Heat pump self-adjusting system for clothes dryer and clothes dryer

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of clothes processing equipment, in particular to a heat pump self-adjusting system for a clothes dryer and the clothes dryer, the heat pump self-adjusting system for the clothes dryer comprises a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a throttling assembly and an auxiliary heating structure, the throttling assembly comprises a valve body and a temperature wrap, an exhaust port of the compressor is communicated with an inlet of the condenser, an outlet of the condenser is communicated with a liquid inlet of the valve body, a liquid outlet of the valve body is communicated with an inlet of the evaporator, an outlet of the evaporator is communicated with an air inlet of the compressor through an air suction pipe, and the temperature wrap is arranged on the air suction pipe; the auxiliary heating structure and the condenser can jointly heat gas entering a drying chamber of the clothes dryer. After the auxiliary heating structure is started, the temperature sensing bulb can adjust the opening degree of the valve body according to the temperature of the outlet of the evaporator, real-time adjustment of the refrigerant flow is achieved, the situation that the normal work of a system is affected by too much increase of the superheat degree of the evaporator can be avoided, and fluctuation of the heat load of the evaporator caused when the auxiliary heating structure is started and stopped can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of clothing processing equipment technology, and in particular to a heat pump self-regulating system for a clothes dryer and a clothes dryer. Background Technology

[0002] In heat pump dryers, the performance of the heat pump system plays a crucial role in the speed at which clothes are dried.

[0003] The performance of heat pump systems in household heat pump dryers is greatly limited by air volume and overall machine size. To further improve the evaporation rate of moisture in clothes, adding auxiliary heating to compensate for the insufficient capacity of the heat pump system is one option. However, although auxiliary heating can increase the temperature of the air entering and leaving the drum and thus improve drying efficiency, the start and stop of auxiliary heating also brings about fluctuations in the heat load of the evaporator. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a heat pump self-regulating system for a clothes dryer and a clothes dryer.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a heat pump self-regulating system for a clothes dryer, including a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a throttling component, and an auxiliary heating structure. The throttling component includes a valve body and a temperature sensing bulb. The exhaust port of the compressor is connected to the inlet of the condenser, the outlet of the condenser is connected to the liquid inlet of the valve body, the liquid outlet of the valve body is connected to the inlet of the evaporator, and the outlet of the evaporator is connected to the air inlet of the compressor through a suction pipe. The temperature sensing bulb is disposed on the suction pipe.

[0006] The auxiliary heating structure can work together with the condenser to heat the gas entering the drying chamber of the dryer.

[0007] In some embodiments, the valve body includes a valve body cavity and a diaphragm and an elastic element both located within the valve body cavity, wherein a pressure cavity is formed between the diaphragm and the cavity wall at one end of the valve body cavity, and the elastic element is confined between the diaphragm and the cavity wall at the other end of the valve body cavity;

[0008] Both the inlet and outlet are connected to the valve body cavity. The temperature sensing bulb is connected to the pressure cavity through a balance tube. When the diaphragm is subjected to force and moves towards the other end closer to the valve body cavity, the opening of the valve body can be increased.

[0009] In some embodiments, the auxiliary heating structure includes an electric heater and a detection component capable of detecting the temperature of the compressor's exhaust port, the detection component being configured to control the electric heater to shut off when the temperature of the compressor's exhaust port is greater than or equal to a preset temperature.

[0010] In some embodiments, the compressor's exhaust port is connected to the condenser's inlet via an exhaust pipe;

[0011] The exhaust pipe is provided with a accommodating cavity for accommodating the detection component.

[0012] In some embodiments, the detection component is a bimetallic switch.

[0013] In some embodiments, the receiving cavity communicates with the cavity of the exhaust pipe.

[0014] In some embodiments, the auxiliary heating structure further includes a control component, which includes a controller and a power supply capable of supplying power to the electric heater, the controller being capable of controlling the electric heater to turn on and off.

[0015] In some embodiments, a gas-liquid separator is also included, which is connected to the suction pipe and the air inlet of the compressor.

[0016] In some embodiments, the dryer has a heating chamber, in which the auxiliary heating structure and the condenser are both located.

[0017] Secondly, this application provides a clothes dryer, including a body and a heat pump self-regulating system for the clothes dryer provided in the first aspect, the heat pump self-regulating system being located within the body.

