Laundry treatment cabinet having a receiving device for items

Abstract

The invention relates to a laundry treatment cabinet (1), comprising - a housing (2); - at least one interior space (3) for receiving laundry (9) with an access opening (4), which is closable by means of a door (5), and an inlet opening (81) for the admission of process air (P) and an outlet opening (82) for letting out process air (P); - a heat pump unit (8), for generating process air (P) or conveying process air (P) through the interior space (3), said heat pump unit being provided in the bottom region of the cabinet (1), below the interior space (3); - a control device (18, uC) for activating and deactivating the unit (8) for generating the process air (P). The laundry treatment cabinet (1) also comprises a receiving device (70) for items (92), comprising - at least one pivotable arm (71), which is mounted on or in the rear wall (32) of the interior space (3), which is positioned parallel to the rear wall (32) in a rest position and at an angle of between 25° and 90°, preferably 30° to 70° to the rear wall (32) in the receiving position.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Laundry cabinet with a storage device for items

[0003] The invention relates to a laundry treatment cabinet comprising

[0004] - a housing;

[0005] - at least one interior space for accommodating laundry with an access opening closable by a door and an inlet opening for admitting process air and an outlet opening for discharging process air;

[0006] - a unit for generating process air or conveying process air through the interior, which is mounted in the floor area of ​​the cabinet, below the interior, with

[0007] - a module housing comprising a channel section in which a heat exchanger arrangement with a condenser as a heating device and an evaporator as a condensing device is arranged;

[0008] - a compressor with connecting lines to the heat exchanger arrangement;

[0009] - a fan for conveying process air through the duct section with the heat exchanger arrangement, further comprising

[0010] - a first pipe for connecting the duct section to the air inlet and a second pipe for connecting the duct section to the air outlet of the interior;

[0011] - a control device for activating and deactivating the unit for generating the process air.

[0012] WO 2020 / 046015 A1 discloses a laundry treatment cabinet with a heat pump for conditioning the process air. The treatment cabinet includes means for hanging laundry items inside so that they can be dried or exposed to the process air. There are no storage options for items with a volume.

[0013] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a laundry treatment cabinet which provides improved and needs-based storage for objects in a simple manner.

[0014] According to the invention, at least this object is achieved by a laundry treatment cabinet having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention emerge from the dependent claims.

[0015] The advantages achievable with the invention are that the process air can be conditioned as needed in a simple manner. In particular, the treatment cabinet proposed here can reliably and effectively dry, iron, and evenly apply a treatment agent to the laundry items to be treated. The particular advantage here is that the laundry items are conditioned during treatment with the process air, so that conditioning does not require any additional treatment time. Overall, objects or items of clothing that form a solid body can be reliably placed and reliably held in the optimal treatment position within the cabinet. The appropriately conditioned process air can optimally and completely reach, flow onto, or through these objects, so that, for example, odors are removed or disinfected or refreshed.Examples of items that can be used are shoes, boots, gloves or helmets.

[0016] For this purpose, the treatment cabinet is equipped with a holder for objects in the interior, comprising

[0017] - at least one pivoting arm which is mounted on or in the rear wall of the interior space, which in a rest position is parallel to the rear wall and in the receiving position is positioned at an angle between 25° and 90°, preferably 30° to 70°, more preferably 30 to 45°, to the plane of the rear wall. This means that the receiving arms can be moved into the unfolded position at an acute angle to the surface of the rear wall, if necessary, i.e. when large volume objects have to be placed in the treatment space. The objects are slipped over the arm, whereby they are held securely. Shoes are slipped over the arm with their opening. When the arms of the receiving device are not needed, they can be folded in so that they lie upright against the rear wall. The interior space remains free of any protruding support arms.

[0018] The unit is located in the floor area of ​​the cabinet, below the interior. This means that the process air is drawn into the interior from below and extracted, while a circulation of process air is provided within the interior, flowing through the entire interior or at least reaching almost the entire interior. This allows the process air to reach the laundry located inside and dry or condition it accordingly, for example, with steam or a treatment agent.

