WO2019214805A1

WO2019214805A1 - Laundry dryer

Info

Publication number: WO2019214805A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/061831
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin SIBAK; Markus Zwimpfer; Simon LUGINBÜHL
Original assignee: V-Zug Ag
Priority date: 2018-05-08
Filing date: 2018-05-08
Publication date: 2019-11-14
Also published as: EP3791016A1

Abstract

A domestic laundry dryer, in particular a washer-dryer, comprises a cabinet (10), a drum (10), and an air circulation system (2, 20, 24, 25, 41; 51). The drum (10) is rotatably placed within a tub (11) and has an opening (16) on a front side for loading laundry. A heat pump (8) is provided with a condenser (21) and an evaporator (22) for drying and heating process air. A ventilator (20) is configured to circulate air in the air circulation system (2, 20, 24, 25, 41; 51). A water trough (4) and a water duct (41) guide water from the evaporator (22) and condenser (21) to the tub (11). The condenser (21) and the evaporator (22) are arranged on a back side of the drum (10). The evaporator (22) is located below the condenser (21).

Description

Laundry Dryer

Technical Field The present invention relates to a domestic laundry-dryer, i.e. to a household device for drying laundry. In one aspect, it relates to a washer-dryer, i.e. laundry dryer that can also wash laundry. Background Art

State of the art domestic laundry dryers are heavy appliances that occupy a large volume of space. Therefore, they are not very suitable for being installed in a small apartment or kitchenette.

Disclosure of the Invention

The problem to be solved by the present in- vention is therefore to provide a compact domestic laun dry dryer.

This problem is solved by the subject of the independent claim.

Accordingly, the invention relates to a laun- dry dryer with a cabinet and a drum, wherein the drum is rotatably placed within the cabinet. Advantageously, the drum has an essentially cylindrical shape with the axis of the cylinder extending horizontally within the cabi net .

The drum has an opening at its front side for loading the laundry, and it is closed at its back side, i.e. at the end of the drum facing away from the front side .

The laundry dryer further comprises a heat pump with a condenser and an evaporator. The condenser and the evaporator are arranged on the back side of the drum. The laundry dryer further comprises an air circulating system connecting the drum to the condenser and the evaporator. The air circulating system comprises a ventilator configured to circulate the air in the sys tem from the drum to the evaporator, the condenser, and back to the drum. Advantageously, the ventilator is lo cated between the condenser and the drum, i.e. the air from the condenser passes the ventilator and then enters the drum.

The laundry drier further comprises a control unit adapted and structured to control the operation of the individual components of the device.

At least part of the condenser and of the evaporator are arranged at the back side of the drum. In other words, when viewing the machine from the front side, i.e. the side of the opening of the drum, at least part of the condenser and the evaporator are arranged be hind the drum. This allows to exploit space behind the drum.

In an advantageous embodiment of the inven tion, the laundry dryer is configured to be a washer- dryer with a tub. The drum is rotatably arranged in the tub. The tub retains the process water while washing the laundry .

In a further embodiment, the laundry dryer can be configured to be a dryer only and to perform only a drying of the laundry. In this embodiment, no tub is required .

In a compact embodiment of the device, the condenser and the evaporator are arranged above each other .

Advantageously, the condenser is positioned vertically above at least a part of the evaporator. In other words, when seen from above, the condenser and evaporator overlap.

Advantageously, at least part of a lower end of the condenser is adjacent to at least part of an upper end of the evaporator. Advantageously, the lower end of the condenser fully aligns with the upper end of the evaporator .

Arranging the evaporator below the condenser provides a compact design. Further, it prevents water from the evaporator from entering the condenser as well as from entering the parts of the air ducts that lead air from the condenser back to the drum.

In an advantageous embodiment of the inven tion, the condenser and/or the evaporator horizontally extends along at least 60%, in particular at least 75%, of the full width of the cabinet, therefore, exploiting the space within the cabinet. The width of the condenser and/or the evaporator is defined to be the widest exten sion of the condenser or evaporator in the horizontal di rection perpendicular to the rotation axis of the drum.

