WO2016173787A1

WO2016173787A1 - A laundry dryer

Info

Publication number: WO2016173787A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/056723
Authority: WO
Inventors: Samet AKAN; Emre AYAROGLU; Ahmet Alptekin
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2015-04-28
Filing date: 2016-03-25
Publication date: 2016-11-03

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer (1) comprising a body (2); a drum (3) wherein the laundry to be dried is placed; an air circulation duct (5) providing the drying air onto the laundry in the drum (3); a heat exchanger (4) disposed on the air circulation duct (5) enabling the temperature of the drying air to be changed; at least one filter (6) holding fiber, lint and dust in the drying air; a tank (7) for storing the condensed water; a discharge channel (11) for collecting the water and the fiber, lint and dust resulting from washing the heat exchanger (4) and the filter (6); a discharge pump (8) for transfering the water accumulated in the discharge channel (11) to the tank (7), a hose (9) connected to the discharge pump (8) and to the tank (7), produced from elastic material and stretchable with the effect of the pressure of the discharge pump (8) in case of clogging; and a control unit (12).

Description

A LAUNDRY DRYER

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer wherein lint, fluff and dust accumulating on components such as heat exchanger, filter, etc. are removed.

While the laundry is being dried in the laundry dryer, fiber, lint and dust break off from the laundry particularly due to mechanical effects. In conventional laundry dryers, most of these particles are collected by means of one or more than one filter disposed on the laundry dryer, thus preventing these particles from accumulating on the heat exchanger and other components. The water, that is evaporated from over the laundry and condensed in the heat exchanger during the drying cycle, is collected in a tank disposed on the laundry dryer. In the state of the art, use of the water collected in the tank for the cleaning of components such as the filter, the heat exchanger, etc. is disclosed. In these embodiments, the water received from the tank removes undesired particles on the components being cleaned by it and continues its circulation.

After the washing of the components such as filter, heat exchanger, etc., fiber, lint and dust accumulating thereon are removed. These fiber, lint and dust removed should be transferred to the tank together with water. While the water containing fiber, lint and dust therein is sucked by the discharge pump and pumped into the discharge channel for this process, the fiber, lint and dust in the water may accumulate at the narrow sections of the discharge channel and at the suction port of the discharge pump. In this case, the outlet of the discharge pump gets clogged, preventing the efficient operation of the system. If a pipe with a large diameter is used at the outlet of the discharge pump, the lints can be transferred to the tank together with water without causing clogging. However, when the discharge pump stops operating, the water remaining between the tank and the discharge pump moves in the reverse direction with the effect of gravity and is emptied back into the discharge channel. When a hose with a small diameter is used in order to decrease the amount of water that is emptied back, this time, the outlet of the discharge pump is clogged.

In the state of the art, various methods are developed for facilitating the discharge of fiber, lint and dust accumulating on components such as filter, heat exchanger, etc. after the washing of these components.

The state of the art International Patent Applications No. WO2012146533 and WO2012146534 relate to a heat pump laundry dryer an evaporator that condenses the humid processing air; a condenser that is placed into the ventilation duct and that heats the processing air dehumidified at the evaporator; a pump that enables the condensate water to be discharged, and a drain channel that extends between the evaporator and the condenser and that enables the condensate water coming from the evaporator to be delivered to the pump in order to be discharged.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of a laundry dryer wherein the water containing fiber, lint and dust therein is discharged to the tank so that less water remains in the discharge channel without causing any clogging.

The laundry dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a hose that is disposed between the discharge pump and the tank, that is produced from elastic material and that swells like a balloon with the pressure of the pump in case of slogging, thereby increasing its cross-sectional area.

The hose has a narrow cross-section and stretches and widens while the water containing particles passes therethrough and returns to its initial state after the passage of the water. While the particles with a size that may cause clogging at the outlet of the discharge pump or inside the hose can pass through the hose to be transferred to the tank with the change of the cross-section of the hose by stretching, the amount of water remaining in the hose with narrow cross-section when the discharge pump is stopped is enabled to be minimized. Thus, without causing any clogging, the water containing fiber, lint and dust therein is enabled to be discharged to the tank and the amount of water returning to the discharge channel when the discharge pump is stopped is enabled to be minimized.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the cross-section of the hose is elliptical or oblong. By means of this embodiment, the flexibility of the hose is increased.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the hose is wrapped by means of more than clamp disposed at certain intervals. Thus, the hose is enabled to stand almost fully upright and the hose is allowed to stretch at more points.

