Household appliance comprising at least one duct for guiding a flow of process air

Abstract

The invention relates to a domestic appliance comprising a housing, a treatment chamber, a treatment air conditioner configured to provide a treatment air flow, a treatment air guiding device guiding the treatment air flow, and a control unit controlling the operation; all of the above components are arranged in the housing; the treatment air guiding device comprises at least one duct connected between the treatment air conditioner and the treatment chamber; the control unit is configured to selectively perform at least two operation processes of a treated item, wherein a first operation process comprises guiding the treatment air flow through the treatment air guiding device, and a second operation process does not comprise guiding the treatment air flow through the treatment air guiding device. The at least one duct is expandable and contractible; a flow control device is arranged in the treatment air guiding device and is configured to expand the at least one duct during the first operation process and to contract it during the second operation process. The domestic appliance is particularly embodied as a laundry care machine, for example a washing-drying machine or a dishwasher.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a household appliance comprising a housing, a processing chamber for receiving an item to be processed, a processing air conditioner configured to provide a processing airflow for processing the item, a processing air guiding device for guiding the processing airflow between the processing air conditioner and the processing chamber, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the household appliance; the processing chamber, the processing air conditioner, the processing air guiding device, and the control unit are disposed within the housing; the processing air guiding device includes at least one duct connected between the processing air conditioner and the processing chamber and disposed within the housing; and the control unit is configured to selectively perform at least two operating processes for processing the item, the at least two operating processes including a first operating process and a second operating process, the first operating process including guiding the processing airflow through the processing air guiding device, and the second operating process not including guiding the processing airflow through the processing air guiding device. Background Technology

[0002] Document EP 1411163 A2 describes the use of flexible connecting members or bellows in household appliances or washer-dryers for washing and drying to connect an oscillating tub to a stationary heat pump. These bellows are made of easily deformable materials and are not specifically designed for expansion and contraction during operation, but rather remain constantly open even when deformed, as the tub oscillates relative to the heat pump during washing, spin-drying, or drying of clothes placed in the tub.

[0003] Document EP 2843111 A1 discloses a flexible hose for connecting a tub to a heat pump in a fixed top of a washer-dryer; this hose is foldable or extendable to some extent. Similarly, the hose is not specifically designed for expansion and contraction during operation, but rather to remain constantly open even under deformation when the tub oscillates relative to the heat pump during washing, spin-drying, or drying of clothes placed in the tub. Contracting the hose for any purpose is neither intentional nor necessary for normal operation.

[0004] Document GB887,747A discloses a collapsible exhaust hose for use with a ventilation dryer, the hose having a nozzle at its distal end to provide internal pressure above ambient pressure. In use, the hose expands due to the passing exhaust gas, and can be easily retracted when not in use.

[0005] Document WO2012 / 144775A2 discloses a laundry appliance comprising an exhaust pipe for connecting an air passage suitable for drying clothes to the appliance environment, an air passage fixed to an oscillating drum, and a corrugated exhaust pipe on a rear panel to prevent vibration from being transmitted to the appliance housing, where the exhaust pipe leads to the environment. The exhaust pipe is made of a deformable material and has a suitable shape to allow deformation during drum oscillation. Similarly, the exhaust device is not specifically designed for expansion and contraction during operation, but rather remains constantly open even in the event of deformation, as the drum oscillates relative to the heat pump during washing, spin-drying, or drying of clothes placed in the drum. Contraction of the hose for any purpose is neither intentional nor necessary for normal operation.

[0006] In this article, household appliances are defined as appliances used to operate personal items to achieve specific and intended material purposes, particularly those items specifically handled within the home and placed in the processing room of the household appliance. Examples of household appliances are laundry care appliances, dishwashers, cooling appliances such as refrigerators and freezers, food processing appliances such as ovens and water heaters for food preparation, portable heating appliances, and environmental control equipment. Specifically, garment care appliances are defined as household appliances that provide garment care through washing and / or drying, such as washing machines, dryers, and washer-dryers.

