CN110924102A

CN110924102A - Clothes treating apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN110924102A
Application number: CN201811091814.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周椿浩; 冯伟; 张嫄; 戴文娟
Original assignee: Wuxi Little Swan Co Ltd
Current assignee: Wuxi Little Swan Co Ltd; Wuxi Little Swan Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-19
Filing date: 2018-09-19
Publication date: 2020-03-27

Abstract

The invention discloses a clothes treatment device, which comprises a barrel body, wherein a clothes treatment cavity is defined in the barrel body and is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; the air outlet pipe is arranged at the upper part of the barrel body and is provided with an inlet and an outlet, and the inlet is communicated with the clothes treatment cavity; the clothes drying assembly comprises an air channel and a fan arranged in the air channel and used for guiding air to flow, the air channel is provided with a first ventilation opening, a second ventilation opening and a third ventilation opening, the first ventilation opening is communicated with the air inlet, the second ventilation opening is communicated with the air outlet through a condenser, the third ventilation opening is communicated with the outside of the barrel body, an air door is arranged in the air channel, the third ventilation opening is closed when the air door is switched to a first position, the second ventilation opening is communicated with the first ventilation opening, when the air door is switched to a second position, the second ventilation opening is closed, and the third ventilation opening is communicated with the first ventilation. The clothes treatment equipment can select different drying modes, has low energy consumption and high drying efficiency, and has a self-cleaning function.

Description

Clothes treating apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of laundry treatment apparatuses, and more particularly, to a laundry treatment apparatus such as a dryer or a washing and drying all-in-one machine.

Background

Because of the limitation of the prior art, the washing and drying integrated drum washing machine on the market at present mainly adopts a condensing circulating drying mode, air is heated by a heater and then is sent into an inner drum by a fan, hot air is contacted with clothes to form hot and humid air which enters a water-cooled condenser, and the hot and humid air is converted into dry air after heat exchange with cold water in the condenser and then is circulated into the drum again. Compared with a washing and drying integrated drum washing machine, the available drying method of the existing clothes dryer is richer. For example, the direct-exhaust clothes dryer heats cold air and then sends the heated cold air into the inner cylinder by the fan, and then directly exhausts damp and hot air into the atmosphere. Compared with a condensation circulation drying mode, the drying method has higher drying efficiency, but consumes more energy, and in addition, if the damp and hot air is discharged into the room, certain influence can be caused on the indoor environment.

In order to improve the drying efficiency of the condensing cycle of the washing and drying integrated drum washing machine and reduce the water consumption, document CN201110412108.8 proposes a washing and drying integrated machine capable of switching between the water condensing cycle drying mode and the anhydrous condensing direct discharge drying mode by manual selection or automatic selection. The washing and drying integrated machine has certain feasibility in theory, but in the research process, the fact that the cross section area of an exhaust pipeline of the washing and drying integrated machine is too small due to connection with a drainage pipeline cannot achieve the expected drying effect is found, and if water remains in a sewer pipeline of a user, the exhaust cannot be achieved, and the drying efficiency is reduced. Meanwhile, the thread scraps generated in the drying process can cause the problems of blockage of sewer pipes, household pollution of users and the like, although a filter screen is arranged between the fan switching device and the heater, the filter screen has the function of filtering the thread scraps in the air, but the filter screen can not be cleaned after being used for a long time, the thread scraps are easily accumulated, the air intake and the drying efficiency are influenced, and even potential safety hazards are caused.

Furthermore, document CN02120930.8 proposes a switching type drying apparatus for a drum washing machine, in which an air outlet is disposed in an open variable duct when external circulation is performed, wherein the air outlet is both an outlet for damp and hot air and an inlet for outside air, and the air outlet and the air inlet are separated by a lever, so that when drying is performed by a direct exhaust drying method, the damp air discharged from the air outlet affects the air entering the air inlet, the humidity of the air entering the duct is increased, the drying efficiency is reduced, and the energy consumption is high.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving at least one of the problems of the prior art. To this end, an object of the present invention is to propose a laundry treating apparatus which can select different drying modes, is low in energy consumption, has high drying efficiency, and has a self-cleaning function.

The laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention includes: the clothes treatment device comprises a barrel body, a clothes treatment cavity is defined in the barrel body, and the clothes treatment cavity is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; the air outlet pipe is arranged at the upper part of the barrel body and is communicated with the clothes treatment cavity; the clothes drying assembly comprises an air channel and a fan arranged in the air channel and used for guiding air to flow, the air channel is provided with a first ventilation opening, a second ventilation opening and a third ventilation opening, the first ventilation opening is communicated with the air inlet, the second ventilation opening is communicated with the air outlet through a condenser, the third ventilation opening is communicated with the outside of the barrel body, an air door is arranged in the air channel, and the air door can be switched between a first position and a second position; when the air door is switched to the first position, the air door closes the third air vent, and the second air vent is communicated with the first air vent; when the air door is switched to the second position, the air door closes the second ventilation opening, and the third ventilation opening is communicated with the first ventilation opening.