Advantageously, at least a section of the condenser and/or the evaporator is arranged horizontally behind the drum. In other words, when viewing the drum from its front side along its axis of rotation, at least part of the condenser and/or the evaporator is hidden behind it. This provides a compact machine design.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the condenser as well as the evaporator comprise plates for exchanging heat between the fluid ducts of the heat pump and the process air. Said plates can be aligned vertically .

Advantageously, the shortest distance between individual plates of the condenser is larger than the shortest distance between individual plates of the evapo rator. In particular, the distance between the plates of the condenser can be at least twice the distance between the plates of the evaporator.

Using plates that are closer to each other in the evaporator than in the condenser improves the lintfiltering effect that can be achieved by means of the evaporator .

In another advantageous embodiment, the laundry dryer comprises a water trough arranged below the evaporator. It can be configured and positioned to col lect water, in particular condensed water and/or rinsing water, from the evaporator and or condenser. Further, a water duct connecting the trough to the tub can be pro vided .

In another advantageous embodiment, the laundry dryer comprises at least one first rinsing duct. Said first rinsing duct is arranged adjacent to the evaporator and has or is connected to a plurality of nozzles di rected towards the evaporator.

A further advantageous embodiment comprises at least one further rinsing duct having or being connected to a plurality of nozzles directed towards the evaporator and/or condenser. The further rinsing duct is advantageously arranged above the first rinsing duct.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the laundry dryer comprises three or four rinsing ducts.

Advantageously, the first rinsing duct and the further rinsing duct are mounted directly onto a housing forming an air duct around the evaporator and/or the condenser.

In an embodiment, said first and further rinsing ducts are adapted to rinse lint from the conden ser and/or evaporator.

The rinsing ducts are advantageously fed by either water already processed during the washing cycle or by fresh water.

In an advantageous embodiment of the washer- dryer, the device comprises a lint filter arranged in the air circulation system between the drum and the evaporator, i.e. the air from the drum has first to pass the lint filter before it reaches the evaporator, thus reducing the amount of lint accumulating in the evaporator.

In an advantageous embodiment of the laundry dryer as a washer-dryer, the water duct further comprises a siphon. A siphon is an essentially "U"-shaped duct sec tion that forms a trap for water, such that after flush- ing, an amount of residual water is retained in the si phon. In this embodiment, the siphon prevents air from passing through the water duct (and thereby circumventing the filter) while drying the laundry.

In a further preferred embodiment, the lowest part of the lint filter is arranged higher than a lower end of the evaporator, in particular higher than all the evaporator. This makes it unlikely that water from the evaporator flows into the lint filter.

A further advantageous embodiment of the in vention is free of any lint filter apart from the evaporator and condenser. In other words, the air circulation system does not comprise any dedicated lint filter. In particular, there is no lint filter arranged between the drum and the evaporator. Such a device requires less maintenance. In this case, the water duct can be used to guide the moisture-loaded air from the drum to the evapo rator and also as a drain for guiding condensed water and rinsing water from the evaporator to the tub or a drain pipe .

Other advantageous embodiments are listed in the dependent claims as well as in the description below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings, wherein :

Fig. 1 shows a first perspective view of a laundry dryer from with its housing represented in dashed lines only,

Fig. 2 shows a second perspective view of the laundry dryer of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 shows the assembly of the heat ex changing device, the water duct, and the laundry recipi ent; Fig. 4 shows a rear view of Fig. 3 with the heat exchanging device and the laundry recipient;

Fig. 5 shows the heat exchanging device only, with the rinsing ducts in partially cut-off view;

Fig. 6 shows a sectional view along line A-A of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 shows a schematic of a laundry dryer without a lint filter; and

Fig. 8 shows a schematic of a laundry dryer with a lint filter.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention Overview:

Figs . 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a washer dryer comprising a laundry recipient 1 with a drum 10 ar ranged in a tub 11. Drum 10 is rotatable about an axis of rotation 12 by means of a rotation drive (not shown) . Axis of rotation 12 is substantially horizontal.

Laundry recipient 1 is suspended from a yoke 13, which rests on a base frame 14.

The device comprises a cabinet 15, which is also mounted to frame 14.

Cabinet 15 is substantially a cuboid having a width w, a height h, and a depth d (Fig. 2) .

In an advantageous embodiment of the inven tion, the cabinet has the maximum dimensions of h = 60 cm in height, w = 60 cm in width, and d = 60 cm in depth. These dimensions allow the cabinet to fit into most of the common kitchen cupboards or niches.