[0007] Household appliances designed for processing items via regulated airflow require considerable space for the air conditioner and the air guiding mechanism that directs the processing air to the items. It may be necessary to allow the processing chamber housing the items to oscillate within the appliance's housing in response to periodic forces and torques, such as those generated when clothes are spun in a rotating drum for washing, rinsing, or extracting processing liquids. If such an appliance is additionally equipped with a system for processing items via airflow, such as drying clothes, allocating sufficient space for all necessary components within the machine can become challenging. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a household appliance in which the space allocated for various functions and related components can be adapted to the requirements of specific functions, especially the requirements of the function of handling items by managing airflow.

[0009] Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a household appliance as defined in the preceding paragraphs that allows for adaptive space allocation for specific functions, particularly the function of handling items by managing airflow.

[0010] To achieve this objective, the present invention provides a household appliance of a general type as defined in the general portion of the appended independent claim, which also includes the features of the characterizing portion of the independent claim.

[0011] Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the appended dependent claims and the following disclosure. Even if not explicitly stated herein, these preferred embodiments may be applied to any extent in combination with each other according to technical considerations.

[0012] Therefore, as a solution to the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a household appliance comprising a housing, a processing chamber for receiving an item to be processed, a processing air conditioner configured to provide a processing airflow conditioned for processing the item, a processing air guiding device for guiding the processing airflow between the processing air conditioner and the processing chamber, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the household appliance; the processing chamber, the processing air conditioner, the processing air guiding device, and the control unit are arranged in the housing; the processing air guiding device includes at least one duct connected between the processing air conditioner and the processing chamber and arranged in the housing; and the control unit is configured to selectively perform at least two operating processes for processing the item, the at least two operating processes including a first operating process and a second operating process, the first operating process including guiding the processing airflow through the processing air guiding device, and the second operating process not including guiding the processing airflow through the processing air guiding device. Furthermore, the at least one duct is expandable and contractible; a flow control device is disposed in the processing air guiding device and configured to expand the at least one duct during the first operating process and contract the at least one duct during the second operating process.

[0013] Advantages of this invention include the ability to expand at least a portion of the air handling device for its intended service purpose, and to retract when not in use. In the absence of actual use, the retractable duct can be reduced in size, thus freeing up space for any other processes performed in the household appliance.

[0014] In principle, this invention can be applied to any household appliance. In particular, the household appliance can be a garment care machine, such as a dryer or washer-dryer, or a dishwasher, all of which are ultimately equipped with a heat pump for purposes such as drying clothes or other similar items.

[0015] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the flow control device includes at least one process air blower arranged in the process air guide and configured to drive process air through the process air guide. Expanding at least one duct will require establishing a pressure therein that is at least slightly higher than the ambient pressure of the duct within the housing. This can be achieved by increasing the static pressure within the process air guide to above ambient pressure, as can be done by providing such a pressurized blower. Alternatively, it can be achieved by appropriately designing the dynamic pressure within the process air structure to ensure that the local pressure within any expandable duct is greater than its ambient pressure during operation.

[0016] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the flow control device includes at least one pressure balancer connecting the processed air guide to the environment of the processed air guide. Thus, the pressure balancer can be applied at the lowest dynamic pressure point within the processed air guide, thereby determining that the dynamic pressure within the processed air guide is higher than the ambient pressure at all other points within it, including any expandable pipes. Of course, in the case of a substantially closed processed air guide, the pressure balancer can be implemented as equipped with a small blower for raising the pressure within the processed air guide to above the ambient pressure. However, for simplicity, it is more preferable that at least one pressure balancer only includes an open connection between the processed air guide and the environment.

[0017] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the processed air guide includes a flow control device configured to substantially close itself during the first operation.

[0018] According to an alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the processed air guiding device includes a flow control device configured to keep the processed air guiding device substantially open to the environment during the first operation. In this case, determining the dynamic pressure within the processed air guiding device may only require placing a blower upstream of each expandable duct to drive the processed air so that it expands appropriately as soon as the processed air flow is established.

