Tumble dryer

Abstract

To obtain a tumble dryer with a capacity to dry up to 7-8 kg of wet laundry, which has an improved performance compared to known tumble dryers.SOLUTION: A tumble drying machine comprises: a rotatable drying drum that is constituted to receive laundry to be dried and has a cylindrical periphery with a plurality of openings; at least one particle separation filter (29) disposed below the drying drum, the at least one particle separation filter (29) having a width equivalent to at least 50% of a cylindrical diameter of the drying drum; a funnel-shaped interface (45) and a fan (39) constituted to form a tapering transmission channel between at least one particle separation filter (29) and a fan (39).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tumble dryer. [Background technology]

[0002] Tumble dryers use hot air to dry wet laundry. There are three different principles for tumble dryers: exhaust air dryers, condensing dryers and heat pump dryers.

[0003] The exhaust air dryer is connected to a ventilation system within the building into which the moist humidified air used to dry the laundry is discharged.

[0004] In a condensing dryer, water is condensed from the humidified air before it is expelled into the environment around the tumble dryer. The condensed water is collected in a drain tank or discharged to a building drain.

[0005] The heat pump dryer recirculates the humidified air from the drum to the evaporator, where the humidified air is cooled and dehumidified by heat exchange. The dehumidified air is then heated by heat exchange in the cooler, and the heated and dried air is then fed into the drum to carry out the washing and drying process. As a result, dry and warm air is repeatedly fed into the drum, thereby drying the laundry. This type of dryer can dry the laundry at a lower temperature, which results in less energy consumption and is the most environmentally friendly product.

[0006] Common to all types of tumble dryers is the limited spacing to accommodate all the components required for the drying process, especially small tumble dryers with the capacity to dry up to 7-8 kg of wet laundry. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to obtain a tumble dryer having an improved performance compared to known tumble dryers and a capacity for drying wet laundry up to 7-8 kg. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This is accomplished, at least in part, by a tumble dryer comprising a rotatable drying drum configured to receive laundry to be dried, the drum having a cylindrical periphery with a plurality of openings, at least one particle separation filter disposed below the drying drum, the filter having a width corresponding to at least 50% of the cylindrical diameter of the drum, and a funnel-shaped interface portion and fan configured to form a tapered transmission channel between the at least one filter and the fan. The fan is a radial fan having an axis of rotation arranged to have an inclination of 0-25° from the vertical, such that an air flow introduced into the drum leaves the drum through its periphery, is directed through the at least one filter, is collected by the funnel-shaped interface, and is directed by the fan to the rear of the tumble dryer.

[0009] Through this embodiment, a larger volume of air can be circulated inside the machine while maintaining a compact structure. By redirecting the airflow by the fan, the airflow can be directed in the most suitable direction given the space inside the tumble dryer. The humidified air from the tumble dryer enters the fan vertically and is redirected by the fan to a generally horizontal direction toward the rear of the tumble dryer.

[0010] The axis of the fan may be inclined from the vertical direction by 5 to 15 degrees.

[0011] To accommodate additional components, such as an air heat pump system near the fan, the airflow from the fan can be directed towards the rear of the tumble dryer. By tilting the fan axis 5-15° from the vertical position, spacing within the tumble dryer is used in an advantageous manner. It has been found that a tilt of the fan axis of about 7° from the vertical position may provide the best position for other components.

[0012] The fan may include a motor, and the fan and motor may be enclosed by a plastic shell with a funnel-shaped interface portion to form a fan unit.

[0013] A plastic shell may be placed around the fan and the motor that powers it to protect the fan and allow for a large airflow to be collected in the fan from the drum and the particulate filter. The funnel-shaped interface portion forms an integral part of the plastic shell and may have a rectangular shape corresponding to the size of the particulate filter.

[0014] The fan device is releasably mounted to the tumble dryer and may be removed without tools as a single unit through the front face of the tumble dryer.

[0015] The tumble dryer may be provided with a hatch in the front wall of the tumble dryer below the drum such that the fan unit can be pulled out of the tumble dryer as a unit without the use of any tools, facilitating servicing, repair or replacement of the fan and / or its motor.