[0018] The technical solution provided in this application has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0019] This heat pump self-regulating system incorporates an auxiliary heating structure and a throttling component. The throttling component includes a valve body and a temperature sensor. The condenser outlet connects to the valve body's liquid inlet, and the valve body's liquid outlet connects to the evaporator inlet. The temperature sensor is located on the suction pipe connecting the evaporator outlet and the compressor inlet. The auxiliary heating structure, together with the condenser, heats the gas entering the dryer's drying chamber. When the auxiliary heating structure is activated, the temperature sensor adjusts the valve opening based on the evaporator outlet superheat. Increased superheat at the evaporator outlet increases the valve opening to increase refrigerant flow; decreased superheat decreases the valve opening to reduce refrigerant flow. This real-time adjustment of refrigerant flow based on evaporator outlet superheat prevents excessive evaporator superheat from affecting system operation and reduces evaporator heat load fluctuations caused by the activation and deactivation of the auxiliary heating structure. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the heat pump self-regulating system for a clothes dryer as described in the embodiments of this application;

[0023] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the valve body.

[0024] The components include: 1. Compressor; 11. Suction pipe; 12. Exhaust pipe; 2. Condenser; 3. Evaporator; 4. Throttling assembly; 41. Valve body; 401. Valve body cavity; 402. Liquid inlet; 403. Liquid outlet; 42. Temperature sensor; 43. Balance tube; 44. Diaphragm; 45. Elastic element; 5. Auxiliary heating structure; 51. Electric heater; 52. Power supply; 53. Detection assembly; and 6. Gas-liquid separator. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To better understand the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application, the solution of this application will be further described below. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0026] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of this application, but this application may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments in the specification are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0027] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in the figure, this application provides a heat pump self-regulating system for a heat pump dryer.

[0028] The heat pump self-regulating system includes a compressor 1, a condenser 2, an evaporator 3, a throttling component 4, and an auxiliary heating structure 5. The throttling component 4 includes a valve body 41 and a temperature sensor 42. The exhaust port of the compressor 1 is connected to the inlet of the condenser 2, the outlet of the condenser 2 is connected to the liquid inlet 402 of the valve body 41, the liquid outlet 403 of the valve body 41 is connected to the inlet of the evaporator 3, and the outlet of the evaporator 3 is connected to the inlet of the compressor 1 via a suction pipe. The temperature sensor 42 is mounted on the suction pipe. The auxiliary heating structure 5, together with the condenser 2, heats the gas entering the drying chamber of the dryer.

[0029] When the pressure inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 increases, the opening of the valve body 41 can be increased to increase the refrigerant flow rate; conversely, when the pressure inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 decreases, the opening of the valve body 41 can be decreased to decrease the refrigerant flow rate. Specifically, the temperature sensing bulb 42 is filled with a medium. When the temperature sensing bulb 42 is heated, the change in the form of the medium or the increase in its temperature causes the pressure inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 to increase, which can then be used to control the opening of the valve body 41. In other words, the temperature sensing bulb 42 can adjust the opening of the valve body 41 according to the temperature at the outlet of the evaporator 3, increasing the opening of the valve body 41 when the outlet temperature of the evaporator 3 increases and decreasing the opening of the valve body 41 when the outlet temperature of the evaporator 3 decreases. This achieves real-time adjustment of the refrigerant flow rate based on the outlet temperature of the evaporator 3, reducing fluctuations in the evaporator's heat load. The medium inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 can be a liquid or a gas-liquid mixture, such as refrigerant.

[0030] Understandably, by setting the throttling component 4, after the auxiliary heating structure 5 is turned on, the temperature of the circulating air entering the drying chamber and passing through the evaporator 3 increases. The refrigerant in the evaporator 3 is affected by the circulating air temperature, leading to an increase in the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet. At this time, the pressure inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 increases, causing the valve body 41 to open more, thereby increasing the refrigerant flow rate and reducing the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet. When the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet decreases, the pressure inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 decreases, causing the valve body 41 to open less, thereby decreasing the refrigerant flow rate and increasing the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet. Thus, real-time adjustment of the refrigerant flow rate based on the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet can prevent excessive increases in the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet from affecting the normal operation of the system, and can reduce fluctuations in the heat load of the evaporator 3 caused by the opening and closing of the auxiliary heating structure 5. Moreover, the throttling component 4 does not involve electronic control; it relies on the pressure change of the temperature sensing bulb 42 to adjust the refrigerant flow rate according to the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet, resulting in low cost and stable reliability.

