow the water film or curtain 9 to flow down along the surface 7, as a result of which the drying air stream collides with the water film or the curtain 9 and runs along it, and the water curtain has the ability to capture the fluff contained in the air.

In addition, the fiber retention and collection means comprise a draining means for collecting fluff-containing water in the lower portion of the surface deflecting air flow 7.

Preferably, the dryer has a lid 3 for opening and closing the end of the rotating drum. This cover 3 forms the air channel 4 of the closed loop of the drying air.

In other words, the air passage 4 of the closed loop of the drying air is formed in the lid 3, which essentially closes the open end of the rotating drum.

The drum dryer comprises an outer casing 11, that is, an outer casing covering parts of the device. The outer casing 11 includes a window 12 for loading / unloading laundry with a door 13, providing the ability to load the laundry inside and remove it from the drum. The drum is mounted inside the housing 11 with the possibility of rotation around its central axis driven by an engine.

Through a closed loop of drying air, hot and moisture-saturated drying air leaves the rotating drum and is supplied in the direction of the air condenser 2. Then, the dehydrated drying air coming out from the condenser 2, after corresponding heating, again enters the drum to further remove moisture from the laundry that is turned inside the drum. The drum dryer comprises a suitable fan to circulate the drying air in a closed loop of the drying air. The heating means is installed after the air condenser to heat the dehydrated drying air, which is again fed into the drum.

The open cooling air circuit contains a fan that circulates the cooling air through the air condenser, the air inlet and outlet, in fluid communication with the air condenser 2. The cooling air in the open cooling air circuit is taken from the environment, supplied to the air condenser and, in ultimately released back into the environment.

The air condenser 2, which is preferably an air-to-air heat exchanger, contains a plurality of fluid channels along which drying air can flow to condense and remove moisture from it, and these fluid channels are surrounded by a stream of cooling air flowing through open cooling air circuit.

For example, the condenser 2 may contain a first set of spaced apart channels for the fluid through which the drying air passes, and a second set of spaced apart channels for the fluid through which the cooling air is passed and which are alternated relative to the channels of said first set for the fluid, as a result of which between the two adjacent channels of the drying air is a channel for cooling air.

The cooling air flowing through the channels of the second set flows around, that is, moves in contact with the channels for the drying air, cooling it, as a result of which water vapor in the hot, moisture-saturated drying air settles due to condensation.

The dryer contains means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 for collecting condensed water formed during operation of the dryer from the air condenser 2.

The cover 3 is made with the possibility of closing the open end of the drum and forming an air channel 4, which is a single section of a closed loop of drying air and is configured to receive and transmit hot drying moisture coming out of the drum. In the air channel 4 there is an inlet 5 in fluid communication with the drum, an outlet 6 in fluid communication with the air condenser 2, and a surface 7 deflecting the air flow to deflect the air flow entering the inlet 5 and supply it in the outlet direction holes 6 from which air is supplied to the air condenser 2.

The drum can be made in the form of a single structure, which is one part containing a cylindrical wall, a front flange with a hole for access inside the drum and a rear flange mechanically connected to the drum drive shaft in rotation. In this case, the cover 3 is connected with the door 13 of the housing or is integrated in it with the possibility of closing the opening for access into the drum with the door of the housing closed. Typically, the lid 3 is located on the inner side of the housing door 13 and is directed inside the drum so that the inlet 5 of the air channel 4 is located in close proximity to the access hole inside the drum or can be installed inside the hole when the housing door 13 is closed.

Alternatively, the cover 3 forming the air channel 4 can be made so that it corresponds to the rear flange of the drum.

In an additional embodiment of the invention, the drum may consist of a cylindrical side wall open at its front and rear ends. The cylindrical side wall is rotatably mounted on the front and rear holders that close the respective ends of the drum, which allows the cylindrical side wall to rotate relative to the front and rear covers, which are fixedly mounted relative to the outer casing 11.

One of these holders forms a cover 3, which (possibly in cooperation with the door of the housing in its closed position) forms an air channel 4.