[0016] The fan device may be attached to the tumble dryer through a rigid connection, may be insertable into grooves located on each side of the tumble dryer, or may be held in place by a hatch in the front wall of the tumble dryer.

[0017] The funnel-shaped interface portion of the fan unit may be inserted into the groove, which provides a stiff connection and prevents the interface portion from bending in the process. This provides a simple, inexpensive and reliable solution to keep the fan unit in place within the tumble dryer while at the same time facilitating disposal of the fan unit from the tumble dryer.

[0018] The fan device may be stationary on the inside bottom surface of the tumble dryer.

[0019] The fan device can be securely positioned within the tumble dryer by positioning one side of the fan device suspended within the groove within each side of the tumble dryer and the opposite side resting on the bottom surface of the tumble dryer.

[0020] The tumble dryer may further include a heat pump system. The heat pump system may include an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve, and the fan device is disposed upstream of the evaporator.

[0021] By locating the heat pump system downstream of the fan device, the air flow can be circulated in the tumble dryer, the drying time in the drum can be shortened and the tumble dryer can have a higher performance, which results in energy savings. The evaporator can be located in the tumble dryer with a free space below for the drainage of the condensate generated in the evaporator. With a low position of the fan device, it is advantageous to tilt the fan and the fan device to direct the air flow slightly upwards towards the evaporator.

[0022] The heat pump system and fan unit may be positioned in an L-shape behind the drum, along the rear portion of the tumble dryer and below the drum.

[0023] By arranging the heat pump system and the fan device in an L-shape inside the tumble dryer, the space inside the tumble dryer is utilized efficiently, providing a high-performance, compact dryer.

[0024] The at least one particle separation filter may have a width corresponding to 80-100% of the cylindrical diameter of the drum.

[0025] The entire airflow leaving the drum passes through a particle separation filter to separate lint and other particles left behind by the clothes during the drying process, effectively removing particles from the airflow before it enters the fan unit and heat pump system, preventing clogging of other components in the dryer. Wider filters offer less resistance to the airflow.

[0026] The at least one particle separation filter may be a filter adapted to remove 80% or more of particles having a size up to 4 μm.

[0027] By arranging the filter in front of a fan unit or a heat pump system, for example, clogging of the cooler can be completely or partially prevented, reducing the need for maintenance work.

[0028] The motor may drive the drum to rotate. The motor may be located above the drum.

[0029] By locating the motor above the drum, the tumble dryer becomes more compact.

[0030] It is to be noted that embodiments of the invention can be embodied by all possible combinations of the features recited in the claims.

[0031] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals will be used for similar elements, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a front view of a tumble dryer. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view (see AA in FIG. 1) of a tumble dryer with a heat pump system with exposed internal components. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view, cross-sectional view of a tumble dryer with the internal components exposed (see CC in FIG. 1). [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a tumble dryer with the fan assembly and particulate filter removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a tumble dryer 1 comprising a parallel-pipe shaped casing 3. A door 5 is attached by a hinge 7 to a front wall 9 of the casing 3 for the input of wet laundry to be dried and for the output of dry laundry. The tumble dryer 1 may further comprise an appliance control panel 11 arranged on the front wall 9 of the casing 3, by means of which a user can manually select a desired drying cycle among several available drying cycles.

[0034] Figure 2 shows a cross section AA of the tumble dryer in Figure 1. The tumble dryer 1 comprises a heat pump system 13 and provides an air flow circuit 15 for circulation of air flow within the tumble dryer 1. The heat pump system 13 may comprise an evaporator 17, a condenser 19 and an expansion valve (not shown).

[0035] Wet laundry to be dried is fed to a rotatable drying drum 21 arranged inside the casing 3 via a door 5 arranged in the front wall 9 of the tumble dryer 2. Warm, dry air may be used to remove moisture from the wet laundry while the drum 21 is rotating. The air flow stream is circulated in the air flow circuit 15 and may be driven by a fan device 23. In the illustrated embodiment, the fan device 23 is arranged below the drying drum 21 but in front of the evaporator 17. The fan device 23 may also be arranged in a loop between the condenser 19 and the drying drum 21. Due to space considerations in the illustrated embodiment, the location of the fan device 23 below the drying drum 21 has been selected.

