A multi-zone washing machine

Abstract

This utility model relates to a multi-zone washing machine, including an upper drum, a lower drum, and a washing zone located between the upper and lower drums. It also includes a first drying system and a second drying system. The front-to-back width of the washing zone is smaller than the front-to-back width of the upper and lower drums, thus forming an installation space at its rear. The first drying system is located in this installation space and connected to both the upper and lower drums. The second drying system is located at the front of the installation space, at the top of the washing zone, and connected to the washing zone. The upper and lower drums share a single drying system, while the washing zone uses its own independent drying system. This simplifies the overall machine structure, reduces costs, and facilitates independent control of the upper drum, lower drum, and washing zone, meeting more customer needs and providing convenient operation. Dividing the installation space between the upper and lower drums into two parts, with the front part used for installing the washing zone structure and the two drying systems located at the front and back of the washing zone respectively, fully utilizes the washing machine's installation space.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of washing machine technology, specifically to a multi-zone washing machine. Background Technology

[0002] As living standards continue to improve, people are demanding more from the details of daily life. For example, when washing clothes, people sort them for washing, and the types of sorting are becoming increasingly diverse. To meet this demand, multi-zone washing machines have emerged on the market.

[0003] CN202310310329.7, "A Multi-Drum Washing Machine," discloses a structure comprising a first drum, a second drum, and an electric heating system. The electric heating system is capable of generating hot airflow, which can be simultaneously or separately delivered to the first drum and / or the second drum. The multi-drum washing machine also includes a first drum and a heat pump module, which is capable of generating hot airflow, which can be delivered to the first drum.

[0004] The washing machine with the above structure can wash different types of clothes through multiple drums to meet users' needs for categorized washing. However, each section uses an independent drying system, resulting in a complex overall structure, high cost, and difficulty in controlling the overall height of the machine, causing inconvenience for users. Utility Model Content

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a multi-zone washing machine that can share a drying system to simplify the structure, reduce costs, and improve space utilization to reasonably control the height, in light of the current state of the technology.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is as follows:

[0007] A multi-zone washing machine includes an upper drum, a lower drum, and a washing zone located between the upper and lower drums. It also includes a first drying system and a second drying system. The front-to-back width of the washing zone is smaller than the front-to-back width of the upper and lower drums, thus forming an installation space at its rear. The first drying system is located in the installation space and is connected to the upper and lower drums respectively. The second drying system is located at the front of the installation space and at the top of the washing zone, and is connected to the washing zone.

[0008] With the above structure, the upper and lower drums share a single drying system, while the washing zone uses its own independent drying system. This simplifies the overall machine structure and reduces costs, while allowing for independent control of the large upper and lower drums and the small washing zone to meet more customer needs and is easy to operate. The installation space between the upper and lower drums is divided into two parts, with the front part used to install the washing zone structure. The two drying systems are located at the front and rear of the washing zone, respectively, making full use of the washing machine's installation space.

[0009] Preferably, the first drying system is a heat pump drying system. The air inlet ducts of the upper and lower drums are arranged near the first side of the washing machine, and the heat pump module of the heat pump drying system is arranged near the second side of the washing machine. The first fan of the heat pump drying system is connected between the heat pump module and the air inlet ducts. Because the upper and lower drums are relatively large and have high drying requirements, a heat pump drying system is used to ensure good drying performance for both drums.

[0010] Preferably, the upper drum is a drying drum, and the lower drum is a combined washing and drying drum. The upper drum is connected to the air outlet of the first fan via an upper air inlet duct, and the lower drum is connected to the air outlet of the first fan via a lower air inlet duct. By configuring the upper drum as an independent drying drum and the lower drum as a combined washing and drying drum, the upper drum provides excellent drying service, while the lower drum provides quick and convenient washing and drying service, thus meeting more consumer needs.

[0011] Preferably, the air inlet of the upper cylinder is located at the rear end of the upper cylinder, and the upper air inlet duct is flat and extends vertically behind the upper cylinder and the installation space. The air inlet of the lower cylinder is located at the top of the lower cylinder and is arranged near the front end. The air inlet end of the lower air inlet duct connects to the lower end of the upper air inlet duct. The lower air inlet duct is flat, bends at the bottom of the first fan, and passes through the installation space from back to front to connect with the air inlet of the lower cylinder. This structure allows for a more rational arrangement of the upper and lower air inlet ducts, achieving air return with shorter ducts, reducing wind resistance, and improving drying efficiency.