[0019] According to another alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the flow control device is configured to maintain air exchange between the processed air guide device and the environment during the first operation process, thereby partially opening and partially closing the processed air guide device.

[0020] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the flow control device includes at least one throttle valve arranged in the process air guiding device. The throttle valve is a device that provides a dynamic pressure drop on itself as the process air flow passes through, thereby establishing a relatively high pressure upstream. Therefore, a throttle valve placed at the downstream end of an expandable pipe can be applied to determine a sufficiently high dynamic pressure within the pipe.

[0021] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one conduit includes a first conduit and a second conduit, wherein the first conduit, the processing chamber, and the second conduit are sequentially connected. Therefore, the processing chamber can be partially mechanically decoupled from the processing air guiding device that ultimately includes a processing air conditioner, thereby allowing the processing chamber to move considerably freely within the housing. This is particularly meaningful in the case of household appliances embodied as washer-dryers, where the processing chamber is or includes a tub that is oscillatingly suspended within the housing.

[0022] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the processed air conditioner includes a heat pump for periodically providing heat to the processed airflow (5) before it enters the processed chamber (3) during the first operation and extracting heat from the processed airflow (5) after it leaves the processed chamber (3). Such a heat pump, particularly one employing a reverse Rankine cycle, circulating the evaporation and condensation of working fluids such as propane in a closed loop, is typically a rather complex system, requiring considerable space and potentially difficult to install in household appliances specifically designed for laundry care. Preferably, the heat pump can be immovably mounted within a housing, and a duct connecting the heat pump to the processed air guide of the processed chamber is provided, the duct being freely swaying and suspended in response to inertial forces and torques and sufficiently flexible and deformable to accommodate such movement.

[0023] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one conduit is made of a deformable material. More preferably, the deformable material is synthetic rubber, particularly EPDM, or thermoplastic elastomer, particularly TPU.

[0024] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one conduit is formed of two rigid profiles connected by a seal and movable relative to each other for expansion and contraction. More preferably, the two profiles are also connected by an actuator configured for moving the profiles. Even more preferably, the seal is a bellows assembly. These embodiments of the invention can be used with expandable conduits connected to an oscillating tub, as in the case of household appliances for laundry care. The conduit can be installed directly at the tub and expands as the items in the tub are processed by the airflow. Alternatively, the conduit may contract, thereby reducing the spatial extension of the tub and allowing extended movement in response to inertial forces and torques, such as those occurring when spinning wet clothes.

[0025] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the processing chamber includes a tub pivotally supported within the housing, and the processing air conditioner is immovably supported within the housing. More preferably, the processing chamber includes a drum rotatably arranged within the tub. Even more preferably, means for introducing liquid into the processing chamber and means for discharging liquid from the processing chamber are provided for use in the second operation process. However, a more preferred embodiment of this household appliance is a washing machine, wherein the items to be processed are clothes. More preferably, this household appliance is a washer-dryer configured to process clothes by washing in the second operation process and drying in the first operation process.

[0026] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the household appliance is implemented as a dishwasher, wherein the items to be processed are tableware, and is configured to process the tableware by washing in a second operation and drying in a first operation. A general feature of the dishwasher is that it provides a processing chamber that serves as a cabinet for holding larger tableware to be cleaned. Therefore, the implementation of at least one expandable duct can help to properly integrate all the necessary components into the housing, particularly when the air conditioner includes a heat pump. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are shown below:

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a household appliance including two expandable and retractable pipes is shown.

[0029] Figure 2 A processing chamber was created, which includes a swingably suspended bucket and a rotatable roller for processing clothing items;

[0030] Figure 3 A processing chamber for handling tableware, implemented as a cabinet, is shown;

[0031] Figure 4 An expandable pipe consisting of two movable profiles is shown; and

[0032] Figure 5 An expandable pipe made of a flexible material is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown in detail, the household appliance 1 includes a housing 2, and a container for receiving items 20 and 28 (not shown in the picture). Figure 1 In, but see Figure 2 and Figure 3 The appliance 1 comprises a processing chamber 3, a processing air conditioner 4 configured to provide and regulate the processing airflow 5 for processing items 20 and 28, a processing air guiding device 6 for guiding the processing airflow 5 between the processing air conditioner 4 and the processing chamber 3, and a control unit 7 for controlling the operation of the appliance 1. The processing chamber 3, the processing air conditioner 4, the processing air guiding device 6, and the control unit 7 are all arranged in the housing 2.