[0036] Wet laundry in the drying drum 21 When dried in the drying drum, the wet laundry 21 The warm, humidified air passes through a number of openings 25 in the cylindrical periphery 27 of the drying drum. 21 and is circulated to the fan unit 23.

[0037] The air flow may be passed through at least one particle separation filter 29 in order to separate particles or lint from the air flow stream before entering the fan device 23. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 there are two particle separation filters 29a,b: one filter for separation of lint 29a formed when the laundry is dried in the drum 21 and one particle separation filter 29b adapted to remove more than 80% of particles having a size up to 4 μm.

[0038] The particle separation filters 29a, 29b may have a rectangular shape with a width corresponding to 80-100% of the cylindrical diameter of the drum. The particle separation filter 29a may be fixed in a plastic frame 31 provided with a grid to give the filter stability and ensure that it remains stretched, as seen in Figure 3. By locating these particle separation filters 29a, 29b in front of the fan device 23 and the heat pump system 13, clogging of these systems 23, 13 can be prevented and maintenance work can be reduced.

[0039] The warm, humidified air is sent from the fan device 23 through an air flow duct 33 to the evaporator 17, which consists of a duct (not shown) through which the warm, humidified air and the refrigerant are alternately guided, the air flow being cooled and dehumidified through heat exchange with the refrigerant. Condensate can be removed from the cooler by tubes (not shown).

[0040] The cooled, dehumidified air is then circulated from the evaporator 17 to the condenser 19 where the air stream is reheated through heat exchange with a refrigerant.

[0041] The warm air flow is then blown again into the drying drum 21. The arrows indicate the circulation of the air flow within the air flow circuit 15.

[0042] Refrigerant is directed through a refrigerant circuit where a compressor 20 compresses the refrigerant, where it is condensed in a condenser 19 and evaporated in an evaporator 17 after passing through an expansion valve (not shown).

[0043] A heat pump system 13 including an evaporator 17, a compressor 20, a condenser 19 and an expansion valve (not shown) may be located along the rear of the tumble dryer 1, partially behind the drying drum 21, and may be surrounded by an insulating shell 35 with openings for the flow of air in and out.

[0044] The heat pump system 13 and the fan device 23 may be arranged in an L-shape behind the drying drum 21, behind the tumble dryer 1, and along the bottom of the drying drum 21.

[0045] The drying drum 21 may be driven to rotate by a motor 37. As can be seen in Figure 2, this motor 37 may be located at the top of the drying drum 21, providing a compact arrangement.

[0046] By arranging the components inside the tumble dryer 1 as shown in FIG. 2, the space inside the tumble dryer 1 is efficiently utilized, resulting in a high-performance, compact tumble dryer 1.

[0047] 4 shows an expanded view of the fan unit 23. The fan unit 23 may include a radial fan 39 powered by a motor 41 enclosed by a plastic shell 43 with a funnel-shaped interface portion 45.

[0048] The plastic shell 43 can be assembled from several parts that together with the radial fan 39 and the fan motor 41 form an integral unit.

[0049] The funnel-shaped interface portion 45 may be an integral part of the plastic shell 43 and may have a rectangular inlet corresponding to the size of the particle separation filters 29a, 29b, and may be inserted into the drying drum. 21 The tumble dryer 1 is adapted to collect a large volume of humidified warm air from the tumble dryer 1 and bring this air flow in a vertical direction (V) to the radial fan 39. The direction of the air flow is changed by the radial fan 39 and the left radial air flow is directed towards the rear of the tumble dryer 1 towards the evaporator 17 via the air flow duct 33.

[0050] The fan 39 redirects the airflow so that it can be directed in the most suitable manner given the spacing inside the tumble dryer 1. The humidified air from the tumble dryer 1 enters the fan 39 in a vertical direction (V) and is redirected by the fan 39 to a generally horizontal direction (H) towards the rear of the tumble dryer 1.