In another embodiment of the present invention, one clamp that extends along the hose and that has a form completely surrounding the hose is used.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer comprises a wall against which the hose bears and whereon the clamp is fixed so that the hose remains between the clamp and the wall.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the clamp is in form of a V with the ends of both arms being mounted to the wall. In this embodiment, when the hose stretches, the outer surface of the hose becomes almost circular so as to contact the clamp.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the clamp is in form of an Ω (letter omega) with the ends of both arms being mounted to the wall.

By means of the present invention, with the discharge pump, the water containing fiber, lint and dust therein is directed towards the tank without causing any clogging at the outlet of the discharge pump and in the hose and the amount of water returning to the discharge channel when the discharge pump is stopped is minimized.

A laundry dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the schematic view of the laundry dryer of the present invention.

Figure 2 - is the perspective view of the discharge pump, the hose and the clamp that are disposed in a laundry dryer.

Figure 3 - is the view of cross section B-B in Figure 2.

Figure 4 - is the perspective view of the discharge pump, the hose and the clamp that are disposed in a laundry dryer in another embodiment.

Figure 5 - is the view of cross section C-C in Figure 4.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Laundry dryer
Body
Drum
Heat exchanger
Air circulation duct
Filter
Tank
Discharge pump
Hose
Clamp
Discharge channel
Control unit
Wall

A: Cross-sectional area of the hose

The laundry dryer (1) of the present invention comprises a body (2); a drum (3) wherein the laundry to be dried is placed; an air circulation duct (5) providing the delivery of the drying air onto the laundry in the drum (3); a heat exchanger (4), for example an evaporator, that is disposed on the air circulation duct (5) and that enables the temperature of the drying air to be changed; at least one filter (6) that holds fiber, lint and dust in the drying air; a tank (7) wherein the condensed water is stored; a discharge channel (11) wherein the water draining from the filter (6) and the heat exchanger (4) washed with the water taken from the tank (7) and mixed with fiber, lint and dust is collected; a discharge pump (8) that transfers the water accumulated in the discharge channel (11) into the tank (7), and a control unit (12).

The laundry dryer (1) of the present invention comprises a hose (9)

- that is disposed between the discharge pump (8) and the tank (7), with one connected to the discharge pump (8) and the other end to the tank (7),

- that carries the water mixed with fiber, lint and dust taken from the discharge channel (11) by the discharge pump (8) to the tank (7),

- that is produced from elastic material,

- that stretches with the effect of the pressure of the discharge pump (8) in case of clogging due to fiber, lint and dust, thus increasing the cross-sectional area (A) thereof and allowing the flow of the water.

The laundry dryer (1) of the present invention furthermore comprises at least one clamp (10) that has a gap between itself and the hose (9), that stops the expansion of the hose (9) by bearing against the outer wall of the hose (9) when the hose (9) stretches and that provides the continuity of the water transmission (Figure 1).

