An integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel and a washer-dryer

Abstract

The present invention discloses a washer-dryer and an integrated structure of an air duct and a rear barrel, comprising: a rear barrel and an air duct, wherein the air duct is integrally formed on the rear side of the rear barrel, and the air duct is concave toward the rear barrel, that is, the air duct and the rear barrel are an integrated structure, and since the air duct is concave in the rear barrel, the drying efficiency can be improved without increasing the volume of the washing machine. A hot steam inlet is provided at the lower end of the air duct, an air outlet is provided at the upper end, and a cover for connecting with the air duct cover is provided on the side of the air duct away from the rear barrel. When working, hot steam enters the air duct from the hot steam inlet from bottom to top, and cooling water can flow down from the air duct from top to bottom, thereby achieving a condensation effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of washing machines, and in particular to an integrated structure of an air duct and a rear tub and a washer-dryer. Background Art

[0002] There are three main drying methods used by washer-dryers: air-cooled, water-cooled and heat pump. Among them, the water-cooled type has the best cost-effectiveness. However, in order to improve the condensation effect of the water-cooled type, it is necessary to increase the heat exchange surface, which will increase the overall size of the washing machine.

[0003] An existing washer-dryer mainly includes a rear tub, an independent condenser cover, an air duct, a drying duct, and a water inlet channel. When the fan in the drying duct is running, hot air filled with hot steam is sucked up from the lower end of the rear tub, and heat is exchanged with cold water to achieve a condensation effect. Finally, the dried hot air enters the inner tub again through the drying duct to form a cycle. In order to improve the drying efficiency, the volume of the condenser needs to be enlarged, but the volume of the washing machine will increase.

[0004] Another existing washer-dryer mainly includes a rear barrel, a water inlet channel and a drying channel. The drying channel directly draws hot air from the barrel, and at the same time, cold water passes through the outer wall of the barrel and flows freely downward to form a heat exchange with the hot air. Because this structure does not have independent condensation and air ducts, its heat exchange is poor, but it can greatly reduce space.

[0005] Therefore, how to balance drying efficiency and not enlarge the size of the washing machine is a technical problem that technicians in this field currently need to solve. Summary of the invention

[0006] One object of the present invention is to provide an integrated structure of air duct and rear drum, which can improve drying efficiency without increasing the volume of the washing machine. Another object is to provide a washer-dryer including the above-mentioned integrated structure of air duct and rear drum.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] An integrated structure of an air duct and a rear barrel comprises: a rear barrel and an air duct, wherein the air duct is integrally formed on the rear side of the rear barrel and is concave toward the rear barrel, a hot steam inlet is provided at the lower end of the air duct, an air outlet is provided at the upper end, and a cover for connecting to an air duct cover is provided on the side of the air duct away from the rear barrel.

[0009] Preferably, the air duct is surrounded by a reinforcing rib plate on the rear side of the rear barrel.

[0010] Preferably, at least one reinforcing rib is provided on the inner wall of the air duct, and a plurality of the reinforcing ribs are distributed in a direction from the hot steam inlet to the air outlet.

[0011] Preferably, the spacing between the reinforcing ribs gradually decreases in a direction from the hot steam inlet to the air outlet.

[0012] Preferably, the reinforcing ribs transition smoothly to the inner wall of the air duct.

[0013] Preferably, the hot steam inlet is an elliptical opening.

[0014] Preferably, the height of the air duct from its cover to the bottom of the groove is less than or equal to the rear side height of the rear barrel.

[0015] Preferably, a sealing ring support structure for connecting to a dryer is provided at the upper end of the air outlet.

[0016] Preferably, a sealing structure for cooperating with the air duct cover is provided at the cover opening.