On its front side, drum 10 comprises a front opening 16, which mates with a door (not shown) in the front side of cabinet 15.

A heat exchanging device 2 is arranged at the back side of laundry recipient 1. It is advantageously mounted to laundry recipient 1, i.e. laundry recipient 1 bears the weight of heat exchanging device 2. Figs . 3 and 4 show views of heat exchanging device 2 and laundry container 1. A water duct 41 connects heat exchanging device 2 to drum 10.

Heat exchanging device 2 comprises a conden ser 21 and an evaporator 22 of a heat pump 8.

Heat pump 8 is schematically shown in Fig. 4. It comprises a compressor 80 that feeds a heat pump me dium to condenser 21, from where it passes an expansion valve 81 and enters evaporator 22. From evaporator 22, the fluid returns to compressor 80.

In operation of heat pump 8, the fluid con denses in condenser 21, thereby heating condenser 21 up, and it evaporates in evaporator 22, thereby cooling evap orator 22 down.

A motor 82 is provided for operating pump 80.

As schematically shown in Fig. 4, motor 82 and compressor 80 can be arranged in a foot section of the device.

In an advantageous embodiment, motor 82 and compressor 80 are vertically arranged. In a further ad vantageous embodiment, motor 82 can further be arranged horizontally beside the compressor 80. Such arrangement allows to exploit unused volume below heat exchanging de vice 2 and/or laundry recipient 1.

Condenser 21 is arranged on top of evaporator

22.

Heat exchanging device 2 comprises at least a first rinsing duct 31. In addition, there may be further rinsing ducts 32.

Each rinsing duct 31, 32 extends in a sub stantially horizontal direction. Advantageously, for mak ing it easier to drain all water from the rinsing ducts 31, 32, the rinsing ducts 31, 32 are arranged, as shown, under a small angle to the horizontal direction, with said angle being e.g. larger than 1° and/or smaller than 10° .

First rinsing duct 31 and, in the shown em bodiment, the bottommost of the further rinsing ducts 32, are arranged adjacent to evaporator 22. The remaining further rinsing ducts 32 are arranged adjacent to condenser 21.

A trough 4 is arranged adjacent to the lower end of the evaporator 22. It is configured to collect water from the heat exchanging device 2 and in particular from evaporator 22. The water might result from condensation in the evaporator 22 or from water that entered heat exchanging device 2 through the rinsing ducts 31, 32.

A water duct 41 is connected to trough 4 and is configured to guide the collected water from trough 4 to laundry recipient 1, in particular to a bottom section of tub 11. Alternatively, water duct 41 can be connected to a drain pipe of the device.

In the present embodiment, water duct 41 also serves to guide moisture-loaded air from the drum to evaporator 22.

As it is best seen in Fig. 4, most of heat exchanging device 2 is arranged horizontally behind laun dry recipient 1 and drum 10.

Condenser 21 and evaporator 22 both have ver tically arranged plates 201, 202 in order to increase the heat exchanging surface.

The shortest distance between the individual plates 201 of condenser 21 can be larger than the short est distance of the individual plates 202 of the evapora tor 22. Therefore, in the shown embodiment, condenser 21 comprises a smaller number of plates 201 than evaporator 22.

Heat exchanging device 2 forms part of an air circulating system best explained in reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

The air circulating system comprises, apart from heat exchanging device 2, at least the following components :

- Water duct 41 and trough 4 for guiding air from tub 11 into heat exchanging device 2. - A first air duct 24 receiving air from heat exchanging device 2 and guiding it to a ventilator 20.

- A second air duct 25 guiding the air from ventilator 20 back to tub 11, e.g. via the door of the device and/or a gasket arranged between the door and tub 11.

Ventilator 20 is advantageously arranged at the bottom of the device, i.e. in the lowest 25% of the device. This allows to exploit room that is available there. Also, this design allows to mount ventilator 20 on the bottom parts of the device, in particular on frame 14, which allows to reduce the amount of vibration and noise transmitted to cabinet 15.

In the embodiment shown, ventilator 20 is a radial ventilator with a substantially vertical axis of rotation, which allows to better exploit the room availa ble at the bottom of the device.