The water supply means 8 may, for example, comprise an irrigation means, for example a tube, a sprayer or the like, which (preferably has a plurality of holes) configured to form a water stream in close proximity to the upper portion of the air flow deflecting surface 7 to form a water film or curtains 9 flowing down along the surface deflecting the air flow 7. Drying air passing during operation of the drum dryer through the air channel 4 formed by the lid 3 as a result e collision with such a water film or curtain 9 deviates and moves along it. Thus, coming into contact with the drying air and the impurities carried with it, water can trap and hold down fluff and fibers carried by the flow of drying air, which is thus cleaned of these impurities and then leaves the air channel 4 to supply it , i.e. moving in the direction of the air condenser.

The aforementioned draining means 10 may, for example, include a collection unit for fluff-containing water in a lower portion of the airflow deflecting surface 7.

Typically, the drying air enters the air channel 4 through the inlet 5 and hits a water film or curtain 9 flowing downward along the surface 7 deflecting the air flow. This water film or curtain 9 acts as a reflective wall that the drying air collides with when it is deflected and it then moves in contact with this water film or curtain 9. Water retains impurities, such as fluff and fibers, normally carried along with the drying air, while the draining means 10 collects water containing fluff directly close proximity to the lower portion of the surface deflecting the air flow. Thus, after cleaning the drying air from the fluff it carries, the drying air ultimately from the air channel 4 through the outlet 6 enters the air condenser 2.

In an embodiment of the invention, the lid 3 comprises water supply means 8 and a drain means 10, the drain means 10 being in particular located closer to the surface deflecting the air flow. This option turned out to be more preferable in the case when the open end of the cylindrical side wall of the drum is mounted rotatably on the cover 3.

In a further embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 2-6, the housing door 13 includes a lid 3 forming an air channel 4, and water supplying means 8 and draining means 10 are installed close to the frame 19 forming the loading / unloading window 12 linen in the outer case 11, so that when the door 13 is closed, the water supply means 8 is located in close proximity to the upper portion of the air deflecting surface 7, while the drain means 10 is located in close proximity to the lower portion of this surface 7.

In particular, in the upper part of the frame 19, water supply means 8 are installed, while in the lower part of the same frame 19, a supply or collection unit 20 of the drain means 10 is formed.

Accordingly, a hole 21 is additionally made in the frame 19, through which the drying air cleaned from fluff leaving the air channel 4 through the outlet 6 can enter directly into the air condenser 2, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, or can enter air condenser 2 after fan 22.

The collection unit 20 and the hole 21 are arranged and configured to prevent accidental entrapment of fluff-containing water and its transfer by drying air to the air condenser 2.

Preferably, the water supply means 8 is in fluid communication with the collection means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, whereby condensed water collected in the said collection means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 enters the water supply means 8.

In addition, the draining means 10 is also in fluid communication with said collecting means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, whereby fluff-containing water can be transferred for collection to said collecting means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

Preferably, the water supply means 8, the drain means 10 and the collection means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 form a closed water circuit, as a result of which the water entering and leaving the drain means 10 can be recovered and again fed into the means 8 water supply.

The closed water circuit may include filtering means 23 adapted to filter fluff-containing water coming from draining means 10, as a result of which filtered, completely fluff-free water can be supplied to the water supplying means 8.

Preferably, such a filtering means 23 is installed in the collection means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

The collection means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 may include either removable tanks, that is, tanks that can be removed from the outer casing 11 in which the filtering means 23 is located, or permanently installed tanks in which the removable means 23 are located filtering so that it can be removed for cleaning.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the water supply means 8 is connected via a supply pipe 24 to a collection means 14, which includes a removable reservoir with a filtering means 23. Located in the collection means 14, the first valve 25 allows removable connection of the collection means 14 to the supply pipe 24, while the second valve 26 installed therein also allows the condensed water to be supplied from the air condenser 2 to the collection means 14. A return line 27 connects the drain means 20 to the collection means 14 through a third valve 28 installed inside the collection means 14.

The filtering means 23 separates the collecting means 14 into a first compartment 29 configured to collect condensed water coming from the air condenser 2, and a second compartment 30 configured to collect the down-containing water flowing from the draining means 10. Since the first compartment 29 is connected to the supply pipe 24 of the water supply means 8, water in the second compartment 30 flows through the filtering means 23 (which holds the fluff contained therein) and, ultimately, flows into the first compartment 29, and from there into the means 8 water supply through the supply pipe 24.

To ensure the circulation of water in a closed circuit formed by means 8 for supplying water, means 10 for draining and collecting means 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, there is a pump 31.