[0017] A washer-dryer comprising the integrated structure of air duct and rear drum as described in any one of the above items.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the above technical solution has the following advantages:

[0019] The present invention provides a washer-dryer and an integrated structure of an air duct and a rear barrel, comprising: a rear barrel and an air duct, wherein the air duct is integrally formed on the rear side of the rear barrel, and the air duct is concave toward the rear barrel, that is, the air duct and the rear barrel are an integrated structure, and since the air duct is concave in the rear barrel, the drying efficiency can be improved without increasing the volume of the washing machine. A hot steam inlet is provided at the lower end of the air duct, an air outlet is provided at the upper end, and a cover for connecting to the air duct cover is provided on the side of the air duct away from the rear barrel. When working, hot steam enters the air duct from the hot steam inlet from bottom to top, and cooling water can flow down the air duct from top to bottom, thereby achieving a condensation effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an air duct and a rear barrel integrated structure provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the main structure of an air duct and rear barrel integrated structure provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 2 AA section view in the figure;

[0024] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure after the air duct in the figure is connected to the air duct cover;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an air duct and rear barrel integrated structure provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention after connecting an air duct cover and a dryer.

[0026] The reference numerals are as follows:

[0027] 10 is a rear barrel, 11 is a reinforcing rib plate;

[0028] 20 is an air duct, 21 is a hot steam inlet, 22 is an air outlet, 221 is a sealing ring support structure, 23 is a reinforcing rib, and 24 is a cover;

[0029] 30 is an air duct cover;

[0030] 40 is a vibration-damping sealing ring;

[0031] 50 is a drying device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 to Figure 5 .

[0034] An embodiment of the present invention provides an integrated structure of an air duct and a rear tub, comprising: a rear tub 10 and an air duct 20, wherein the air duct 20 is integrally formed at the rear side of the rear tub 10, and the air duct 20 is concave toward the rear tub 10, that is, the air duct 20 and the rear tub 10 are an integrated structure, and since the air duct 20 is concave in the rear tub 10, the drying efficiency can be improved without increasing the volume of the washing machine. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a hot steam inlet 21 is provided at the lower end of the air duct 20, an air outlet 22 is provided at the upper end, and a cover 24 for connecting with the air duct cover 30 is provided on the side of the air duct 20 away from the rear tub 10. When working, hot steam enters the air duct 20 from the hot steam inlet 21 from bottom to top, and cooling water can flow down from the air duct 20 from top to bottom, thereby achieving a condensation effect.

[0035] In some embodiments, the air duct 20 is surrounded by the reinforcing rib plate 11 on the rear side of the rear tub 10. Figure 3 As shown, the two reinforcing ribs 11 on the rear side of the rear tub 10 and the rear tub 10 constitute a section of the reinforcing rib 11 on the outer periphery of the rear side of the rear tub 10 constitute the outer wall of the air duct 20, and a section of the middle reinforcing rib 11 on the rear tub 10 adjacent to the reinforcing rib 11 constitutes the inner wall of the air duct 20. Therefore, the reinforcing ribs 11 are used to enclose the air duct 20, so that the materials on the rear tub 10 can be fully utilized to reduce the use of additional materials, thereby saving material costs.

[0036] In some embodiments, at least one reinforcing rib 23 is provided on the inner wall of the air duct 20. The number of reinforcing ribs 23 depends on the length of the air duct 20. The longer the length, the more reinforcing ribs 23 there are. The plurality of reinforcing ribs 23 are distributed in the direction from the hot steam inlet 21 to the air outlet 22. Figure 2 As shown, the reinforcing ribs 23 extend in the horizontal direction. The reinforcing ribs 23 can improve the strength of the air duct 20 itself on the one hand, and slow down the flow rate of the cooling water on the other hand, thereby increasing the time for the cooling water to flow through the air duct 20, thereby improving the condensation effect.

[0037] In some embodiments, the spacing of the reinforcing ribs 23 gradually decreases from the hot steam inlet 21 to the air outlet 22. That is, the multiple reinforcing ribs 23 near the air outlet 22 are distributed more densely, and the multiple reinforcing ribs 23 near the hot steam inlet 21 are distributed more sparsely. Since the cooling water flows from top to bottom, when the cooling water is just sprayed out, its temperature is low and the heat exchange efficiency is high. In this application, the reinforcing ribs 23 at the top are distributed more densely, which can slow down the flow rate of the cooling water, thereby improving the heat exchange effect.