[0019] In a practical embodiment, the first pipe is designed and arranged such that it extends from the underside of the interior space approximately vertically behind the rear wall of the interior space and rests against it, up to a height of one-quarter to seven-eighths of the full height of the interior space, with the inlet to the interior space or treatment chamber located in the upper area of ​​the first pipe. This allows the process air to be admitted at a mid-height of the interior space, ensuring a rapid and even exposure of the laundry items to the conditioned process air.

[0020] In another, generally practical design, the first pipe has a roughly rectangular cross-section in its vertical section and lies flat behind the rear wall of the interior. This provides a space-saving arrangement for the first pipe because it is located flat between the rear wall of the interior and the outer edge of the device housing.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the first tube is designed such that the rectangular cross-section extends with its longitudinal side into an area of ​​the interior space that corresponds approximately 50% to 100% of the width of the interior space. Thus, a large portion of the width of the interior space is utilized to provide the cross-section for the first tube.

[0022] In a further embodiment, the first tube is designed such that the short side of the rectangular cross-section has a length in the range of 2 cm to 8 cm, preferably 3 cm to 6 cm.

[0023] In an overall practical embodiment, the air inlet is arranged at a vertical and horizontal distance from the air outlet, preferably in the rear area of ​​the interior, with the air outlet being arranged in the front area or in the central area on the underside of the interior. Due to the aforementioned spaced arrangement of the openings for the process air, it is ensured that the process air flow reaches the interior and the textiles located therein completely and at least almost homogeneously. A so-called fluidic short circuit, in which the process air flow entering the interior is diverted directly to a nearby outlet without reaching the laundry items, is avoided or prevented.

[0024] In an overall advantageous design, the rear wall includes pockets or recesses into which the pivoting arms fit in the resting position. The arms, pivoted into the pockets, form a plane with the surrounding rear wall.

[0025] In a further, overall advantageous embodiment, the arms are each provided with an air duct or are designed as hollow bodies in order to guide process air through the arm to an opening in the arm in the pivoted-open position. This guides process air through the arm into the interior of the attached object. For example, shoes or helmets are quickly and completely exposed to process air, even from the inside, and are thus reliably dried and / or conditioned. In an advantageous development, openings for the process air to enter the interior are arranged in the rear wall in the area of ​​the pivot axis for the pivotally mounted arms, wherein the arms are designed to close the openings when they are in the rest position and to open them when they are moved into the receiving position or are in the receiving position.The openings serve to direct a portion of the process air from the first pipe into the vicinity of the receiving arms and thus to the objects placed on the receiving arms. The arms themselves act as handles or closures for the openings. The arms can interact with flaps or closures that can be moved accordingly. When an arm is in the rest position, the closure closes the corresponding opening. When an arm is in the unfolded receiving position, the closure opens the corresponding opening.

[0026] In a further embodiment, a guiding means or closure means is arranged within the first pipe, which can be moved by the arm in order to guide the entire air flow through the first pipe to the air inlet in the resting position and to split the air flow in the receiving, unfolded position so that a first portion of the air flow is guided through the first pipe and a second portion through the arm. This means that in the folded-in state, the entire portion of the process air from the first pipe is guided through the air inlet to the interior or treatment room. In the unfolded state, a portion of the process air from the first pipe is guided through the arm and blown out there through the outlet at the free end.

[0027] In a preferred development, the receiving device comprises a shaft which provides the pivot axis, wherein the shaft is hollow and comprises the guiding means or closure means for distributing the process air flow.

[0028] In an expedient further development, the guide means is designed such that the proportion of process air through the arm is smaller than the proportion through the first pipe to the air inlet, preferably 10% to 45%, preferably 15% to 35% of the air flow guided into the first pipe.

[0029] In a preferred version of the arm with an integrated air duct, the outlet opening on the arm's free end is designed as a grid or is provided with a grid. This preferably applies to all arms. This prevents small parts from accidentally entering the interior of the first pipe and thus the process air duct.

[0030] In an overall advantageous embodiment, the receiving device comprises a shaft that provides the pivot axis, with at least two support arms attached to the shaft. In an expedient further development, the support arms are attached to the shaft in such a way that they are individually movable, or at least two adjacent support arms are rigidly coupled to one another. This allows at least two support arms to be folded out and back in parallel.

[0031] Furthermore, a steam generator can be provided in the cabinet to introduce steam into the interior, which in turn can act on the laundry. The activity of the steam generator is preferably controlled by the control device. The steam can be introduced into the interior via a steam pipe and a nozzle, where it is mixed with the process air. Alternatively, the steam can be vented via the steam pipe.