According to the clothes treatment equipment, the air channel with the first air vent, the second air vent and the third air vent and the air door for controlling the opening and closing of the second air vent and the third air vent are arranged in the clothes drying assembly, so that air flow in the clothes treatment equipment can selectively pass through the condenser, the clothes treatment equipment has multiple drying modes, and a user can select the corresponding drying mode to treat clothes.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the clothes drying assembly comprises an air duct shell, the air duct is formed in the air duct shell, the air duct shell comprises a first air duct shell and a second air duct shell, the first air duct shell extends along the axial direction of the barrel body, one end of the second air duct shell is connected with the first air duct shell, the other end of the second air duct shell extends horizontally, the first ventilation opening is formed at the front end of the first air duct shell, the second ventilation opening and the third ventilation opening are formed at the other end of the second air duct shell, and the fan is located at the connecting position of the first air duct shell and the second air duct shell.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second air vent is formed at a bottom of the other end of the second air duct case, and the third air vent is formed at a side of the other end of the second air duct case.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the third air outlet is formed on an end surface of the other end of the second air duct case.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the damper is rotatably disposed within the air duct.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the upper part of the barrel body is provided with an air outlet pipe, and a filter screen is arranged in the air outlet pipe.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laundry treating apparatus further comprises: one end of the spraying pipe is connected with the air outlet pipe and is located on one side, far away from the barrel body, of the filter screen, and a water inlet valve is arranged at the other end of the spraying pipe.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a main wash water inlet pipe connected in parallel with the shower pipe is further arranged downstream of the water inlet valve.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the air outlet pipe comprises a first pipe section and a second pipe section, wherein the first pipe section vertically extends upwards from the upper part of the barrel body, the second pipe section is L-shaped and is connected with the first pipe section, the filter screen is arranged in the first pipe section, and the spray pipe is connected with the second pipe section.

According to one embodiment of the invention, an exhaust pipe is connected to the outlet, said exhaust pipe being in communication with the outdoor atmosphere.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a humidity sensor is arranged on the air outlet pipe, and the humidity sensor is arranged close to the outlet.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the laundry treating apparatus has first to third drying modes, and when the laundry treating apparatus operates in the first drying mode, the damper is switched to close the third vent and the second vent is communicated with the first vent; when the clothes treatment equipment runs in a second drying mode, the air door is switched to close the second air vent, and the third air vent is communicated with the first air vent; when the clothes treatment equipment operates in a third drying mode, the air door is switched to close the third air vent to enable the second air vent to be communicated with the first air vent, and then the air door is switched to close the second air vent to enable the third air vent to be communicated with the first air vent.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the laundry treating apparatus operates in the third drying mode, the damper switches from a state of closing the third ventilation opening to a state of closing the second ventilation opening when the humidity sensor detects that the humidity of the air at the outlet reaches 50% to 70%.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a heater is provided between the first ventilation opening and the fan.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laundry treating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laundry treating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a tub according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a clothes drying assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a damper opening a third vent in an embodiment in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a damper closing a third vent in an embodiment in accordance with the invention.

Reference numerals:

the laundry treating apparatus 100, the laundry treating chamber 101,

the tub 110 is provided with a plurality of tub openings,

a clothes drying component 120, an air duct 121, a first ventilation opening 121a, a second ventilation opening 121b, a third ventilation opening 121c, a fan 122, an air duct shell 123, a first air duct shell 123a, a second air duct shell 123b,

the condenser (130) is arranged in such a way that,

damper 140, motor 141

An air outlet pipe 150, a first pipe section 150a, a second pipe section 150b, an outlet 152, a filter screen 153, a humidity sensor 154,

a shower pipe 160, a water inlet valve 170, a main wash water inlet pipe 180 and a heater 190.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

A laundry treating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 6. It should be noted that the laundry treating apparatus 100 may be a washing and drying machine, and may also be a clothes dryer.

The laundry treating apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a tub 110 and a clothes drying assembly 120, wherein the tub 110 defines a laundry treating chamber 101 therein, laundry to be treated is adapted to be placed in the laundry treating chamber 101, the laundry treating chamber 101 has an air inlet through which an air flow enters the laundry treating chamber 101, and an air outlet through which the air flow can take away moisture in the laundry treating chamber 101 and discharge the moisture through the air outlet, so as to dry the laundry.