The laundry dryer (1) of the present invention is controlled by the control unit (12) as follows. The water taken from the tank (7) is directed onto the heat exchanger (4), the filter (6) and other components that should be cleansed of fiber and lints. The discharge pump (8) operated by the control unit (12) takes the water draining from the washed components and flowing into the discharge channel (11) and the fiber, lint and dust, and in the first cycle transfers the same into the tank (7) by means of the hose (9). If the amount of fiber, lint and dust in the water is high enough to cause clogging while the water containing fiber, lint and dust therein passes through the hose (9), the hose (9) stretches and allows the particles to pass through the hose (9) without causing any clogging. If the amount of fiber, lint and dust in the water is not much, since the hose (9) has a narrow cross-section under the normal conditions, the water passes through a narrow cross-section to be transferred to the tank (7). The hose (9) stretches in proportion to the amount of fiber, lint and dust in the water. The hose (9) stretches so that the wall thereof bears against the clamp (10) and the water containing fiber, lint and dust bigger than the cross-sectional area (A) of the hose (9) is allowed to be passed through the hose (9). After the water containing fiber, lint and dust passes, the hose (9) automatically returns to its initial cross-sectional area (A). The hose (9) does not stretch further at the region the wall thereof bears against the clamp (10). The clamp (10) enables the hose (9) to stand upright and prevents the hose (9) from further stretching. Thus, the water containing fiber, lint and dust bigger than the cross-sectional area (A) of the hose can be transferred to the tank (7) without causing any clogging at the outlet of the discharge pump (8) and in the hose (9). By means of the elastic hose (9) connected to the outlet of the discharge pump (8), almost all of the particles such as fiber, lint and dust are enabled to be transferred to the tank (7) together with the water, thus preventing the clogging at the outlet of the discharge pump (8) and in the hose (9). In the laundry dryer (1) of the present invention, after the water in the discharge channel (11) is transferred from the hose (9) into the tank (7), the discharge pump (8) is stopped and the fiber, lint and dust carried with the water are held in the tank (7) by the known filtration methods. Afterwards, the water in the tank (7) flows into the discharge channel (11) from the hose (9) as cleansed of the fiber, lint and dust therein and by operating the discharge pump (8) again, the water in the discharge channel (11), cleansed of almost all fiber, lint and dust is transferred to the tank (7) and the discharge pump (8) is stopped. Since the hose (9) has a narrow cross-section, it is provided that less amount of water remains in the second hose (9) when the discharge pump (8) is stopped. Since the hose (9) stretches only in case of clogging due to fiber, lint and dust, after the passage of fiber, lint and dust, the hose (9) returns to its initial state with the narrow cross-section. With the stopping of the discharge pump (8), the amount of water remaining in the hose (9) is enabled to be so small as to be negligible. Thus, the amount of water returning to the discharge channel (11) with the stopping of the discharge pump (8) is reduced without causing any clogging in the hose (9).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer (1) comprises a hose (9) with an elliptical or oblong cross-section (Figure 3). In this embodiment, when the hose (9) starts to stretch with the effect of clogging and pressure, the hose (9) wall surrounding the cross-sectional area (A) become circular, increasing the cross-sectional area (A).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer (1) comprises more than one clamp (10) disposed along the hose (9) at certain intervals. Thus, the hose (9) is enabled to stand almost fully upright and the hose (9) is allowed to stretch at more points.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer (1) comprises one clamp (10) that extends along the hose (9) and that completely surrounds the hose (9).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer (1) comprises a wall (13) against which the hose (10) bears and whereon the clamp (10) is fixed so that the hose (9) remains between the clamp (10) and the wall.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the clamp (10) is in form of a V with both arms mounted to the wall (13), with an angle of 60° between the arms thereof (Figure 4 and Figure 5).In this embodiment, the two arms of the clamp (10) and the wall (13) surrounds the hose (9) by creating a frame in form of an equilateral triangle. When the hose (9) stretches, the hose (9) wall surrounding the cross-sectional area (A) of the hose (9) contacts the clamp (10) along its circumference at certain intervals and takes a circular shape.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the clamp (10) is in form of an Ω (letter omega) with both arms being mounted to the wall (13) (Figure 2 and Figure 3). In this embodiment, when the hose (9) stretches, the hose (9) wall surrounding the cross-sectional area (A) of the hose (9) becomes almost completely circular so as to contact the clamp (10).

By means of the present invention, with the discharge pump (8), the water containing fiber, lint and dust therein is directed towards the tank (7) without causing any clogging at the outlet of the discharge pump (8) and along the hose (9) and when the discharge pump (8) is stopped, the amount of water returning to the discharge channel (11) is minimized.

Claims

A laundry dryer (1) of comprising a body (2); a drum (3) wherein the laundry to be dried is placed; an air circulation duct (5) providing the delivery of the drying air onto the laundry in the drum (3); a heat exchanger (4) that is disposed on the air circulation duct (5) and that enables the temperature of the drying air to be changed; at least one filter (6) that holds fiber, lint and dust in the drying air; a tank (7) wherein the condensed water is stored; a discharge channel (11) wherein the water draining from the filter (6) and the heat exchanger (4) washed with the water taken from the tank (7) and mixed with fiber, lint and dust is collected, and a discharge pump (8) that transfers the water accumulated in the discharge channel (11) into the tank (7), characterized in that a hose (9) with one connected to the outlet of the discharge pump (8) and the other end to the tank (7), that carries the water mixed with fiber, lint and dust taken from the discharge channel (11) by the discharge pump (8) to the tank (7), that is produced from elastic material and that stretches with the effect of the pressure of the discharge pump (8) in case of clogging, thus increasing the cross-sectional area (A) thereof.
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 1, characterized in that at least one clamp (10) that has a gap between itself and the hose (9), that stops the expansion of the hose (9) by bearing against the outer wall of the hose (9) when the hose (9) stretches.
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the hose (9) that is elliptical or oblong.
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that more than clamp (10) disposed along the hose (9) at certain intervals.
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one clamp (10) that extends along the hose (9) and that has a form completely surrounding the hose (9).
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a wall (13) against which the hose (9) bears and whereon the clamp (10) is mounted.
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 6, characterized in that the clamp (13) in form of a V with both arms being mounted to the wall (13).
A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 6, characterized in that the clamp (13) in form of Ω (letter omega) with both arms being mounted to the wall (13).