[0034] The processing air guiding device 6 includes at least one pipe 8, 9, namely a first pipe 8 and a second pipe 9, connected between the processing air conditioner 4 and the processing chamber 3 and arranged within the housing 2. The first pipe 8, the processing chamber 3, and the second pipe 9 are connected sequentially. The control unit 7 is configured to selectively execute at least two operational processes for processing items 20, 28, including a first operational process and a second operational process. The first operational process includes guiding a processing airflow 5 through the processing air guiding device 6, and the second operational process does not include guiding a processing airflow 5 through the processing air guiding device 6. Specifically, the first operational process may be a process of drying items 20, 28 by means of processing airflow 5, which is regulated by the processing air conditioner 4 for this purpose. The second operational process may be a process of cleaning items 20, 28 in the processing chamber 3 by other means.

[0035] Each of the first conduit 8 and the second conduit 9 is expandable and contractible, and flow control devices 10, 11, and 12 are arranged in the air handling device 6 and configured to expand conduits 8 and 9 during the first operation and contract them during the second operation. Thus, at least a portion of the air handling device 6 can expand for its intended service and contract when not in use. Unused conduits 8 and 9 can be reduced in size, thereby freeing up space for any other processes performed within the household appliance 1.

[0036] Specifically, the flow control devices 10, 11, and 12 include at least one treatment air blower 10, which is arranged in the treatment air guide 6 and configured to drive the treatment air flow 5 through the treatment air guide 6. Expansion of the ducts 8 and 9 will require the establishment of pressure within them, which is at least slightly higher than the ambient pressure within the housing 2. This can be achieved by increasing the static pressure within the treatment air guide 6 above ambient pressure, which can be accomplished by providing such pressurization with a blower. This can also be achieved by appropriately designing the dynamic pressure within the treatment air guide 6 to ensure that the local pressure within each expandable duct 8, 9 is greater than its ambient pressure during operation.

[0037] The flow control devices 10, 11, and 12 may include at least one pressure equalizer 11 that connects the processing air guide 6 to the environment of the processing air guide 6, which in this case is the interior of the housing 2. Of course, this interior can conventionally be connected to the external environment of the household appliance 1. The primary purpose of the pressure equalizer 11 is to determine the appropriate expansion of the pipes 8 and 9, which will be the case where the pressure within the pipes 8 and 9 is greater than the ambient pressure within the housing 2 during operation of the processing air flow 5.

[0038] In such Figure 1 In the simplest case shown, the pressure equalizer 11 can simply be an open connection between the processing air guide 6 and the environment, thereby establishing ambient pressure downstream of pipes 8 and 9 in the processing air guide 6. This means that the pressure within pipes 8 and 9 must be higher than the ambient pressure to maintain proper expansion of pipes 8 and 9. If the simplest solution cannot be applied, a second blower can be considered, placed within the pressure equalizer 11, and operated before operating the processing air flow 5 to expand the processing air guide 6 with pipes 8 and 9 to a pressure slightly higher than the ambient pressure.

[0039] The solution outlined in the previous chapter is likely particularly preferred because the processing air guide 6, with flow control devices 10, 11, 12, is configured to remain substantially closed during the first operating process. The presence of the open connection 11 does not preclude the processing air guide 6 from being substantially closed, where the processing air flow 5 circulates without any apparent exchange with ambient air. In this case, air exchange through any necessary seals due to unavoidable leakage should not be significant.

[0040] However, the process air guiding device 6, with flow control devices 10, 11, 12, can alternatively be configured to remain substantially open to the environment during the first operation. In this case, the pressure in the process air blower 10 can be determined to be higher than the ambient pressure simply by placing the process air blower 10 upstream of the expandable pipes 8 and 9.