The clothes drying assembly 120 comprises an air duct 121 and a fan 122 arranged in the air duct 121 for guiding air to flow, the air duct 121 is provided with a first ventilation opening 121a, a second ventilation opening 121b and a third ventilation opening 121c, the first ventilation opening 121a is communicated with an air inlet, the second ventilation opening 121b is communicated with an air outlet through a condenser 130, the third ventilation opening 121c is communicated with the outside of the barrel 110, and a switchable air door 140 arranged in the air duct 121 between the second ventilation opening 121b and the third ventilation opening 121 c.

Specifically, the damper 140 may be switched between a first position and a second position; when the damper 140 is switched to the first position, the damper 140 closes the third vent 121c, and the second vent 121b communicates with the first vent 121 a; when the damper 140 is switched to the second position, the damper 140 closes the second ventilation opening 121b, and the third ventilation opening 121c communicates with the first ventilation opening 121 a. The damper 140 can be driven by a motor 141, and the damper 140 is suitable for controlling the opening and closing of the second ventilation opening 121b and the third ventilation opening 121 c.

Further, an air outlet pipe 150 is provided at an upper portion of the tub 110, the air outlet pipe having an inlet and an outlet 152, the inlet being communicated with the laundry treating chamber 101, and the inlet of the air outlet pipe 150 being spaced apart from the air outlet of the tub 110 and the inlet of the condenser 130.

The laundry treating apparatus 100 of the present application includes at least two drying modes. The method comprises the following specific steps:

when the damper 140 is switched to close the third air vent 121c, the second air vent 121b is communicated with the first air vent 121a, at this time, a closed cycle may be formed among the laundry processing chamber 101, the air duct 121 and the condenser 130, the air flow in the air duct 121 starts to flow under the action of the fan 122 and flows into the laundry processing chamber 101 through the first air vent 121a and the air inlet, the air flow may take away the humid air in the laundry processing chamber 101, and then the humid air is changed into humid air, the humid air enters the condenser 130 through the air outlet, the humid air is heat-exchanged and converted into dry air in the condenser 130, and the dry air returns to the air duct 121 through the second air vent 121b to complete the cycle, which is the first drying mode.

In this drying mode, the laundry treating apparatus 100 has low power consumption and good economy, but has a long drying time.

When the damper 140 is switched to close the second vent 121b, the third vent 121c is communicated with the first vent 121 a; at this time, the condenser 130 is not operated, the third ventilation opening 121c can introduce fresh air outside the tub 110 into the air duct 121, the air forms an air flow under the action of the fan 122, the air flow is guided out from the first ventilation opening 121a and enters the laundry processing chamber 101 through the air inlet to take away moisture in the laundry processing chamber 101, and the air flow is discharged out of the tub 110 through the air outlet pipe 150, which is the second drying mode.

The air flow in the tub 110 is not circulated in the second drying mode, the air outside the tub 110 continuously enters the air duct 121 through the third ventilation opening 121c, and the moisture in the tub 110 is discharged through the air outlet pipe 150, so that the moisture in the laundry treating chamber 101 is taken away, the laundry treating apparatus 100 has high efficiency, but the energy consumption is increased, and meanwhile, the moist air is directly discharged to the indoor through the air outlet, which may affect the indoor air.

In addition, the air outlet pipe 150 is arranged at the upper part of the tub 10, so that the drying air passing through the condenser 130 can be effectively prevented from being discharged out of the clothes processing chamber 101 through the air outlet pipe 150, and the position of the outlet 152 of the air outlet pipe 150 does not affect the internal circulation drying system; when the external circulation drying system is performed, the outlet 152 of the air outlet pipe 150 and the third ventilation opening 121c are arranged at intervals and have different orientations, so that the influence of the humid air exhausted through the outlet 152 on the dry air entering the clothes treatment cavity 101 is effectively avoided, the drying efficiency of the clothes treatment equipment 100 is improved, and the energy consumption is reduced.

Therefore, according to the clothes treatment apparatus 100 of the present invention, by providing the air duct 121 having the first air vent 121a, the second air vent 121b and the third air vent 121c, and the air door 140 for controlling the opening and closing of the second air vent 121b and the third air vent 121c in the clothes drying assembly 120, the air flow in the clothes treatment apparatus 100 can selectively pass through the condenser 130, so that the clothes treatment apparatus 100 has a plurality of drying modes, and a user can select a corresponding drying mode to treat clothes, so that the clothes treatment apparatus 100 of the present invention has good applicability, and the use experience of the user is effectively improved.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the laundry treating apparatus 100 includes first to third drying modes.