The fluff accumulating in the filtering means 23 can be removed by simply emptying the reservoirs 14 through an opening made in the second compartment 30. Thus, pouring out the water in the second compartment 30 as a result of the flow of water from the first compartment 29 during operation of the dryer, allows you to remove to collect the fluff settled in the filtering means 23.

Figure 4 presents an additional embodiment of the present invention, in which similar or identical parts and details are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this particular case, the collection means includes a fixed tank 15, which cannot be removed from the outer casing 11 and in which the filtering means 23 is installed. Said reservoir is in fluid communication with supply means 8, drain means 10 and air condenser 2, in the same way as described above.

The collection means further includes a container 16, mounted with the possibility of extraction in the upper part of the outer casing 11 and connected to the supply pipe 24.

If necessary, selectively supplying water flowing through the supply pipe 24 to the water supply means 8 and / or to a removable container 16, a valve 32 is installed.

Preferably, in the fixed tanks 15, removable filtering means 23 can be provided that can be removed for cleaning.

5 shows an additional embodiment of the present invention, in which similar or identical parts and details are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this case, the collection means includes a fixed tank 17, which cannot be removed from the outer casing 11 and which is in fluid communication with the supply means 8, the drain means 10 and the air condenser 2, in the same way as described above. This allows you to get in the tank 17 as condensed water coming from the air condenser 2, and containing fluff water coming from the means 10 drain.

The collection means further includes a container 18, which is removably mounted in the upper part of the outer casing 11 and which is connected to the reservoir 17 through the connecting pipe 33, and with the water supply means 8 through the supply pipe 24. The container 18 includes a means 23 filtering, configured to filter the flowing through it supplied to the means 8 for supplying water. The filtering means 23 is installed in the container 18 so that it essentially forms a first compartment 34 receiving water from the reservoir 17 and a second compartment 35 in which filtered water is collected for supplying it through the supply pipe 24 to the water supply means.

The fluff accumulated in the filtering means 23 can be removed from it by simply emptying the container 18 through an opening made in the first compartment 34. Thus, pouring water from the compartment 34, which is contained in it as a result of leakage from the second compartment 35 during operation of the dryer, allows remove and collect fluff settled in the filtering means 23.

FIG. 6 shows yet another additional embodiment of the present invention, which is essentially similar to that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The only difference is that the drying air free from fluff coming out of the air duct 4 first enters the fan. 22, and then fed and sent accordingly to the air condenser 2.

As for the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the drum dryer is used in accordance with the present invention, a pump 31 is used which pumps out the water contained in the tank 14 (through the first valve 25) to supply it to the water supply means 8 through the supply pipe 24. The water flowing along the surface 7 that deflects the air flow, water in the form of a water film or a curtain 9 captures and holds down fluff carried by the flow of drying air, removing it from the air. The fluff-containing water is collected in the collection unit 20 of the draining means 10 and through the return pipe 27 enters the reservoir 14. Through the third valve 28, the fluff-containing water enters the second compartment 30 of the reservoir 14 and then passes through the filtration means 23 to the first compartment 29 of the reservoir 14, from which it is selected through the first valve 25 by the pump 31.

Condensed water in the air condenser 2, in turn, can replenish (through the second valve 26) the first compartment 29, from which it is taken through the first valve 25 by the pump 31.

A water film or curtain 9 can act during the entire drying cycle, in this case it is only necessary to ensure that the tank 14 is never completely empty, and a predetermined amount of water, one way or another, should remain in the tank 14. Alternatively, since the fluff begins to form after the loaded laundry in the dryer has dried to a certain extent, there is no need to include a water film or curtain from the very beginning of the drying cycle. In fact, it is enough to activate a water film or a curtain after a certain period of time after the start of the drying cycle. This mode has the advantage that a water film or curtain can be formed using condensed water, which by this time can accumulate in the tank 14.

The operating mode of the drum dryer in the embodiment of FIG. 4 is substantially similar to the mode described above. The only difference is that the water drawn by the pump 31 from the permanently installed reservoir 15 can be selectively supplied (via the corresponding valve 32) to the water supply means 8 and / or the removable container 16.