One of the advantages of mounting condenser 21 above evaporator 22 lies in the fact that any water in evaporator 22 and/or condenser 21 will flow downwards and not enter first air duct 24. This is particularly true if first air duct 24 is connected to the top end of conden ser 21 as shown.

First air duct 24 has an input end 24a located at a top end of condenser 21. Further, it has an output end 24b located below evaporator 22 and connected to ventilator 20.

Second air duct 25 is connected, at its input end 25a, to ventilator 20 at the bottom of the device.

Its output end 25b is located at a level higher than the axis of rotation 12, in particular at a level higher than a maximum water level during washing the laundry. This prevents water from entering second air duct 25 from that end .

As mentioned, rinsing ducts 31, 32 are ar ranged on heat exchanging device 2. They are best seen in Figs. 5 and 6, with Fig. 5 showing the ducts 31, 32 in partially cut-off view. As can be seen, each rinsing duct 31, 32 carries a plurality of nozzles 300 directed to wards evaporator 22 or condenser 21.

The ducts 31, 32 are mounted directly to a housing 2a forming an air duct around evaporator 22 and condenser 21. The nozzles 300 are e.g. located at open ings in housing 2a.

In the embodiment shown, the nozzles 300 are elongate slits or other openings arranged in the wall of each rinsing duct 31, 32. Alternatively, the nozzles may also be formed by separate elements from the rinsing ducts 31, 32 and be connected thereto.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic of a laundry dryer, in particular washer-drier. This may e.g. be the device of Figs. 1 - 6 or any other similar device.

As shown, the device comprises heat exchang ing device 2 with condenser 21 and evaporator 22. Conden ser 21 and evaporator 22 each can comprise the plates 201, 202.

Trough 4 is arranged underneath heat exchang ing device 2 to collect water therefrom.

Heat exchanging device 2 is connected to ventilator 20. Ventilator 20 is configured to circulate air in the device.

A control unit 9 is provided to control the components of the device. It is e.g. a microprocessor equipped with suitable software to carry out all operations of the methods described herein.

For example, control unit 9 controls ventilator 20 and therefore the transport of air through the air circulating system. It can also control the rotation of drum 10, the operation of heat pump 8, the feeding of water through the water ducts 31, 32, etc.

Drying laundry:

When laundry is to be dried, e.g. at the end of a washing process or in a stand-alone process, control unit 9 activates heat pump 8 and ventilator 20. Further, drum 10 is rotated. Due to the operation of ventilator 20, mois ture-loaded air is drawn from laundry recipient 1 and fed from below into evaporator 22. In Fig. 7, this wet air is designated as a2.

In evaporator 22, the air is cooled and loses moisture. Condensed water accumulates on the plates 202 and/or other parts of evaporator 22 and drops down into trough 4.

Next, the dried air rises into condenser 21, where it is heated up again. It leaves condenser 21 through its top end.

Finally, the hot, dry air is conveyed back into laundry recipient 1. In Fig. 7, this hot, dry air is designated as al. Advantageously, the air al coming from heat exchanging device 2 enters drum 10 through front opening 16.

In drum 10, the heated and dry air al coming from the condenser 21 absorbs the water of the wet laun dry, whereupon it is returned to evaporator 22.

During this process, the water falling into trough 4 flows through water duct 41 into the bottom of tub 11 and/or directly to a waste water drain.

Control unit 9 can operate a drain pump to convey the water from the device.

In an advantageous embodiment, the lowest part of trough 4 is located at a higher level ml than the lowest part of tub 11, which is at a level m2. This design allows to convey water from trough 4 to tub 11 by means of gravity.

Rinsing the heat exchanging device:

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 - 7, the device does not contain a fluff filter separate from heat ex changing device 2. Hence, fluff will accumulate in heat exchanging device 2 and in particular in evaporator 22.

To remove such fluff, control unit 9 can feed water to one or more of the rinsing ducts 31, 32. When doing so, the water will leave the rinsing ducts 31, 32 through the nozzles 300 and enter the evaporator 22 and/or condenser 21 for washing the same.

This rinsing water will enter trough 4 and water duct 41, where it is guided to tub 11 and/or to the drain pipe .

Such a rinsing process can e.g. take place when required, e.g. before, during, or after drying laun dry .