When the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates in the first drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the third ventilation opening 121c and communicate the second ventilation opening 121b with the first ventilation opening 121a, at this time, a closed cycle may be formed among the laundry treating chamber 101, the air duct 121 and the condenser 130, the air flow in the air duct 121 starts to flow under the action of the fan 122 and flows into the laundry treating chamber 101 through the first ventilation opening 121a and the air inlet, the air flow may take away the humid air in the laundry treating chamber 101 to become humid air, the humid air enters the condenser 130 through the air outlet, the humid air is heat-exchanged in the condenser 130 and converted into dry air, and the dry air returns to the air duct 121 through the second ventilation opening 121b to complete the cycle.

When the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates the second drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the second vent 121b and communicate the third vent 121c with the first vent 121 a; at this time, the condenser 130 is not operated, the third vent 121c may introduce fresh air outside the tub 110 into the air duct 121, the air forms an airflow under the action of the fan 122, the airflow is guided out from the first vent 121a and enters the laundry processing chamber 101 through the air inlet to take away moisture in the laundry processing chamber 101, the airflow is discharged out of the tub 110 through the air outlet, the airflow in the tub 110 does not circulate in the second drying mode, and the air outside the tub 110 continuously enters the air duct 121 through the third vent 121c, so as to take away moisture in the laundry processing chamber 101.

When the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates in the third drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the third air vent 121c to communicate the second air vent 121b with the first air vent 121a, and then switched to close the second air vent 121b to communicate the third air vent 121c with the first air vent 121 a. That is, the laundry treating apparatus 100 is operated in the first drying mode for a predetermined time and then switched to the second drying mode.

In the third drying mode, the damper 140 in the laundry processing apparatus 100 first closes the third vent 121c to communicate the second vent 121b with the first vent 121a, and at this time, the condenser 130 operates, and the drying principle at this time is the same as the drying principle in the first drying mode, after a period of drying, the humidity in the laundry processing chamber 101 decreases, and the damper 140 switches to close the second vent 121b and communicate the third vent 121c with the first vent 121a, and the drying principle at this time is the same as the drying principle in the second drying mode. The energy consumption in the third drying mode is lower than that in the second drying mode, and the drying speed is faster than that in the first drying mode.

As shown in fig. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the clothes drying assembly 120 includes an air duct case 123, an air duct 121 is formed in the air duct case 123, the air duct case 123 includes a first air duct case 123a and a second air duct case 123b, the first air duct case 123a extends axially along the tub 110, and one end of the second air duct case 123b is connected to the first air duct case 123a and the other end extends horizontally.

It should be noted that the extending direction of the first air duct shell 123a is the axial direction of the barrel 110, the first air duct shell 123a is disposed on the upper side of the barrel 110, the extending direction is parallel to the extending direction of the axis of the barrel 110, the extending direction of the other end of the second air duct shell 123a can be along the circumferential direction of the barrel 110 and in the horizontal direction, the extending direction of the other end of the second air duct shell 123a is perpendicular to the axis of the barrel 110, and the arrangement manner can be convenient for the arrangement of the second air duct shell 123 b; the first ventilation opening 121a is formed at the front end of the first air duct shell 123a, the first ventilation opening 121a may be directly opposite to the air inlet of the laundry treating chamber 101, the second ventilation opening 121b and the third ventilation opening 121c are formed at the other end of the second air duct shell 123b, and the fan 122 is located at the connection position of the first air duct shell 123a and the second air duct shell 123 b.

Specifically, the second air vent 121b is formed at the bottom of the other end of the first air duct shell 123a, the third air vent 121c is formed at the side of the other end of the first air duct shell 123a, the opening degree of the third air vent 121c is not limited, which is helpful for improving the air intake amount of the outside air, the bottom of the second air vent 121b can be communicated with the cavity where the condenser 130 is located, and the air in the clothes treatment cavity 101 passes through the condenser 130, enters the second air duct shell 123b through the second air vent 121b, and returns to the clothes treatment cavity 101 through the first air vent 121 a; the third air vent 121c is disposed at a side surface of the other end of the second air duct shell 123b, the third air vent 121c is disposed at a side surface of the other end of the second air duct shell 123b to be suitable for communicating with the outside of the tub 110, opening and closing of the second air vent 121b and the third air vent 121c is controlled by the air door 140, drying operations of different modes of the clothes treating apparatus 100 can be realized, the third air vent 121c is disposed at a side surface of the other end of the second air duct shell 123b to facilitate molding of the air duct shell 123, and manufacturing cost of the clothes treating apparatus 100 is reduced.