[0041] Another alternative design for the air handling device could be an intermediate design between the two designs just described, wherein the air handling device 6 and the flow control devices 10, 11, 12 are configured to allow the air handling device 6 to exchange air with the environment during the first operation, so that the air handling flow 5 is only partially circulated.

[0042] Another flow control device 10, 11, 12 can be considered for application in the household appliance 1, namely, a throttle valve 12, or at least one throttle valve 12, arranged in the processing air guide 6. This throttle valve 12 can be used to establish a drop in dynamic pressure within the processing air guide 6 when the processing air flow 5 is operated, thereby increasing the pressure upstream of the throttle valve 12 within the processing air guide 6. This can be used to provide internal pressure for appropriate expansion of pipes 8 and 9. The throttle valve 12 is implemented as a lint filter 12, specifically designed to capture small fibers and particles released by the processing air flow 5 from items to be processed, such as tumble-dried clothing, and to prevent these small fibers and particles from entering the processing air conditioner 4.

[0043] In the currently shown embodiment, the processed air conditioner 4 includes heat pumps 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, which periodically provide heat to the processed airflow 5 before it enters the processed chamber 3 during the first operation and extract heat from the processed airflow 5 after it leaves the processed chamber 3. The heat pumps shown apply a reverse Rankine cycle by circulating the evaporation, compression, and condensation of a working medium, which can be specified as a refrigerant according to common practice and in this example, could be propane. The heat pumps include a heat source 13, a radiator 14, a condensate collector 15, a working medium guide 16, a compressor 17, a throttle 18, and a sensor 19. The processed airflow 5 passing through the processed chamber 3 first passes through the throttle or lint filter 12 and then through the radiator 14 to be cooled to condense the moisture carried by the processed airflow 5. The resulting condensate is removed from the processed airflow 5 by precipitation and collected in the condensate collector 15. The processing airflow 5 then passes through the heat source 13 to be heated and reaches the first processing air blower 10 to be propelled before reaching the processing chamber 3. This defined process can be used to dry the items to be processed in the processing chamber 3. The working medium, circulating in the working medium guide 16 in a closed loop, is discharged from the radiator 14 in an evaporating state and compressed by the compressor 17 to reach the heat source 13. In the heat source 13, the working medium releases heat to the processing airflow 5, thereby condensing into a liquid. The liquid working medium then passes through the throttle 18, which acts as a throttle valve to reduce its internal pressure, thus partially evaporating the working medium. The working medium then reaches the radiator 14 again, where it completely evaporates by absorbing heat from the processing airflow 5 and completes its cycle. The sensor 19 can be understood as a representative of any device applied by the control unit 7 to control the operation of the heat pump.

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, it illustrates Figure 1 An example of a processing chamber 3 in a household appliance 1 is provided. The processing chamber 3 may include a tub 21, which is pivotally supported within a housing 2 by a support device 22 (illustrated), the support device 22 including springs and dampers. A processing air conditioner 4 is immovably supported within the housing 2. The processing chamber 3 also includes a drum 23 rotatably arranged within the tub 21. Furthermore, a device 26 for introducing liquid into the processing chamber 3 and a device 27 for discharging liquid from the processing chamber 3 are provided for the second operation. Accordingly, the household appliance 1 is implemented as a washing machine, wherein the item to be processed is clothing 20. Accordingly, the household appliance 1 is implemented as a washer-dryer, configured to process clothing 20 by washing in the second operation and drying in the first operation.

[0045] like Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 It shows Figure 1Another example of the processing chamber 3 is that the household appliance 1 can be implemented as a dishwasher, wherein the processing chamber 3 includes a cabinet 29 for placing the items to be processed, i.e., the dishes 28, on a shelf 30, and a spray arm 31 provided for spraying detergent or water onto the dishes 28. The dishwasher is configured to process the dishes 28 by washing in a second operation and drying in a first operation.