[0012] As an improvement, the connection between the upper and lower air inlet pipes is a vertical pipe section. The air outlet of the first fan is arranged rearward and inclined to connect with this vertical pipe section. The air outlet direction of the first fan forms an angle of 110 to 150 degrees with the upper part of the vertical pipe section. After the drying cylinder is installed in the upper cylinder, its return air requirement during drying is greater than that of the lower cylinder. Therefore, with the above structure, the air outlet direction of the first fan is rearward and inclined upward, which can reduce the turning loss of airflow entering the upper air inlet pipe. The larger the angle, the smaller the loss. At the same time, it will increase the turning loss of the lower cylinder. The larger the angle with the vertical plane of the upper cylinder air inlet pipe, the greater the turning loss of the lower cylinder. Therefore, this angle needs to be set between 110 and 150 degrees to take into account the air volume requirements of the upper and lower cylinders.

[0013] Preferably, the lower end of the upper air inlet duct is a vertical section connected to the vertical pipe section, and the upper part of the upper air inlet duct has an inner diameter that gradually increases from bottom to top, forming a teardrop-shaped air duct with the tip pointing downwards. The circular part of this air duct covers the rear end of the upper cylinder to form an air inlet surface. This structure provides a larger return air volume and return air area to the upper cylinder, making the air intake of the upper cylinder more uniform, thereby improving the drying effect of the upper cylinder.

[0014] Preferably, the second drying system is a PCT heating system, including a second fan, an air duct, and a PCT heating element. The air duct has a flat structure and includes a horizontally arranged air inlet section and a guide section that bends downward from the air inlet section. The second fan is connected to the front end of the air inlet section, and the PCT heating element is disposed in the air inlet section. The lower end of the guide section is connected to the washing zone. Since the washing zone is designed mainly for washing small items such as underwear and socks, the required drying heat is relatively small. Therefore, a small-sized, rapidly heating PCT heating system is used to facilitate independent control of the drying program of the small zone and to achieve rapid drying.

[0015] Preferably, the washing zone includes a first washing drum and a second washing drum arranged horizontally side by side, and the second drying system corresponds to the spatial arrangement between the first and second washing drums. Further differentiation of the washing zones helps to meet consumers' more diverse cleaning needs.

[0016] Preferably, the guide section of the air duct forms a downward-facing V-shaped structure, with one branch port of the V-shaped structure connected to the first washing drum and the other branch port connected to the second washing drum. This structure helps to shorten the air intake stroke, reduce wind resistance, and improve the drying effect of small zones.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this utility model are as follows: This utility model sets up two drying systems. The upper and lower drums share one drying system, while the washing zone uses an independent drying system. This simplifies the overall structure and reduces costs, while facilitating independent control of the large upper and lower drums and the small washing zone to meet more customer needs and is easy to operate. The installation space between the upper and lower drums is divided into two parts, with the front part used to install the washing zone structure. The two drying systems are located at the front and rear of the washing zone, respectively, making full use of the installation space of the washing machine. This facilitates reasonable control of the overall height of the washing machine and makes it convenient for users to operate. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the hidden part of the shell;

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the back structure;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 2 Diagram showing the coordination of the upper and lower drums, washing zones, and drying system. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0023] like Figures 1-4 As shown, the multi-zone washing machine of this embodiment includes an upper drum 1, a lower drum 2, and a washing zone 3 located between the upper drum 1 and the lower drum 2. It also includes a first drying system 10 and a second drying system 20. The front-to-back width of the washing zone 3 is smaller than the front-to-back width of the upper drum 1 and the lower drum 2, thereby forming an installation space 100 on its rear side. The first drying system 10 is located in the installation space 100 and is connected to the upper drum 1 and the lower drum 2 respectively. The second drying system 20 is located at the front of the installation space 100 and at the top of the washing zone 3 and is connected to the washing zone 3.

[0024] With the above structure, the upper drum 1 and the lower drum 2 share a drying system, while the washing zone 3 uses an independent drying system. This simplifies the overall structure and reduces costs, while allowing for independent control of the large upper drum 1 and lower drum 2 and the small washing zone 3 to meet more customer needs and is easy to operate. The installation space 100 between the upper drum 1 and the lower drum 2 is divided into two parts, front and back. The front part is used to install the washing zone 3 structure, and the two drying systems are located in front of and behind the washing zone 3, respectively, making full use of the installation space 100 of the washing machine.