The operation of the drum dryer in the embodiment of FIG. 5 is based on collecting condensed water coming from the air condenser 2 in a fixed tank 17 and containing fluff of water coming from the return line 27 of the drain means 10. The pump 31 takes water from the tank 17 and delivers it (through the corresponding pipe 33) to the first compartment 34 of the removable container 18. Then, by passing through the filtering means 23, which acts as a partition, water enters the second compartment 35 of the container 18, and from it fed through a supply pipe 24 to the means 8 for supplying water.

Thus, the present invention, containing the nodes of the retention and collection of fiber, can effectively provide the possibility of the drum dryer without changing its characteristics during the drying cycle, that is, the level of characteristics of the drum dryer remains unchanged during the drying cycle. This is due to the fact that the present invention prevents the formation of obstacles that would resist the flow of process air through a closed loop of drying air.

In addition, the fiber retention and collection units of the present invention do not require any special maintenance to be performed by the user.

It should be emphasized that the only reason that the fluff-containing water filtering means 23 is used is to improve the ability of the water film or curtain 9 to capture and hold the fluff as a whole and to minimize the risk of clogging of the closed water circuit during the drying process. However, the use of such a filtering tool should not be considered mandatory.

In addition, in the case when such a filtering means 23 is installed in removable containers 14 and 18, you just need to empty these containers (which you must do anyway) to clean the filtering means 23.

Claims (8)

1. A drum dryer for linen, comprising an outer casing (11) having a window (12) for loading / unloading laundry with a door (13) that provides the ability to load laundry inside and remove it from a drum installed inside the casing (11), a closed dryer circuit air configured to circulate heated drying air through a rotating drum; an air condenser (2) made with the possibility of removing moisture from the drying air coming out of said drum of hot, moisture-saturated; an open cooling air circuit configured to circulate through the air condenser (2) a stream of cooling air drawn from the environment to cool said condenser and to supply this cooling air stream back to the environment; fiber retention and collection units for removing fluff from the drying air stream; wherein the closed loop of the drying air includes an air channel (4) with an inlet (5) in fluid communication with the drum and an outlet (6) in fluid communication with the air condenser (2), and a deflecting air stream surface (7) for deflecting and supplying the air flowing in through the inlet (5) towards the outlet (6), characterized in that the fiber holding and collecting units comprise water supply means (8) adapted to supply water to the upper part of the deflector air flow ha surface (7) to form a downward along said surface (7) of the water film or curtain (9) so that the flow of drying air impinges on the curtain of water (9) and moving therealong, providing the ability to capture and retain lint water curtain; and also a draining means (10) configured to collect fluff-containing water in the lower part of the surface deflecting the air flow (7), while the door (13) contains the deflecting air flow surface (7) of the air channel (4), moreover, the means (8 ) the water supply and the draining means (10) are installed close to the frame (19), which forms the window (12) for loading / unloading laundry in the outer casing (11), while with the door (13) closed, the water supply (8) is located in the immediate proximity to the upper portion of the surface deflecting the air flow (7), and the tool (10) with liv is located in close proximity to the lower part of the surface deflecting the air flow (7). 2. A drum dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that water supply means (8) are installed in the upper part of the frame (19), and a drain assembly (20) is formed in the lower part of the frame (19). 3. A drum dryer according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18) for collecting condensed water formed during the drying process from the air condenser (2), wherein the means (8) the water supply is in fluid communication with the collection means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18), so that the water supply means (8) can be supplied with condensed water. 4. A drum dryer according to claim 3, characterized in that the draining means (10) is in fluid communication with the collection means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18), so that water containing fluff has the possibility of entering the means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18) collection and can be collected in it. 5. A drum dryer according to claim 4, characterized in that the means (8) for supplying water, the means (10) for draining and the means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18) for collecting form a closed water circuit, so that leaving the means ( 10) the discharge of water can be returned and transferred back to the means (8) for supplying water. 6. A drum dryer according to claim 5, characterized in that the closed water circuit includes means (23) for filtering the water containing fluff coming from the means (10), so that filtered water free from fluff can be fed into the means (8) water supply. 7. A drum dryer according to claim 6, characterized in that the filtering means (23) is installed in the collection means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18). 8. A drum dryer according to claim 7, characterized in that the collection means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18) includes at least one container that can be removed from the outer casing (11), or at least one tank fixedly mounted in the outer casing (11), while filtering means (23) are installed in at least one container or in at least one tank.

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