[0046] Figure 4 An example of an expandable and contractible pipe 8 is shown. Accordingly, the pipe 8 consists of two rigid profiles 32 and 33 that together form the pipe 8. The first profile 32 can be as follows: Figure 2 A portion of the barrel 21 shown, wherein the U-shape of profile 32 can be defined by reinforcing ribs in the external structure of barrel 21. A rigid profile 33 is another U-shaped profile fitted into profile 32 to form a channel with a substantially rectangular cross-section. Profiles 32 and 33 are connected by a seal 34 implemented as a bellows assembly 34 and are movable relative to each other for expansion and contraction. Profiles 32 and 33 are also connected by an actuator 35 configured to move the profiles 32 and 33 to change the channel they define, thereby causing the conduit 8 to expand and contract. Figure 2 The expandable tube 8 attached to the swing drum 21 shown is directly integrated into the structure of the drum 21 to expand when the items in the drum 21 are processed by the processing airflow 5, otherwise they will contract. Therefore, the spatial extension of the drum 21 can be reduced because the tube 8 is not necessary for the operation, thus allowing for extended motion in response to inertial forces and torques, such as those occurring when spinning wet clothes.

[0047] Figure 5 An example of an expandable and contractible conduit 8 is shown. Accordingly, the conduit 8 is made of a deformable material, for example by injection molding or extrusion, wherein the deformable material can be a synthetic rubber, particularly EPDM, or a thermoplastic elastomer, particularly TPU. The conduit 8 includes a flexible, expandable or contractible conduit body 36, and a conduit collar 37, which can be used to secure the conduit 8 to other components of the household appliance 1, such as the treatment chamber 3 and the treatment air conditioner 4, for example by clamping to a suitably shaped port. The conduit 8 made of a deformable material is particularly preferred because it can adapt to available space and can also adapt to the movement of components that are swingingly suspended in the housing 2 and swing in response to inertial forces and torques generated during operation.

[0048] Advantages of the invention include the ability for at least a portion of the air guiding device 6 to expand for its intended use and to contract when not in actual use. In the absence of actual use, the retractable conduits 8, 9 can be reduced in size, thus making and freeing up space for any other processes performed within the household appliance 1.