[0025] The first drying system 10 is a heat pump drying system. The air inlet ducts of the upper drum 1 and lower drum 2 are arranged near the first side of the washing machine, and the heat pump module 41 of the heat pump drying system is arranged near the second side of the washing machine. The first fan 42 of the heat pump drying system is connected between the heat pump module 41 and the air inlet duct. The heat pump module 41 is mainly used to separate water from the input medium and heat the air before input. Its specific structure and operating principle are existing mature technologies and will not be described in detail here. Because the upper drum 1 and lower drum 2 are relatively large and have high drying requirements, a heat pump drying system is used to ensure good drying results for the upper drum 1 and lower drum 2.

[0026] The upper drum 1 is a drying drum, and the lower drum 2 is a combined washing and drying drum. The upper drum 1 is connected to the air outlet of the first fan 42 through an upper air inlet pipe 11, and the lower drum 2 is connected to the air outlet of the first fan 42 through a lower air inlet pipe 21. By setting the upper drum 1 as an independent drying drum and the lower drum 2 as a combined washing and drying drum, the upper drum 1 can provide excellent drying service, while the lower drum 2 can provide quick and convenient washing and drying service to meet more consumer needs.

[0027] The air inlet of the upper cylinder 1 is located at its rear end. The upper air inlet pipe 11 is flat and extends vertically behind the upper cylinder 1 and the installation space 100. The air inlet of the lower cylinder 2 is located at its top and near its front end. The air inlet end of the lower air inlet pipe 21 connects to the lower end of the upper air inlet pipe 11. The lower air inlet pipe 21 is flat, bends at the bottom of the first fan 42, and passes through the installation space 100 from back to front to connect with the air inlet of the lower cylinder 2. This structure allows for a more rational arrangement of the upper air inlet pipe 11 and the lower air inlet pipe 21, achieving air return with a shorter length, reducing wind resistance, and improving drying efficiency.

[0028] In this embodiment, the connection between the upper air inlet pipe 11 and the lower air inlet pipe 21 is a vertical pipe section 300. The air outlet of the first fan 42 is arranged rearward and is inclinedly connected to the vertical pipe section 300. The air outlet direction of the first fan 42 forms an angle α of 110 to 150 degrees with the upper part of the vertical pipe section 300. After the drying cylinder is installed in the upper cylinder 1, its return air requirement during drying is greater than that of the lower cylinder 2. Therefore, by adopting the above structure, the air outlet direction of the first fan 42 is rearward and inclined upward, which can reduce the turning loss of the airflow entering the upper air inlet pipe 11. The larger the angle, the smaller the loss. At the same time, it will increase the turning loss of the lower cylinder 2. The larger the angle with the vertical plane of the upper cylinder 1 air inlet pipe, the greater the turning loss of the lower cylinder 2. Therefore, this angle needs to be set between 110 and 150 degrees to take into account the air volume requirements of the upper cylinder 1 and the lower cylinder 2.

[0029] The lower end of the upper air inlet duct 11 is a vertical section connected to the vertical duct section 300. The upper part of the upper air inlet duct 11 has an inner diameter that gradually increases from bottom to top, forming a teardrop-shaped air duct 111 with the tip pointing downwards. The circular part of this air duct covers the rear end of the upper cylinder 1 to form an air inlet surface. This structure provides a larger return air volume and return air area to the upper cylinder 1, making the air intake of the upper cylinder 1 more uniform, thereby improving the drying effect of the upper cylinder 1.

[0030] The second drying system 20 is a PCT heating system, including a second fan 201, an air duct 202, and a PCT heating element 203. The air duct 202 has a flat structure and includes a horizontally arranged air inlet section and a guide section that bends downward from the air inlet section. The second fan 201 is connected to the front end of the air inlet section, and the PCT heating element 203 is located in the air inlet section. The lower end of the guide section is connected to the washing zone 3. Since the washing zone 3 is designed mainly for washing small items such as underwear and socks, the required drying heat is relatively small. Therefore, a small-sized, rapidly heating PCT heating system is used to facilitate independent control of the drying program of the small zone and to achieve rapid drying.

[0031] The washing zone 3 includes a first washing drum 301 and a second washing drum 302 arranged horizontally side by side, and the second drying system 20 corresponds to the space between the first washing drum 301 and the second washing drum 302. Further distinguishing the washing zone 3 helps to meet consumers' more diverse cleaning needs.

[0032] The air duct 202 has a downward-facing V-shaped section. One branch of this V-shaped structure is connected to the first washing drum 301, and the other branch is connected to the second washing drum 302. This structure helps to shorten the air intake path, reduce air resistance, and improve the drying effect of small zones.