[0031] Reference Figure 1 The aforementioned heat pump self-regulating system also includes a gas-liquid separator 6, which connects the suction pipe and the air inlet of the compressor 1. This gas-liquid separator 6 is used to separate the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 3 into gas and liquid components, preventing liquid refrigerant from entering the compressor 1.

[0032] In some embodiments, refer to Figure 1 The auxiliary heating structure 5 includes an electric heater 51 and a detection component 53 that can detect the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor 1. The detection component 53 can control the electric heater 51 to turn off when the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor 1 is greater than or equal to a preset temperature.

[0033] Understandably, the electric heater 51 and the aforementioned condenser 2 together heat the gas entering the drying chamber of the dryer. When the electric heater 51 operates for a long time, it will cause the exhaust temperature of the compressor 1 to rise, which will affect the service life of the compressor 1. By detecting the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor 1 through the detection component 53, the electric heater 51 can be controlled to turn off when the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor 1 reaches the preset temperature, thus avoiding the compressor 1 exhaust temperature from being too high.

[0034] It should be noted that the preset temperature can be set according to actual needs, and no specific limit is made here.

[0035] For example, the electric heater 51 can generate heat itself, such as by selecting a PTC heater. When the fan of the dryer causes the gas to flow through the electric heater 51, the electric heater 51 transfers heat to the gas, causing the gas temperature to rise.

[0036] Furthermore, the exhaust port of the compressor 1 is connected to the inlet of the condenser 2 via the exhaust pipe 12. The exhaust pipe 12 is provided with a accommodating cavity for the detection component 53. In other words, the detection component 53 is located within the accommodating cavity, thus protecting the detection component 53.

[0037] Preferably, the aforementioned accommodating cavity is connected to the cavity of the exhaust pipe 12, in which case the detection component 53 can directly contact the gas discharged from the exhaust port of the compressor 1, improving the accuracy and timeliness of the detection. Alternatively, the aforementioned accommodating cavity and the cavity of the exhaust pipe are not connected, in which case the temperature is transferred to the accommodating cavity through the wall of the exhaust pipe.

[0038] For example, in one specific implementation, the detection component 53 is selected as a bimetallic switch. The bimetallic switch is located in the power supply circuit of the electric heater 51. When the temperature at the exhaust port of the compressor 1 is lower than a preset temperature, the bimetallic switch is normally open. When the electric heater 51 is turned on, if the temperature at the exhaust port of the compressor 1 is greater than or equal to the preset temperature, the bimetallic switch opens, cutting off the power supply circuit to the electric heater 51, causing the electric heater 51 to stop working.

[0039] Understandably, the electric heater 51 is controlled to shut down by the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the two metal plates in the bimetallic switch, rather than by electronic control. This method is simple, stable, and reliable, and can extend the service life of the heat pump self-regulating system.

[0040] It should be noted that when the accommodating cavity and the exhaust pipe 12 are not connected, the metal piece with the larger coefficient of thermal expansion of the two metal pieces of the bimetallic switch can be placed close to the pipe wall of the exhaust pipe 12, so that the bimetallic switch can be disconnected in time when the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor 1 reaches the preset temperature.

[0041] Alternatively, in another specific implementation, the detection component can also be a temperature sensor. When the temperature sensor detects that the temperature at the compressor exhaust port is greater than or equal to a preset temperature, it transmits a signal to the controller of the electric heater. Upon receiving the signal, the controller of the electric heater controls the electric heater to shut down.

[0042] The auxiliary heating structure 5 also includes a control component, which includes a controller (not shown in the figure) and a power supply 52 that can supply power to the electric heater 51. The controller can control the electric heater 51 to turn on and off.