Washing laundry:

As mentioned, the present device can be de signed to not only dry laundry but also to wash it. In that case, process water for washing the laundry has to be fed to laundry recipient 1.

Advantageously, at least part of said process water is fed to laundry recipient 1 and therefore drum 11 through the rinsing pipes 31, 32. This allows to re-use the rinsing water for rinsing the evaporator 22 and/or condenser 21 as process water in the washing process, thereby reducing the total water consumption.

In one embodiment, not all of the water used for rinsing evaporator 22 and/or condenser 21 is used as process water for washing the laundry. Rather, control unit 9 is adapted to first feed a first batch of water from the rinsing pipe(s) 31, 32 through the condenser 21 and/or evaporator 22 and to discard this first batch from the machine without it coming into contact with the laun dry.

Next, control unit 9 can feed a second batch of water from the rinsing pipe(s) 31, 32 through the con denser 21 and/or evaporator 22 and to use this second batch for washing the laundry.

This process is based on the understanding that the first batch of water will be heavily contaminated with lint. Hence, discarding it and not using it for washing reduces the amount of lint that comes into contact with the laundry. In one embodiment, the user may select, de pending on the type of laundry and the desired quality of the washing, if the first batch of rinsing water is to be discarded or not.

Once water has been filled into laundry re^¬ cipient 1, washing proceeds basically as in a conventional machine.

In one advantageous embodiment, the bottom end of evaporator 22 is at a level m3 that is higher than a maximum level 4 of the process water in drum 10 while washing the laundry. Control unit 9 is adapted to keep the water level in drum 10 during washing below said max imum level m4. This design prevents washing water from flooding evaporator 22 and/or condenser 21.

Machine with lint filter:

Fig. 8 shows a schematic of another advanta^¬ geous laundry dryer. In contrast to the one of Fig. 7, this embodiment comprises a lint filter 5 arranged in the path of the air a2 between laundry recipient 1 and evaporator 22.

To avoid lint filter 5 from coming into con tact with water, it is, in this embodiment, not arranged in water duct 41. Rather, a separate air duct 51 is pro vided between laundry container 1 and evaporator 22, with laundry filter 5 arranged therein.

In this embodiment, water collected by trough 4 still flows through water duct 41 into tub 11. However, when drying laundry, the air must be forced through fil ter 5. To do so, a siphon 6 is located in water duct 41. Control unit 9 is adapted to make sure that water is pre sent in siphon 6 while drying. This water blocks water duct 41 for air. Thus, when control unit 9 activates ven tilator 20, the wet air a2 from drum 10 passes through air duct 51 and filter 5 but not through water duct 41. Thus, it is filtered before entering heat exchanging device 2. In order to prevent water from entering lint filter 5, the lowest part of lint filter 5 is advanta^¬ geously arranged at a level m5 that is above maximum level m4 of the water in drum 10 and/or above the level m3 of the lower end of evaporator 22.

Notes :

Unless otherwise noted, the following advan tageous aspects apply to all embodiments of the machine.

As shown above, the machine may comprise several rinsing ducts 31, 32, and control unit 9 can be adapted to individually and selectively feed water to said ducts.

This allows to control the order in which the various parts of heat exchanging device 2 can be rinsed.

Control unit 9 is advantageously adapted to control the rinsing cycle in a sequence of first rinsing evaporator 22 and second rinsing condenser 21. This gives the condenser more time to cool before it is flushed with water, which avoids an excessive calcification of condenser 21.

In one embodiment, control unit 9 is adapted to only rinse the condenser 21 if it has a temperature below a threshold temperature Tp, in particular with TP < 50⁰ C .

The rinsing water can, as mentioned, be col lected by means of trough 4. It can be drained from trough 4 to drum 10 and be reused for the next washing cycle. Alternatively, part or all of it may be discarded and drained from the machine without using it for wash ing .

In one embodiment, control unit 9 can be adapted to rinse evaporator 22 and/or condenser 21 with water from the rinsing duct(s) 31 and/or 32 while turning on and off ventilator 20 in cycles. While ventilator 20 is running, air is pushed against the top-down-flow of the water into heat exchanging device 2 from below. This allows to keep at least part of the water in heat exchanging device 2, to be released once ventilator 20 is switched off. At that time, the trapped water will leave heat exchanging device 2 in a gush, which increases the cleaning efficiency of the process.