[0033] This embodiment features two drying systems: one shared by the upper drum 1 and the lower drum 2, and a separate drying system for the washing zone 3. This simplifies the overall structure and reduces costs, while allowing for independent control of the large upper drum 1 and lower drum 2, as well as the smaller washing zone 3, to meet more customer needs and facilitates operation. The installation space 100 between the upper drum 1 and lower drum 2 is divided into two parts, with the front part used for installing the washing zone 3 structure. The two drying systems are located at the front and rear of the washing zone 3, respectively, making full use of the installation space 100 of the washing machine. This facilitates reasonable control of the overall height of the washing machine and makes it convenient for users to operate.

[0034] In the specification and claims of this utility model, terms indicating direction, such as "front," "rear," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "side," "top," and "bottom," are used to describe various exemplary structural parts and elements of this utility model. However, the use of these terms is merely for the purpose of explanation and is based on the exemplary orientations shown in the accompanying drawings. Since the embodiments disclosed in this utility model can be arranged in different orientations, these terms indicating direction are for illustrative purposes only and should not be regarded as limitations. For example, "upper" and "lower" are not necessarily limited to directions opposite to or consistent with the direction of gravity.

Claims

1. A multi-zone washing machine, comprising an upper drum (1), a lower drum (2), and a washing zone (3) disposed between the upper drum (1) and the lower drum (2), characterized in that: It also includes a first drying system (10) and a second drying system (20). The front and rear width of the washing zone (3) is smaller than the front and rear width of the upper drum (1) and the lower drum (2), thus forming an installation space (100) on its rear side. The first drying system (10) is located in the installation space (100) and is connected to the upper drum (1) and the lower drum (2) respectively. The second drying system (20) is located at the front of the installation space (100) and at the top of the washing zone (3), and is connected to the washing zone (3).

2. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first drying system (10) is a heat pump drying system. The air inlet pipes of the upper drum (1) and the lower drum (2) are arranged close to the first side of the washing machine. The heat pump module of the heat pump drying system is arranged close to the second side of the washing machine. The first fan (42) of the heat pump drying system is connected between the heat pump module and the air inlet pipe.

3. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The upper cylinder (1) is a drying cylinder, and the lower cylinder (2) is a washing and drying integrated cylinder. The upper cylinder (1) is connected to the air outlet of the first fan (42) through the upper air inlet pipe (11), and the lower cylinder (2) is connected to the air outlet of the first fan (42) through the lower air inlet pipe (21).

4. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The air inlet of the upper cylinder (1) is located at the rear end of the upper cylinder (1). The upper air inlet pipe (11) is flat and extends vertically behind the upper cylinder (1) and the installation space (100). The air inlet of the lower cylinder (2) is located at the top of the lower cylinder (2) and is arranged near the front end. The air inlet end of the lower air inlet pipe (21) is connected to the lower end of the upper air inlet pipe (11). The lower air inlet pipe (21) is bent at the bottom of the first fan (42) and passes through the installation space (100) from back to front to connect with the air inlet of the lower cylinder (2).

5. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The connection between the upper air inlet pipe (11) and the lower air inlet pipe (21) is a vertical pipe section (300). The air outlet of the first fan (42) is arranged to the rear and is inclinedly connected to the vertical pipe section (300). The air outlet direction of the first fan (42) forms an angle of 110 to 150 degrees with the upper part of the vertical pipe section (300).

6. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The lower end of the upper air inlet pipe (11) is a vertical part connected to the vertical pipe section (300). The upper part of the upper air inlet pipe (11) gradually increases in inner diameter from bottom to top to form a teardrop-shaped air duct (111) with the tip pointing downwards. The circular part of the air duct covers the rear end of the upper cylinder (1) to form an air inlet surface.

7. The multi-compartment washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The second drying system (20) is a PCT heating system, including a second fan (201), an air duct (202) and a PCT heating element (203). The air duct (202) has a flat structure and includes a horizontally arranged air inlet section and a flow guide section that bends downward from the air inlet section. The second fan (201) is connected to the front end of the air inlet section. The PCT heating element (203) is located in the air inlet section. The lower end of the flow guide section is connected to the washing zone (3).

8. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 7, characterized in that: The washing zone (3) includes a first washing drum (301) and a second washing drum (302) arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, and the second drying system (20) corresponds to the spatial arrangement between the first washing drum (301) and the second washing drum (302).

9. The multi-compartment washing machine according to claim 8, characterized in that: The air guide pipe (202) has a V-shaped structure with an opening downward, one branch of the V-shaped structure is connected with the first washing cylinder (301), and the other branch of the V-shaped structure is connected with the second washing cylinder (302).

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