[0043] Understandably, the controller can turn on the electric heater 51 when it needs to be turned on. When the detection component 53 detects that the temperature at the exhaust port of the compressor 1 is greater than or equal to the preset temperature, the detection component 53 can automatically disconnect the power supply circuit of the electric heater 51. For example, in this case, the detection component 53 is a bimetallic switch located in the power supply path between the power supply 52 and the electric heater 51. When the temperature at the exhaust port of the compressor 1 is greater than or equal to the preset temperature, the bimetallic switch opens, which cuts off the power supply path between the power supply 52 and the electric heater 51, causing the electric heater 51 to stop working. Alternatively, the detection component 53 can also send a signal to the controller to cause the controller to turn off the electric heater 51. For example, in this case, the detection component is a temperature sensor.

[0044] Optionally, in other embodiments, the auxiliary heating structure includes a heating chamber, a heating wire located inside the heating chamber, and a heat-conducting pipe wrapped around the exhaust pipe of the compressor. The heating chamber is filled with a heat transfer medium, the heat-conducting pipe connects to the heating chamber, and the heat transfer medium circulates between the heating chamber and the heat-conducting pipe. The heat transfer medium is heated by the heating wire, and the heat transfer medium heats the refrigerant in the exhaust pipe through the heat-conducting pipe and the exhaust pipe, thereby improving the drying rate of the dryer.

[0045] Reference Figure 2 The valve body 41 includes a valve body cavity 401, a diaphragm 44, and an elastic element 45, both located within the valve body cavity 401. A pressure chamber is formed between the diaphragm 44 and the cavity wall at one end of the valve body cavity 401, located above the diaphragm. The elastic element 45 is confined between the diaphragm 44 and the cavity wall at the other end of the valve body cavity 401. The temperature sensing bulb 42 is connected to the pressure chamber through a balance tube 43. When the diaphragm 44 is pressed and moves towards the other end of the valve body cavity 401, the opening degree of the valve body 41 can be increased.

[0046] It should be noted that when the auxiliary heating structure 5 is not working, the valve body 41 has a certain opening. At this time, the pressure of the temperature sensing bulb 42, the balance tube 43, and the pressure chamber is stable, and the diaphragm 44 is in a balanced state under the action of the elastic element 45 and the pressure in the pressure chamber. When the auxiliary heating structure 5 is working, the temperature at the outlet of the evaporator 3 increases, the pressure in the temperature sensing bulb 42 increases, and the pressure in the pressure chamber increases through the balance tube 43. At this time, the diaphragm 44 moves towards the other end closer to the valve body cavity 401 under the action of pressure, thereby increasing the opening of the valve body 41. During the downward movement, the diaphragm 44 compresses the elastic element 45. When the temperature at the outlet of the evaporator 3 decreases, the pressure in the temperature sensing bulb 42 decreases, thereby decreasing the pressure in the pressure chamber. At this time, the diaphragm 44 can move upward under the action of the elastic element 45, thereby decreasing the opening of the valve body 41.

[0047] The aforementioned throttling component 4 can be selected as a thermostatic expansion valve. The thermostatic expansion valve can be an externally balanced thermostatic expansion valve, or an internally balanced thermostatic expansion valve. Alternatively, it can be a thermodynamic electronic expansion valve.

[0048] In some embodiments, the dryer described above has a heating chamber, in which the auxiliary heating structure 5 and the condenser 2 are both located.

[0049] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The heat pump self-regulating system for a clothes dryer provided in this embodiment includes an auxiliary heating structure 5, a throttling component 4, and a detection component 53. When the auxiliary heating structure 5 is activated, the temperature of the air entering the drying chamber and circulating through the evaporator 3 increases. The refrigerant in the evaporator 3 is affected by the air temperature, leading to an increase in the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet. At this time, the pressure inside the temperature sensing bulb 42 increases, and through the transmission of the balance pipe 43, the pressure inside the pressure chamber of the valve body 41 increases. This pushes the diaphragm 44 to move closer to the other end of the valve body cavity 401, thereby increasing the opening degree of the valve body 41 and increasing the refrigerant flow rate, thus reducing the superheat at the evaporator 3 outlet. Conversely, when the auxiliary heating structure 5 is closed or its heating capacity decreases, the superheat at the outlet of the evaporator 3 decreases, the temperature sensing bulb 42 contracts, causing the pressure in the pressure chamber to decrease, and the elastic element 45 pushes the diaphragm 44 to move away from the valve body cavity 401, thereby reducing the opening of the valve body 41 and reducing the flow of refrigerant, thus increasing the superheat at the outlet temperature of the evaporator 3.

