Dryer Condensing Duct Split-Airflow Layout for Humidity Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry drying machines face inefficiencies in drying energy due to poor condensation of humid air, leading to reduced drying efficiency and potential dew condensation issues.
Innovation Solution
A drying apparatus with a condensing duct having separate paths for re-introducing humid air into the drum and discharging the remaining air, utilizing a divider to control cross-sectional areas and an auxiliary condensing duct for enhanced moisture removal, along with external air introduction to mix with discharged air and reduce humidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If humid air is continuously circulated in the drum without sufficient discharge, then drying continues, but energy efficiency decreases and dew condensation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The condensing duct is divided into multiple paths: a first path that reintroduces condensed air back into the drum for continued drying, and a second path that discharges overly humid air to the outside. This segmentation allows selective discharge of humid air while recycling less humid air, improving energy efficiency by avoiding unnecessary reheating of already-dried air while maintaining drying performance through continuous circulation of appropriate air volumes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the humidity parameter of discharged air by controlling the proportion of air flowing through the first path (reintroduced) versus the second path (discharged). By changing the humidity parameter of the air cycle through selective discharge, the system prevents dew condensation and improves energy efficiency while maintaining effective drying performance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If all humid air is discharged to the outside, then dew condensation is prevented, but energy efficiency decreases due to loss of heated air
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the potentially harmful effect of humid air (which could cause dew condensation) into a beneficial recycling resource. By routing condensed air through the first path back into the drum, the system benefits from reusing warmed air that has already performed some drying function, thereby reducing the energy needed to heat fresh air while still preventing dew condensation through selective discharge via the second path.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards only the excessively humid air through the second path to the outside, while recovering and recycling the condensed air through the first path back into the drum. This selective discard and recover approach prevents dew condensation by removing the most humid portion while conserving energy by reusing the less humid, already-heated air, thus avoiding complete discharge of all humid air.
3Productivity
If a single-path condensing duct is used, then device complexity is low, but drying efficiency is reduced due to poor humidity control
Solution Approach 1:
The condensing duct is segmented into a first path and a second path with different functions. The first path handles air recycling to the drum, while the second path handles air discharge to the outside. This segmentation improves drying efficiency by enabling humidity control and selective discharge, while the modular path structure keeps device complexity manageable through clear functional separation rather than requiring complex control systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Improves energy efficiency by effectively discharging humid air and mixing it with external air, preventing dew condensation and enhancing drying performance.
Implementation Method 1
a condensing duct provided to condense moisture in air introduced from the inside of the drum
Implementation Method 2
the drying duct is configured to heat some of the air introduced from the condensing duct and the external air introduced through the introduction port and supply the above- described heated air into the drum
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A drying apparatus according to the present invention and a laundry drying machine including the same circulate only some of humid air introduced from a drum and discharge the remaining humid air through a discharge port, and then introduce mixed air, in which external air introduced through an introduction port and circulated humid air are mixed, into the drying duct to supply the air to the drum. Accordingly, since air in which there is little moisture may be circulated, drying performance of the drying apparatus may be improved. Further, by disposing an introduction fan or a discharge fan adjacent to the discharge port and mixing the humid air with the external air, since the air of which the moisture amount is little may be discharged to the outside of a cabinet, or the air discharged through the discharge port may be quickly discharged to the outside of the cabinet by the discharge fan, occurrence of dew condensation in the cabinet may be prevented.