[0032] Preferably, the control device is further configured to activate and deactivate the steam generator. For this purpose, the control device can be designed and programmed to activate and deactivate the steam generator based on a predetermined time sequence. This means that the activation times for the steam generator are specified based on a predetermined schedule, so that the steam generator is only active at specific times.

[0033] Overall, all position and direction information refers to the normal operating position of the laundry treatment cabinet.

[0034] An embodiment of the invention is shown purely schematically in the drawings and is described in more detail below.

[0035] Fig. 1 : a laundry treatment cabinet with a view into the interior in a perspective front view;

[0036] Fig. 2: example of a sketched, sectioned side view of the

[0037] laundry treatment cabinet;

[0038] Fig. 3, 4: schematically show the area of ​​the receiving device in different

[0039] situations and

[0040] Fig. 5, 6: Details of the recording device in different situations.

[0041] Fig. 1 shows a laundry treatment cabinet 1 with the door 5 open, viewed diagonally from above, in which the interior 3 is visible. The laundry treatment cabinet 1 in this example is a drying cabinet, comprising a housing 2, in the interior 3 of which there are means 91 for hanging laundry 9. The laundry treatment cabinet 1 comprises, inside the housing 2, a heat pump unit 8 for providing and conveying the process air, which is admitted into the interior 3 through the inlet opening 81 and conveyed from the interior 3 to the unit 8 through the outlet opening 82. The unit 8 is arranged in the lower region 22 of the housing 2 in this example. The front side of the door 5 is opaque in this illustration, but it can be transparent so that it can be seen in the closed position.The laundry treatment cabinet further comprises a control device 18, which preferably comprises a microcontroller uC with an associated memory MEM in order to control or activate and deactivate the unit 8 according to the program stored in the memory MEM (FIG. 5).

[0042] The channel 95 or the first tube 95 is flat and has an approximately rectangular cross-section SQ.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the laundry treatment cabinet 1 further comprises, in the upper region of the appliance 1, a device 40 for air circulation in the interior 3.

[0044] Fig. 2 shows the laundry treatment cabinet 1 in a schematic sectional view with the door 5 closed during operation. The heat pump unit 8 for generating the process air P is located in the base area 22 of the housing 2. The unit 8 comprises a heat pump circuit with a cooling heat exchanger 86 (evaporator), a heating heat exchanger 84 (condenser), and a compressor 85 to pump the refrigerant contained in the heat pump circuit through the individual components. The process air blower 87 generates the air flow of the process air P, which passes through the outlet 82 to the cooling heat exchanger 86 and is dehumidified there. The dry, cool air then reaches the heating heat exchanger 84, from which it leaves again heated. Further downstream is the process air blower 87, which pumps the now dried and heated process air through the inlet 81 into the interior 3.The process air blower 87 can also be arranged between the two heat exchangers 86, 84 or at the process air inlet upstream of the evaporator 86. It can also be seen that the inlet 81 is located in the rear wall 32 of the interior space 3. The outlet 82 is located away from the inlet 81 and in the floor 31 close to the door 5 or the access opening 4. This creates an air flow P that reaches the entire interior space 3.

[0045] In an advantageous further development, the laundry treatment cabinet 1 comprises a steam generator 88. This can also be activated and deactivated by means of the control device 18 in order to supply steam to the interior 3 or the process air P. In the outlined embodiment, a steam pipe 89 is provided, which conducts the steam from the steam generator 88 into the first pipe 95 and terminates therein. The steam admitted into the first pipe 95 is mixed in the pipe 95 with the process air stream P, so that the steam-mixed process air P passes from the inlet 81 into the treatment chamber 3. In the upper region of the housing 2, above the interior 3, a device 40 for air circulation is arranged. This device comprises a duct 44 and a fan 45 for conveying the air F from the interior 3 through the duct 44. The fan 45 is switched on and off by means of the control device 18, depending on programmed or user-set specifications.The air F passes through the outlet 42 to the duct 44, with the treated air F being blown from the duct 44 through the inlet 41 into the interior 3. In the example outlined, the air F is blown into or through the clothes hangers 91 to the laundry items 9 hung thereon. A filter element 43 is arranged at the outlet 42 to separate lint from the air flow F of the recirculation.