As shown in fig. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the third air vent 121c is formed on an end surface of the other end of the second air duct case 123b, and the end surface of the other end extends toward a horizontal direction, so that the third air vent 121c does not face the rear side mounting plate of the laundry treating apparatus 100, which can effectively increase the air inflow of the third air vent 121c, ensure smooth flow of air, and increase the drying efficiency in the second drying mode.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the damper 140 is rotatably disposed in the air duct 121, and the damper 140 may be disposed adjacent to the second ventilation opening 121b and the third ventilation opening 121c, so that the damper 140 may selectively close the second ventilation opening 121b or the third ventilation opening 121c to ensure stable airflow in the clothes treating apparatus 100.

As shown in fig. 3, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a filter 153 is disposed in the air outlet pipe 150, and in the first drying mode, although the airflow circulates inside the laundry treating apparatus 100, the pressure inside the laundry treating chamber 101 is still higher than the atmospheric pressure outside, so that a part of the airflow enters the air outlet pipe 150 through the air outlet, and the airflow is mixed with the thread scraps, which can be filtered by the filter 153 to prevent the thread scraps from being discharged into the external space; under the second stoving mode, the air current in the clothing processing chamber 101 no longer carries out the inner loop, and the air current is direct to be discharged the exterior space through going out tuber pipe 150, and the thread scraps that mix with in the air current can be filtered by filter screen 153, has avoided the thread scraps effectively to discharge the exterior space, has improved user's use and has experienced.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laundry treating apparatus 100 further includes a spraying pipe 160, one end of the spraying pipe 160 is connected to the air outlet pipe 150 and is located at a side of the filter 153 away from the tub 110, that is, is located at an outer side of the filter 153, the other end of the spraying pipe 160 is provided with a water inlet valve 170, the water inlet valve 170 can be connected to an external water source, water enters the spraying pipe 160 through the water inlet valve 170, part of the water flows is sprayed to the filter 153 through one end of the spraying pipe 160, and the water flows wash away lint on the filter 153 to ensure that the filter 153 is not blocked, so that the laundry treating apparatus 100 has a function of automatically cleaning the filter 153.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a main wash inlet pipe connected in parallel with the shower pipe 160 is further provided downstream of the inlet valve 170, a majority of water from an external water source enters the laundry treating chamber 101 through the main wash inlet pipe 180, a minority of water is sprayed toward the strainer 153 through one end of the shower pipe 160, and the main wash inlet pipe 180 is adapted to fill the laundry treating chamber 101 with water.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the outlet duct 150 includes a first duct section 150a and a second duct section 150b, the first duct section 150a extends vertically upward from the upper portion of the tub 110, the second duct section 150b is L-shaped and is connected to the first duct section 150a, wherein the screen 153 is provided in the first duct section 150a, and the shower duct 160 is connected to the second duct section 150 b.

As shown in fig. 3, specifically, the first pipe segment 150a and the tub body 110 may be an integral molding, and since the outer circumferential surface of the tub body 110 is an arc surface, a circular hole is formed in the arc surface, and the pipe segment is not easy to seal, and by the arrangement of the first pipe segment 150a, the first pipe segment 150a is an upward extending part of the tub body 110, and the first pipe segment 150a and the second pipe segment 150b may be effectively sealed and facilitate installation of the filter screen 153, and the shower pipe 160 is arranged in the second pipe segment 150b, which may facilitate installation of the shower pipe 160 and the main wash water inlet pipe 180, and reduce installation difficulty.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an exhaust duct is connected to the outlet 152, the exhaust duct is communicated with the outdoor atmosphere, the exhaust duct may be disposed outside the laundry treating apparatus 100, when the laundry treating apparatus 100 is in the second drying mode or the third drying mode, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may exhaust humid air to an external space, and the humid air may be communicated with the outdoor atmosphere through the exhaust duct to exhaust the humid air to the outdoor atmosphere, so as to prevent the humid air from affecting the indoor space.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a humidity sensor 154 is disposed on the outlet duct 150, the humidity sensor 154 is disposed adjacent to the outlet 152, and the humidity sensor 154 is adapted to detect the humidity of the air exhausted from the laundry treating apparatus 100, so that the laundry treating apparatus 100 can select different drying modes by determining the humidity of the air exhausted from the laundry treating apparatus 100, thereby improving the drying efficiency of the laundry treating apparatus 100 and reducing the energy consumption of the laundry treating apparatus 100.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the laundry treating apparatus 100 includes first to third drying modes. When the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates in the first drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the third vent 121c and the second vent 121b is communicated with the first vent 121 a; when the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates in the second drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the second vent 121b and the third vent 121c is communicated with the first vent 121 a; when the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates in the third drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the third air vent 121c to communicate the second air vent 121b with the first air vent 121a, and then switched to close the second air vent 121b to communicate the third air vent 121c with the first air vent 121 a.