[0038] In some embodiments, the reinforcing rib 23 and the inner wall of the air duct 20 are smoothly transitioned, such as Figure 3 As shown, the wind resistance of the hot steam can be effectively reduced by the smoothly transitioned reinforcing ribs 23, thereby improving the condensation efficiency.

[0039] In some embodiments, the hot steam inlet 21 is an elliptical opening, specifically Figure 1 As shown, in addition to the elliptical structure, other shapes can also be selected as long as the hot steam inlet 21 can smoothly enter the air duct 20.

[0040] In some embodiments, the height of the air duct 20 from the cover 24 to the bottom of the trough is less than or equal to the rear height of the rear tub 10. Figure 3 As shown, the height h of the air duct 20 is less than or equal to the rear height H of the rear tub 10 , so as to effectively reduce the volume occupied by the air duct 20 .

[0041] In some embodiments, the upper end of the air outlet 22 is provided with a sealing ring support structure 221 for connecting with the dryer 50. Figure 2As shown, the upper end of the air outlet 22 is provided with a sealing ring support structure 221 protruding upward, and a vibration-damping sealing ring 40 is provided between the sealing ring support structure 221 and the dryer 50 to improve the sealing performance of the connection between the air duct 20 and the dryer 50. Figure 5 As shown, the hot steam flows as Figure 5 In addition, in order to facilitate the circulation of hot steam, the area enclosed by the hot steam inlet 21 is larger than the area enclosed by the sealing ring support structure 221, and the cross-sectional area in the air duct 20 should be larger than the area enclosed by the hot steam inlet 21 and larger than the area enclosed by the sealing support structure.

[0042] In some embodiments, the cover 24 is provided with a sealing structure for cooperating with the air duct cover 30, such as Figure 3 As shown, a stopper that cooperates with the air duct cover 30 can be provided at the cover opening 24. The sealing structure can improve the sealing performance of the air duct 20 to prevent hot steam or cooling water from flowing out.

[0043] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a washer-dryer, including the integrated structure of air duct and rear drum provided in any of the above embodiments. The beneficial effects of the washer-dryer can be referred to the above integrated structure of air duct and rear drum, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other.

[0045] The above is a detailed introduction to the integrated structure of air duct and rear drum and the washer-dryer provided by the present invention. Specific examples are used herein to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present invention and its core idea. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, without departing from the principles of the present invention, several improvements and modifications can be made to the present invention, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel, characterized in that: The invention comprises: a rear barrel (10) and an air duct (20), wherein the air duct (20) is integrally formed on the rear side of the rear barrel (10), and the air duct (20) is concave toward the rear barrel (10), a hot steam inlet (21) is provided at the lower end of the air duct (20), and an air outlet (22) is provided at the upper end, and a cover (24) for connecting with an air duct cover (30) is provided on a side of the air duct (20) away from the rear barrel (10).

2. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The air duct (20) is surrounded by a reinforcing rib plate (11) on the rear side of the rear tub (10).

3. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 1 is characterized in that: At least one reinforcing rib (23) is provided on the inner side wall of the air duct (20), and a plurality of the reinforcing ribs (23) are distributed in a direction from the hot steam inlet (21) to the air outlet (22).

4. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The spacing between the reinforcing ribs (23) gradually decreases in the direction from the hot steam inlet (21) to the air outlet (22).

5. The integrated structure of the air duct and the rear barrel according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The reinforcing rib (23) smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the air duct (20).

6. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hot steam inlet (21) is an elliptical opening.

7. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The height of the air duct (20) from its cover (24) to the bottom of the groove is less than or equal to the rear side height of the rear tub (10).

8. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper end of the air outlet (22) is provided with a sealing ring support structure (221) for connecting with the air duct cover (50).

9. The integrated structure of air duct and rear barrel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cover opening (24) is provided with a sealing structure for cooperating with the air duct cover (30).

10. A washer-dryer, characterized in that: It includes the integrated structure of the air duct and the rear barrel as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images