[0046] The first pipe 95 extends in the rear, lower area of ​​the interior 3 and is arranged flat behind the rear wall 32. The first pipe 95 represents the connecting channel between the base channel 80 containing the heat exchangers 84, 86 and the inlet 81.

[0047] Fig. 1 and 2 further show that a receiving device 70 for objects is attached to the lower region of the rear wall 32. This device comprises at least one pivotable arm 71, which is mounted on or in the rear wall 32 of the interior or treatment chamber 3, which in a rest position is parallel to the rear wall 32 and in the receiving position is positioned at an angle between 45° and 90°, preferably 60° to 90°, to the rear wall 32. The rear wall 32 is provided with indentations 76, which serve as receiving pockets 76 for the arms 71 when they are folded in. In the folded state, the arms 71 disappear into the pockets 76, so that the rear wall 32 represents a plane from which the folded arms 71 do not protrude.

[0048] Fig. 1 also shows an air outlet 79 in the region of the pivot axis 73 of the arms 31 in order to blow out a portion of process air PC into this region of the interior.

[0049] Fig. 3 shows the area of ​​the rear wall 32 with the process air duct section 95 in a schematic side view. The arms 71 of the receiving device 70 (Fig. 4) are folded in the situation sketched in Fig. 3 and are therefore not visible. 100% of the process air P reaches the process air inlet 81 and then into the interior space 3 (Fig. 2).

[0050] Fig. 4 shows the area of ​​the rear wall 32 with the process air duct section 95 in a schematic side view. In the illustrated situation, the arm 71 is unfolded and has an angle in the range of 25° to 75°, relative to the course of the rear wall 31 or the vertical. The arm 71 is pivotally mounted on or in the rear wall 32 by means of the shaft 73. The shaft 73 is hollow so that process air components PA, PB, PC can be passed through it. The shaft 73 is further equipped with a gate 74, which serves as a slide 74 or closure means to redirect or divide the process air P into the components PA, PB, PC. The actuation of the closure means 74 takes place via the pivoting of the arm 71. In the folded-in situation according to Fig. 3, the gate 74 is in line with corresponding openings in the fixed duct section 95 in such a way that the process air P passes 100% through the duct section 95 to the inlet 81.No portions PA, PC of the process air P are passed through the arm 71 and through the further opening 79 (Fig. 1).

[0051] The situation sketched in Fig. 4 shows the unfolded state of the arm 71, so that the receiving device 70 is activated to receive objects. The slide 74 is moved into the open position to direct a process air portion PC (Fig. 5) to the opening 79, which is located in the duct section 95 and in the rear wall 32 in the immediate vicinity of the receiving device 70 (Fig. 1), in particular to the shaft 73 of the pivot axis for the receiving arm 71. The slide 74 is also moved into the open position to direct the process air portion PA to the arm 71 so that this process air portion PA is blown through the arm 71 and out through the outlet 72 at the free end of the arm 71. This portion PA is blown, for example, into the interior of a shoe 92 when a shoe 92 is slipped over the free end of the arm 71 (Fig. 2).

[0052] All explanations for the components mentioned in the singular apply accordingly to the majority of the components mentioned.

[0053] Fig. 5 shows the arms 71 of the receiving device 70 in the unfolded position. In the illustrated embodiment, two arms 71 are firmly coupled to one another on a common shaft 73. The rotary valve 74, located in the shaft 73 as a closure means, provides, in the illustrated position, a division of the process air P into individual portions, each comprising a fraction of 1. The portion PA is directed to the arm 71 or arms 71. The portion PC is directed to the additional opening 79 in the rear wall 32. The remaining portion PB reaches the inlet opening 81. The sum of the three aforementioned portions results in the full portion of the supplied process air P.

[0054] Fig. 6 shows the arms 71 of the receiving device 70 in the folded position. In the illustrated embodiment, two arms 71 are firmly coupled to each other on a common shaft 73. The rotary valve 74, located in the shaft 73 as a closure means, provides, in the illustrated position, the closure state for the branch to the arms 71 and the branch to the opening 79. In this case, the process air P is not divided into individual portions. The entire process air P reaches the air inlet 81 for the interior space 3 (Figs. 1, 2).