[0049] List of reference numerals

[0050] 1. Household appliances

[0051] 2. Outer shell

[0052] 3 Processing Room

[0053] 4. Handling the air conditioner

[0054] 5. Handling airflow

[0055] 6. Air handling and guiding device

[0056] 7 Control Unit

[0057] 8. First expandable / shrinkable pipe

[0058] 9. Second expandable / shrinkable pipe

[0059] 10. Flow control device, handling air blower

[0060] 11. Flow control device, pressure balancer, open connection

[0061] 12. Flow control device, throttle valve

[0062] 13. Heat pump, heat source

[0063] 14. Heat pump, radiator

[0064] 15. Heat pump, condensate collector

[0065] 16. Heat pump, working medium guide

[0066] 17. Heat pumps, compressors

[0067] 18. Heat pump, throttling device

[0068] 19. Heat pump, sensor

[0069] 20 Items to be processed, clothing

[0070] 21 barrels

[0071] 22 Support device

[0072] 23 rollers

[0073] 24. Rotation direction

[0074] 25 paddles

[0075] 26. Devices for introducing liquids

[0076] 27. Devices for discharging liquids

[0077] 28 Items to be processed, tableware

[0078] 29 cabinets

[0079] 30 shelves

[0080] 31. Jet Arm

[0081] 32 First Profile

[0082] 33 Second Profile

[0083] 34 Seals

[0084] 35 Actuators

[0085] 36 Pipe body

[0086] 37 Pipe collar

Claims

1. A household appliance (1) comprising a housing (2), a processing chamber (3) for receiving items (20, 28) to be processed, a processing air conditioner (4) configured to provide a processing airflow (5) conditioned for the items (20, 28), a processing air guiding device (6) for guiding the processing airflow (5) between the processing air conditioner (4) and the processing chamber (3), and a control unit (7) for controlling the operation of the household appliance (1); The processing chamber (3), the processing air conditioner (4), the processing air guide device (6) and the control unit (7) are arranged in the housing (2); The processing air guiding device (6) includes at least one pipe (8, 9) connected between the processing air conditioner (4) and the processing chamber (3) and arranged in the housing (2); and The control unit (7) is configured to selectively execute at least two operational processes for processing articles (20, 28), the at least two operational processes including a first operational process and a second operational process, the first operational process including guiding the processing airflow (5) through the processing air guiding device (6), and the second operational process not including guiding the processing airflow (5) through the processing air guiding device (6); characterized in that, The at least one pipe (8, 9) is expandable and contractible; and Flow control devices (10, 11, 12) are arranged in the processing air guiding device (6) and configured to expand the at least one pipe (8, 9) during the first operation process and contract the at least one pipe (8, 9) during the second operation process. The at least one pipe (8, 9) includes a first pipe (8) and a second pipe (9), wherein the first pipe (8), the processing chamber (3), and the second pipe (9) are connected in sequence. The flow control device (10, 11, 12) includes: at least one processing air blower (10) arranged upstream of the first pipe (8) and the second pipe (9) in the processing air guide device (6) and configured to drive the processing air flow (5) through the processing air guide device (6); at least one pressure balancer (11) connecting the processing air guide device (6) to the environment of the processing air guide device (6) downstream of the first pipe (8) and the second pipe (9); and at least one throttle valve (12) arranged downstream of the processing air guide device (6) in the processing air guide device (6).

2. The household appliance (1) according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one pressure balancer (11) includes an open connection (11) between the processing air guide device (6) and the environment.

3. The household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The flow control device is configured to keep the processing air guiding device (6) substantially closed during the first operation.

4. The household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The processing air guiding device (6) includes flow control devices (10, 11, 12) configured to keep the processing air guiding device (6) substantially open to the environment during the first operation.

5. The household appliance (1) according to claim 4, wherein, The flow control devices (10, 11, 12) are configured to allow the processing air guiding device (6) to maintain air exchange with the environment during the first operation.

6. The household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The processing air conditioner (4) includes heat pumps (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) for periodically providing heat to the processing airflow (5) before it enters the processing chamber (3) during the first operation and for extracting heat from the processing airflow (5) after it leaves the processing chamber (3).

7. The household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The at least one pipe (8, 9) is made of a deformable material.

8. The household appliance (1) according to claim 7, wherein, The deformable material is synthetic rubber or thermoplastic elastomer.

9. The household appliance (1) according to claim 7, wherein, The deformable material is EPDM or TPU.

10. The household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The at least one pipe (8, 9) is formed by two rigid profiles (32, 33), which are connected by a seal (34) and are able to move relative to each other to expand and contract.

11. The household appliance (1) according to claim 10, wherein, The two profiles (32, 33) are also connected by an actuator (35) configured to move the profiles (32, 33).

12. The household appliance (1) according to claim 10, wherein, The seal (34) is a bellows device.

13. The household appliance (1) according to any one of claims 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, and 12, wherein, The processing chamber (3) includes a barrel (21) that is pivotally supported within the outer casing (2), and the processing air conditioner (4) is nonmovably supported within the outer casing (2).

14. The household appliance (1) according to claim 13, wherein, The processing chamber (3) includes a roller (22) rotatably arranged in the barrel (21).

15. The household appliance (1) according to claim 13, wherein, A means for introducing liquid (26) into the processing chamber (3) and a means for discharging liquid (27) from the processing chamber (3) are provided for the second operation process.

16. The household appliance (1) according to claim 15, wherein, The household appliance is implemented as a washing machine, wherein the item to be processed is clothing (20).

17. The household appliance (1) according to claim 16, wherein, The household appliance is implemented as a washer-dryer, which is configured to process the clothes (20) by washing in the second operation and drying in the first operation.

18. The household appliance (1) according to any one of claims 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, and 12, wherein, The household appliance is implemented as a dishwasher, wherein the item to be processed is tableware (28), and the dishwasher is configured to process the tableware (28) by washing in the second operation and drying in the first operation.

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