In some examples, if the laundry treating apparatus 100 operates the third drying mode, when the temperature sensor detects that the humidity of the air at the outlet 152 reaches 50% to 70%, the damper 140 switches from a state of closing the third ventilation opening 121c to closing the second ventilation opening 121 b.

When the humidity of the air reaches the above condition, the air door 140 is controlled to open the third air vent 121c, and at this time, the condenser 130 does not work any more, the third air vent 121c sucks the air outside the tub 110 into the laundry treating chamber 101, and the humid air flow is discharged outside the laundry treating chamber 101 through the outlet 152, and when the humidity at the outlet 152 is 50% -70%, the drying efficiency can be improved by adopting the drying method, so that the laundry treating apparatus 100 is more intelligent, the drying speed is increased, and relatively lower energy consumption is achieved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a heater 190 is disposed between the first vent 121a and the fan 122, the heater 190 is disposed in the air duct 121, and the heater 190 can heat the air flowing to the first vent 121a in the air duct to increase the temperature of the air flowing to the clothes treatment cavity 101, so that the air flow can improve the drying effect of the clothes.

A control method of a laundry treating apparatus is briefly described as follows.

The laundry treating apparatus includes a tub 110 and a drying system for drying laundry to be treated in the tub 110, the drying system including an external circulation drying system and an internal circulation drying system having a condenser 130, and the control method includes the steps of: and selecting a drying mode, wherein the drying mode comprises a first drying mode to a third drying mode.

When the first drying mode is operated, the internal circulation drying system dries the clothes to be treated; when the second drying mode is operated, the external circulation drying system dries the clothes to be treated; when the third drying mode is operated, the internal circulation drying system is firstly used for drying the clothes to be treated, and then the external circulation drying system is used for drying the clothes to be treated; when the clothes to be treated are not dried, the drying system is continuously operated; when the clothes to be processed are dried, the drying system stops operating.

In the first drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the third ventilation opening 121c, and the second ventilation opening 121b is communicated with the first ventilation opening 121a, at this time, a closed cycle, that is, an internal circulation drying system, may be formed among the laundry processing chamber 101, the air duct 121, and the condenser 130, the air flow in the air duct 121 starts to flow under the action of the fan 122, and flows into the laundry processing chamber 101 through the first ventilation opening 121a and the air inlet, the air flow may take moist air in the laundry processing chamber 101 to become moist air, the moist air enters the condenser 130 through the air outlet, the moist air is heat-exchanged in the condenser 130 and converted into dry air, and the dry air returns to the air duct 121 through the second ventilation opening 121b to complete the cycle.

It should be noted that the internal circulation drying system is not completely closed with the outside air, but most of the air flow in the clothes treatment apparatus follows the internal circulation, only a small part of the air flow flows into the outside air, the internal circulation drying system has high drying efficiency and low energy consumption, and does not discharge a large amount of humid air into the indoor air.

In the second drying mode, the damper 140 is switched to close the second vent 121b and the third vent 121c is communicated with the first vent 121 a; at this time, the condenser 130 is not operated, the third air vent 121c can guide air outside the tub 110 into the air duct 121, the air forms an air flow under the action of the fan 122, the air flow is guided out from the first air vent 121a and enters the laundry processing chamber 101 through the air inlet to take away moisture in the laundry processing chamber 101, the air flow is discharged out of the tub 110 through the air outlet, the air flow is not circulated in the second drying mode, the air continuously enters the air duct 121 through the third air vent 121c, the air flow is heated by the heater 190 in the air duct 121 to improve the drying effect of the air flow, the air flow discharges the moisture in the laundry processing chamber 101 into indoor air, and the circulation communicated with the outside air is an external circulation drying system. The external circulation drying system has high drying speed but relatively high energy consumption, and can affect indoor air to a certain extent.

In the third drying mode, firstly, an internal circulation drying system is carried out to efficiently dry clothes with higher humidity so as to reduce energy consumption; and then the external circulation drying system is operated to rapidly dry the clothes with relatively low humidity so as to improve the drying speed, so that the whole drying process keeps high drying efficiency and the drying speed of the clothes is accelerated. The drying of the laundry may be determined by a humidity sensor 154 at the outlet 152, and the operation of the drying system is maintained when the laundry is not dried, and is stopped when the laundry is dried.