Claims

Patent claims 1. Laundry treatment cabinet (1), comprising - a housing (2); - at least one interior space (3) for receiving laundry (9) with an access opening (4) that can be closed by means of a door (5) and an inlet opening (81) for admitting process air (P) and an outlet opening (82) for discharging process air (P); - an aggregate (8) for generating process air (P) or conveying process air (P) through the interior (3), which is mounted in the floor area of ​​the cabinet (1), below the interior (3), with - a module housing (80) comprising a channel section (83) in which a heat exchanger arrangement with a condenser (84) as a heating device and an evaporator (86) as a condensing device is arranged; - a compressor (85) with connecting lines to the heat exchanger arrangement (84, 86); - a fan (87) for conveying process air (P) through the duct section (83) with the heat exchanger arrangement (84, 86), further comprising - a first pipe (95) for connecting the duct section (83) to the air inlet (81) and a second pipe (96) for connecting the duct section (83) to the air outlet (82) of the interior space (3); - a control device (18, uC) for activating and deactivating the unit (8) for generating the process air (P), characterized by a receiving device (70) for objects (92), comprising - at least one pivotable arm (71) mounted on or in the rear wall (32) of the interior space (3), which in a rest position is positioned parallel to the rear wall (32) and in the receiving position at an angle between 25° and 90°, preferably 30° to 70°, to the rear wall (32).

2. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 1, wherein the first tube (95) has an approximately rectangular cross-section (SQ) in the vertical section and lies flat behind the rear wall of the (32) interior space (3).

3. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 2, wherein the first tube (95) is designed such that the rectangular cross-section (SQ) extends with its long side in a region of the interior (3) which corresponds approximately to 50% to 100% of the width of the interior (3).

4. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first tube (95) is designed such that the short side of the rectangular cross-section (SQ) has a length with a dimension in the range of 2 cm to 8 cm, preferably 3 cm to 6 cm.

5. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air inlet (81) is arranged at a vertical and horizontal distance from the air outlet (82), preferably in the rear region of the interior space (3), wherein the air outlet (82) is arranged in the front region or in the central region in the floor (31) of the interior space (3).

6. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the receiving device (70) comprises at least two or more arms (71) next to one another on a common, horizontal pivot axis (73).

7. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rear wall comprises receiving pockets (76) into which the pivotable arms (71) can be inserted in the rest position.

8. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the arms (71) are each provided with an air duct or are designed as a hollow body in order to guide process air (PA) through the arm (71) to an opening (72) in the arm (71) in the pivoted-up position.

9. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claims 1 to 7, wherein in the region of the pivot axis for the pivotally mounted arms (71) in the rear wall (32) openings (79) for the entry of the process air (PC) into the interior (3) are provided, wherein the arms (71) are designed to close the openings (79) when they are in the rest position and to open when they are moved into the receiving position or are in the receiving position.

10. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 8, further comprising a guide means (74) within the first tube (95) which can be moved by the arm (71) in order to guide the entire air flow (P) through the first tube (95) to the air inlet (81) in the rest position and to divide the air flow (P) in the receiving, unfolded position so that a first portion (PB) of the air flow is guided through the first tube and a second portion (PA) is guided through the arm (71).

11. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 8 to 10, wherein the receiving device (70) comprises a shaft (73) which provides the pivot axis for the arms (71), wherein the shaft (73) is hollow and the guide means (74) or closure means, preferably a rotary valve, for distributing the process air flow into the individual portions (PA, PC).

12. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the guide means (74) is designed such that the proportion of process air (PA) through the arm (71) is smaller than the proportion (PB) through the first pipe (95) to the air inlet (81), preferably 10% to 45%, preferably 15% to 35% of the air flow (P) guided into the first pipe (85).

13. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the outlet opening (72) at the free end of the arm (71) is designed as a grid.

14. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the receiving device (70) comprises a shaft (73) which provides the pivot axis for the arms (71), wherein at least two support arms (71) are attached to the shaft (73).

15. Laundry treatment cabinet (1) according to claim 14, wherein the support arms (71) are attached to the shaft (73) in such a way that they are individually movable or at least two adjacent support arms (71) are firmly coupled to one another.

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