Even though the shown example is a domestic washer-dryer, the design of heat exchanging device 2 and of the other components shown here, and the means and methods for operating the machine and in particular for rinsing the heat exchanging device, can also be used in a domestic laundry dryer without laundry washing functionality .

While there are shown and described presently preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be dis- tinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A laundry dryer, in particular a washer- dryer, comprising

a cabinet ( 15 ) ,

a drum (10) rotatably placed within the cabinet (15) having an opening (16) on a front side for loading laundry,

a heat pump with a condenser (21) and an evaporator (22),

an air circulating system connecting the drum (10) to the condenser (21) and the evaporator (22), wherein said air circulating system comprises a ventilator (20) configured to circulate air in the air circulating system (2) between the drum (10) and the evaporator (22) and the condenser (21),

a control unit (9),

characterized in that

at least part of the condenser (21) and of the evaporator (22) are arranged at a back side of the drum (10), wherein said back side faces away from the opening ( 16) .

2. The laundry dryer according to claim 1 be ing a washer-dryer and further comprising a tub (11), wherein said drum (10) is rotatably arranged in said tub (10) .

3. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the condenser (21) is posi tioned vertically above, in particular adjacent to, at least part of the evaporator (22) .

4. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims wherein the condenser (21) and/or the evaporator (22) horizontally extends along at least 60%, in particular at least 75%, of a full width of the cabi net ( 15 ) .

5. The laundry dryer of any of the preceding claims wherein at least a section of the condenser (21) and/or of the evaporator (22) is arranged horizontally behind the drum.

6. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims wherein the condenser (21) and the evap orator (22) each comprise vertically aligned plates (201, 202) .

7. The laundry dryer according to claim 6, wherein a shortest distance between individual plates

(201) of the condenser (21) is larger than a shortest distance between individual plates (202) of the evapora tor ( 22 ) . 8. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims comprising at least one first rinsing duct (31) arranged adjacent to the evaporator (22), wherein said first rinsing duct (31) has or is connected to a plurality of nozzles (200) directed at the evapora- tor (22) .

9. The laundry dryer according to claim 8 comprising at least one further rinsing duct (32), wherein said further rinsing duct (31) has or is con- nected to a plurality of nozzles (200) directed at the evaporator (22) or the condenser (21),

and in particular wherein said further rins ing duct is arranged above the first rinsing duct (31) .

10. The laundry dryer according to claim 9 wherein said control unit (9) is adapted to first rinse the evaporator (22) and second the condenser (21).

11. The laundry dryer according to claim 9 or 10 wherein said control unit (9) is adapted to rinse con^¬ denser (21) only if the condenser has a temperature below a threshold temperature T_F.

12. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims comprising a water trough (4) arranged below the evaporator (22) . 13. The laundry dryer according to claim 12 further comprising a water duct (41) connecting the trough (4) to a tub (11) or a drain pipe.

14. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims further comprising a lint filter (5) ar ranged in said air circulation system between said drum (10) and said evaporator (22) .

15. The laundry dryer of the claims 13 and 14 wherein the water duct (41) comprises a siphon (6) .

16. The laundry dryer of any of the claims 14 or 15 wherein said lint filter (5) is arranged higher than a lower end of said evaporator (22) .

17. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 13 without a lint filter (5) being arranged in the air circulation system.

18. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat pump (8) comprises a compressor (80) with a motor (82) arranged vertically or horizontally beside the compressor (80).

19. The laundry dryer according to any of the preceding claims wherein the cabinet (15) has the maximum dimensions of 60 cm in height, 60 cm in width, and 60 cm in depth.

20. The laundry dryer of any of the preceding claims wherein said ventilator (20) is arranged at a level lower than said evaporator (22), wherein said laun- dry dryer further comprises

- a first air duct (24) having an input end (24a) located at a top end of said condenser (21) and an output end (24b) located below said evaporator (22) and connected to said ventilator (20) .

- a second air duct (25) connected, at an in put end (25a), to said ventilator (20) and having an output end (25b) located higher than an axis of rotation (12) of said drum (10), in particular at a level higher than a maximum water level during washing the laundry.