According to the control method of the clothes treatment equipment, a user can select different drying modes according to requirements, the internal circulation drying system is adopted in the first drying mode, the drying efficiency is high, the energy consumption is low, the external circulation drying mode is adopted in the second drying mode, the drying speed is high, the internal circulation drying mode is advanced and then the external circulation drying mode is carried out in the third drying mode, the higher efficiency is kept in the whole drying process, the drying speed is high, and the control method of the clothes treatment equipment is flexible to use and high in applicability.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the humidity of the air at the outlet (outlet 152) of the tub 110 reaches a predetermined threshold n of humidity while the third drying mode is operated, switching is made from operating the inner circulation drying system to operating the outer circulation drying system, wherein the predetermined threshold n of humidity satisfies: n is more than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 70%; and when the air humidity at the air outlet does not reach the preset humidity threshold value n, continuously operating the internal circulation drying system.

In the third drying mode, the humidity sensor 154 of the outlet 152 detects the humidity of the air flowing out of the clothes treating apparatus to determine whether the humidity of the air reaches a threshold value, the humidity of the air changes from high to low, the internal circulation drying mode is performed when the humidity is high, the external circulation drying mode is performed when the humidity is relatively low, and when the humidity of the air flowing out of the air reaches the threshold value, the control damper 140 closes the second damper 140 and opens the third damper 140, so that the clothes treating apparatus is switched from the internal circulation drying mode to the external circulation drying mode, thereby increasing the drying speed of the clothes treating apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, whether the drying system stops operating takes the air humidity at the air outlet as a determination condition. After the air humidity at the air outlet is reduced to a certain degree and continues for a period of time, it can be shown that the clothes in the clothes processing cavity 101 are dried, and the drying system judges whether the drying of the clothes is finished or not through the air humidity at the air outlet so as to control the closing time of the drying system and reduce the energy consumption of the clothes processing equipment.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the external circulation drying system includes an external circulation vent (third vent 121c) communicating with the outside of the tub 110, the internal circulation drying system includes an internal circulation vent (second vent 121b) communicating with the inside of the tub 110 through the condenser 130, and a movable damper 140 is provided between the external circulation vent and the internal circulation vent, and is adapted to operate the internal circulation drying system when the damper 140 closes the external circulation vent, and to operate the external circulation drying system when the damper 140 closes the internal circulation vent.

Further, the internal circulation drying system and the external circulation drying system share the same fan 122 and the air duct 121, the fan 122 is used for guiding airflow to flow in the air duct 121, wherein the external circulation vent (the third vent 121c) and the internal circulation vent (the second vent 121b) are arranged at the same end of the air duct 121, the other end of the air duct 121 can be communicated with the inside of the tub 110 through the first vent 121a, and the fan 122, the air duct 121, the condenser 130 and the tub 110 together form the internal circulation drying system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an air outlet pipe 150 is disposed on the tub 110, the air outlet pipe 150 communicates the inside of the tub 110 with the outside of the tub 110, wherein the air outlet pipe 150, the fan 122, the air duct 121 and the tub 110 together form the external circulation drying system. The air flow enters the air duct 121 from the third air outlet, and is heated by the heater 190 in the air duct 121, and as the fan 122 operates and enters the tub 110 from the first air outlet of the air duct 121, the hot and humid air in the tub 110 is exhausted to the outside of the tub 110 through the air outlet pipe 150, so as to complete the external circulation drying system, and the humid air in the laundry processing chamber 101 is exhausted to the outside.

When the external circulation drying system is performed, the airflow is discharged to the outside of the laundry treating apparatus 100 through the air outlet pipe 150, a filter screen 153 is disposed in the air outlet pipe 150, and the filter screen 153 can filter the thread scraps in the airflow to prevent the thread scraps from being discharged to the outside of the laundry treating apparatus 100 along with the airflow. The shower pipe 160 is disposed outside the air outlet pipe 150, the free end of the shower pipe 160 is connected to the water inlet valve 170, when the water inlet valve 170 is opened, the washing water flowing through the water inlet valve 170 flows to the filter screen 153 through the shower pipe 160, and when the laundry to be washed in the tub 110 needs to be washed, the washing water is suitable for flowing through the filter screen 153 to clean the filter screen 153, so that the lint on the filter screen 153 enters the filter on the service panel through the drainage system or is directly drained into the sewer line, so as to prevent the lint from affecting the work of the laundry processing apparatus 100.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a heater 190 is disposed in the air duct 121, the heater 190 is disposed between the fan 122 and the other end of the air duct 121, and the heater 190 can heat the air flowing therethrough to increase the temperature of the air, so that the high-temperature air can better dry the damp air in the clothes processing chamber 101.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in the orientations and positional relationships indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are not to be considered limiting of the invention.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A laundry treating apparatus (100), characterized by comprising:

a tub (110), the tub (110) defining a laundry treatment chamber (101) therein, the laundry treatment chamber (101) having an inlet and an outlet;

the air outlet pipe (150), the air outlet pipe (150) is arranged at the upper part of the barrel body (110), and the air outlet pipe (150) is communicated with the clothes treatment cavity (101);

the clothes drying assembly (120) comprises an air duct (121) and a fan (122) arranged in the air duct (121) and used for guiding air to flow, the air duct (121) is provided with a first ventilation opening (121a), a second ventilation opening (121b) and a third ventilation opening (121c), the first ventilation opening (121a) is communicated with the air inlet, the second ventilation opening (121b) is communicated with the air outlet through a condenser (130), the third ventilation opening (121c) is communicated with the outside of the barrel body (110), an air door (140) is arranged in the air duct (121), and the air door (140) can be switched between a first position and a second position;

wherein, when the damper (140) is switched to the first position, the damper (140) closes the third ventilation opening (121c), the second ventilation opening (121b) communicates with the first ventilation opening (121 a); when the damper (140) is switched to the second position, the damper (140) closes the second ventilation opening (121b), and the third ventilation opening (121c) communicates with the first ventilation opening (121 a).

2. The laundry treating apparatus (100) according to claim 1, wherein the clothes drying assembly (120) includes an air duct case (123), the air duct (121) is formed in the air duct case (123), the air duct case (123) includes a first air duct case (123a) extending in an axial direction of the tub (110) and a second air duct case (123b) having one end connected to the first air duct case (123a) and the other end extending in a horizontal direction, the first air vent (121a) is formed at a front end of the first air duct case (123a), the second air vent (121b) and the third air vent (121c) are formed at the other end of the second air duct case (123b), and the fan (122) is located at a junction of the first air duct case (123a) and the second air duct case (123 b).

3. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 2, wherein the second air vent (121b) is formed at a bottom of the other end of the second air duct case (123b), and the third air vent (121c) is formed at a side of the other end of the second air duct case (123 b).

4. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that the third air vent (121c) is formed on an end surface of the other end of the second air duct case (123 b).

5. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the damper (140) is rotatably provided within the air duct (121).

6. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that a filter screen (153) is provided in the air outlet duct (150).

7. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 6, further comprising:

one end of the spray pipe (160) is connected with the air outlet pipe (150) and is positioned on one side, far away from the barrel body (110), of the filter screen (153), and a water inlet valve (170) is arranged at the other end of the spray pipe (160).

8. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 7, characterized in that, downstream of the water inlet valve (170), there is further provided a main wash water inlet pipe (180) connected in parallel with the shower pipe (160).

9. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the air outlet pipe (150) comprises a first pipe section (150a) extending vertically upward from an upper portion of the tub (110) and a second pipe section (150b) having an L-shape and connected to the first pipe section (150a), wherein the screen (153) is provided in the first pipe section (150a), and the shower pipe (160) is connected to the second pipe section (150 b).

10. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 6-9, characterized in that an exhaust pipe is connected at the outlet (152), the exhaust pipe being in communication with the outdoor atmosphere.

11. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 6-10, characterized in that a humidity sensor (154) is provided on the air outlet duct (150), the humidity sensor (154) being arranged adjacent to the outlet (152).

12. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 11, characterized in that the laundry processing apparatus (100) has first to third drying modes,

when the laundry treating apparatus (100) operates in a first drying mode, the damper (140) is switched to close the third vent opening (121c) and the second vent opening (121b) communicates with the first vent opening (121 a);

when the laundry treating apparatus (100) operates in a second drying mode, the damper (140) is switched to close the second vent opening (121b) and the third vent opening (121c) communicates with the first vent opening (121 a);

when the clothes treatment device (100) operates in a third drying mode, the air door (140) is switched to close the third air vent (121c) to enable the second air vent (121b) to be communicated with the first air vent (121a), and then switched to close the second air vent (121b) to enable the third air vent (121c) to be communicated with the first air vent (121 a).

13. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to claim 12, characterized in that, when the laundry processing apparatus (100) operates the third drying mode,

when the humidity sensor (154) detects that the humidity of the air at the outlet (152) reaches 50% to 70%, the damper (140) is switched from a state of closing the third ventilation opening (121c) to closing the second ventilation opening (121 b).

14. The laundry processing apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that a heater (190) is provided between the first ventilation opening (121a) and the fan (122).