[0050] When the electric heater 51 operates for an extended period of time, causing the exhaust temperature of the compressor 1 to reach the preset temperature, the bimetallic switch opens, cutting off the power supply circuit of the electric heater 51 and causing the electric heater 51 to stop working.

[0051] In this way, the refrigerant flow rate is automatically adjusted when the electric heater 51 is turned on and off to ensure the superheat requirement of the evaporator 3 outlet temperature, while ensuring that the compressor 1 temperature will not be too high when the electric heater 51 is turned on.

[0052] This embodiment also provides a clothes dryer, including a body and a heat pump self-regulating system as described in the above embodiment, wherein the heat pump self-regulating system is disposed within the body.

[0053] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0054] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement this application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this application. Therefore, this application is not to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A heat pump self-regulating system for a clothes dryer, characterized in that, The heat pump self-regulating system comprises a compressor (1), a condenser (2), an evaporator (3), a throttling assembly (4) and an auxiliary heating structure (5), the throttling assembly (4) comprises a valve body (41) and a temperature sensing bag (42), the exhaust port of the compressor (1) is communicated with the inlet of the condenser (2), the outlet of the condenser (2) is communicated with the liquid inlet (402) of the valve body (41), the liquid outlet (403) of the valve body (41) is communicated with the inlet of the evaporator (3), the outlet of the evaporator (3) is communicated with the air inlet of the compressor (1) through a suction pipe (11), and the temperature sensing bag (42) is arranged on the suction pipe (11). The auxiliary heating structure (5) can heat the gas entering the drying chamber of the clothes dryer together with the condenser (2).

2. Heat pump self-regulating system for a laundry dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve body (41) comprises a valve body cavity (401), a diaphragm (44) and an elastic element (45) which are all arranged in the valve body cavity (401), a pressure cavity is formed between the diaphragm (44) and the cavity wall of one end of the valve body cavity (401), and the elastic element (45) is limited between the diaphragm (44) and the cavity wall of the other end of the valve body cavity (401). The liquid inlet (402) and the liquid outlet (403) are both communicated with the valve body cavity (401), the temperature sensing bag (42) is communicated with the pressure cavity through a balance pipe (43), and the diaphragm (44) can increase the opening degree of the valve body (41) when being forced to move close to the other end of the valve body cavity (401).

3. The self-regulating heat pump system for a clothes dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The auxiliary heating structure (5) comprises an electric heater (51) and a detection assembly (53) capable of detecting the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor (1), the detection assembly (53) is configured to be capable of controlling the electric heater (51) to be closed when the temperature of the exhaust port of the compressor (1) is greater than or equal to a preset temperature.

4. Heat pump self-regulating system for a tumble dryer according to claim 3, characterized in that, The exhaust port of the compressor (1) is communicated with the inlet of the condenser (2) through an exhaust pipe (12). An accommodation cavity for accommodating the detection assembly (53) is arranged on the exhaust pipe (12).

5. The self-regulating heat pump system for a clothes dryer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The detection assembly (53) is a bimetallic strip switch.

6. The self-regulating heat pump system for a clothes dryer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The accommodation cavity is communicated with the pipe cavity of the exhaust pipe (12).

7. The self-regulating heat pump system for a clothes dryer according to claim 3, characterized in that, The auxiliary heating structure (5) further comprises a control assembly, the control assembly comprises a controller and a power supply (52) capable of supplying power to the electric heater (51), and the controller is capable of controlling the opening and closing of the electric heater (51).

8. The self-regulating heat pump system for a clothes dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that, A gas-liquid separator (6) is further included, and the gas-liquid separator (6) is communicated with the suction pipe (11) and the air inlet of the compressor (1).

9. The self-regulating heat pump system for a clothes dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clothes dryer has a heating chamber, and the auxiliary heating structure (5) and the condenser (2) are both arranged in the heating chamber.

10. A clothes dryer characterized by comprising: The clothes dryer comprises a machine body and the heat pump self-regulating system according to any one of claims 1-9, and the heat pump self-regulating system is arranged in the machine body.

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