[0051] The evaporator 17, which is arranged downstream of the fan device 23, may require free space below for efficient drainage of condensed water generated in the evaporator 17. The fan device 23 may have a lower position than the evaporator 17, since the bottom surface of the fan device 23 rests on the bottom surface of the tumble dryer 1. The rotation axis 47 of the radial fan 39 may be arranged with an inclination (α) of 0 to 25°, preferably 5 to 15° from the vertical direction, in order to direct the air flow from the fan 39 through the air flow duct 33 to the inlet of the evaporator 17. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the axis 47 of the radial fan 39 is arranged with an inclination (α) of 7° from the vertical position. This slight forward inclination of the axis raises the air flow to impinge on the evaporator.

[0052] Through a hatch 49 (see Figure 1) located in the front wall 9 of the tumble dryer 1, the fan device 23 can be removed as a unit, which allows easy servicing, repair or replacement of the radial fan 39 and / or its motor 41.

[0053] The sides of the funnel-shaped interface portion 45 can be inserted into grooves 51 arranged on the respective sides of the tumble dryer 1 as seen in Fig. 5 to provide a rigid connection between the casing 3 and the fan device 23. The fan device 23 can thus be freely suspended by its upper part 23a and rest with its lower part 23b against the bottom surface or floor of the dryer, optionally held in place by a hatch 49 in the front wall 9. The fan device 23 can therefore be removed from the tumble dryer 1 in a simple manner without the need for any tools, by simply opening the hatch 49 and pulling out the fan device 23.

[0054] The particle separation filters 29 may also be inserted into grooves 51 located on each side of the tumble dryer 1 just above the funnel-shaped interface portion 45 and may be easily removed for cleaning or replacement.

[0055] The present invention has been described above primarily with respect to certain embodiments, however, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, other embodiments than those disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

[0056] For example, as in the embodiment shown, the tumble dryer may be an exhaust air dryer or a condensing dryer instead of a heat pump dryer.

[0057] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or method steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality.

Claims

1. a rotatable drying drum (21) adapted to receive laundry to be dried, the drying drum having a cylindrical outer periphery (27) with a plurality of openings (25); at least one particle separation filter (29) arranged below the drying drum (21), the at least one particle separation filter (29) having a width corresponding to at least 50% of the cylindrical diameter of the drying drum (21); a fan (39) and a funnel-shaped interface portion (45) configured to form a tapered transmission channel between the at least one particle separation filter (29) and the fan (39); A tumble dryer (1) comprising: The fan (39) is a radial fan having an axis (47) disposed at an inclination (α) of 0 to 25° from a vertical direction (V); an air flow introduced into the drying drum (21) exits the drying drum (21) through the outer periphery (27), is directed through the at least one particle separation filter (29), is collected by the funnel-shaped interface portion (45), and is directed by the fan (39) towards the rear of the tumble dryer (1); said fan (39) comprising a motor (41), said fan (39) and said motor (41) being enclosed in a plastic shell (43) comprising said funnel-shaped interface portion (45) to form a fan device (23); and The tumble dryer (1), characterized in that the fan device (23) is separably attached to the tumble dryer (1) and can be removed as a unit through a front wall of the tumble dryer (1).

2. 2. The tumble dryer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the axis (47) of the fan (39) is arranged with an inclination (α) of 5 to 15° from the vertical (V).

3. The tumble dryer (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fan device (23) is attached to the tumble dryer (1) via a rigid connection.

4. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fan device (23) is insertable into grooves (51) arranged on each side of the tumble dryer (1) and is held in place by a hatch (49) in the front wall of the tumble dryer (1).

5. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fan device (23) is mounted on a bottom surface inside the tumble dryer (1).

6. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a heat pump system (13), the heat pump system (13) comprising an evaporator (17), a compressor (20), a condenser (19) and an expansion valve, and a fan device (23) arranged upstream of the evaporator (17).

7. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the heat pump system (13) and the fan device (23) are arranged in an L-shape behind the drying drum (21), along the rear of the tumble dryer (1) and below the drying drum (21).

8. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one particle separating filter (29) has a width which corresponds to 80-100% of the cylindrical diameter of the drying drum (21).

9. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one particle separation filter (29) is a filter adapted to remove more than 80% of particles having a size up to 4 μm.

10. The tumble dryer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the rotation of the drying drum (21) is driven by a motor (37), the motor (37) being arranged on top of the drying drum (21).

Images