EP2992133A1

EP2992133A1 - Air-cooled condenser laundry treatment machine with lint collecting means

Info

Publication number: EP2992133A1
Application number: EP13718855.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Celal Vatansever; Ali Levent Hasanreisoglu
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2013-04-29
Filing date: 2013-04-29
Publication date: 2016-03-09
Also published as: WO2014177176A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry treatment machine (1) comprising a drum (2) wherein the laundry to be treated is placed, an air circulation duct (4) through which circulation of processing air is effected such that drying of the laundry is performed subsequent to washing process, said laundry treatment machine (1) further comprising a closed cycle fan (5) circulating the processing air, an air-cooled condenser (8) and an outer air duct (10) along which an open cycle fan (9) functions to deliver cooling air from outer environment to the condenser (8) in order to provide cooling of the same, the air-cooled condenser (8) comprising at least one drying channel (6) arranged therein through which the processing air is circulated and at least one cooling channel (7) arranged therein through which the cooling air is circulated.

Description

[Corrected under Rule 26 04.07.2013] AIR-COOLED CONDENSER LAUNDRY TREATMENT MACHINE WITH LINT COLLECTING MEANS

The present invention relates to a laundry washing and drying machine comprising an air-cooled condenser. The present invention more specifically pertains to a laundry treatment machine with an air-cooled condenser having a lint collecting means.
Laundry treatment machines with air-cooled condensers are widely practiced in the art. Those machines typically carry out the condensation process by making use of the ambient air in the drying process. The drying process is carried out with the interaction between the cooling air and the closed cycle air having separate cycles.
The closed cycle air being heated and directed into the drum contacts the damp laundry and removes the moisture on the laundry. Air laden with moisture that comes from over the laundry then passes through a processing air channel and is hereby condensed in the condenser, the latter being cooled by means of the outer environment air. Dehumidified air is then conventionally supplied to the laundry through the processing air channel.
The cooling air is passed onto the condenser by means of a fan and thus, the moisture in the cycle air is condensed by the condenser that is being cooled. In sum, after the closed cycle air is dehumidified on the condenser, it is heated by the heater and applied to the drum by being put again into the drying cycle with low relative humidity rate and at high temperature.
It is to be noted that fluff particles also travel through the air between the components in the closed cycle such that their collection and elimination requires particular attention for maintaining sound operation of the laundry treatment machines. During this cycle of air, lint particles come off the laundry as a result of mechanical interaction of cloth items with each other and with the drum surfaces and these particles should therefore be filtered before reaching the heater. To this end, in laundry dryers, a filter is disposed on the air circulation path in order to filter out particles. In the absence of such filters, fluff particles generally tend to accumulate around the condenser inlet tube and on the inner surfaces of the same, including air ducts. Depending on the severity of the case, these particles may build up to the extent of forming a surface layer and hence lower thermal performance of the condenser, which in turn prolong drying period and cause energy losses. Likewise, fluff layers may block air flow in the condenser’s inlet tube.
It is to be noted that disposition of a filter to this effect, i.e. to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, may not prove utile especially if users do not carry out regular maintenance of the filtering means as regularly removing and cleaning the filter off may pose a troublesome burden to some users. To this end, it is desirable to reach a solution alternative to the filtering means in order for eliminating lint accumulation problem in laundry treatment machines with air-cooled condensers.
A prior art publication in the technical field of the present invention may be referred to as WO2011042345 among others, the document disclosing a filter which is disposed into a circulation channel before the condenser for collecting fluff particles in the cycle air.
The present invention provides an arrangement in relation to the laundry treatment machine with an air-cooled condenser having a lint collecting means, which is defined by the characterizing features as defined in Claim 1.
Primary object of the present invention is hence to provide a laundry treatment machine with an air-cooled condenser having a lint collecting means.
The present invention proposes a lint collecting means disposed within a condenser’s inlet tube in a manner fixed to an internal surface portion thereof. It extends in a planar direction substantially perpendicular to longitudinal axes of drying and cooling channels of the condenser, the latter two being disposed in the main housing in the condenser. It is therefore ensured that the airflow passes over the lint collecting means before moving into the main housing with a 90-degrees turn. Said internal surface portion extends in between a tub connection and said main housing of the condenser.
Said lint collecting means is disposed to be facing said main housing of the condenser whereby its location is advantageously suitable for receiving airflow and trapping fluff particles in the moving air. It is a substantially planar plate with protrusions distributed evenly on its surface, said protrusions projecting therefrom to be extending perpendicular to the base plate.
The protrusions have outer surfaces that face away said base plate surface and they are slightly inclined with respect to said base plate surface.
Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a laundry treatment machine, whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter.
The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in said claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.
Fig. 1 demonstrates a general cross-sectional view of the laundry treatment machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 demonstrates a general cross-sectional view of the air-cooled condenser according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 demonstrates a transverse-sectional view of the condenser main housing according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 demonstrates a longitudinal-sectional view of the air-cooled condenser with the location of the lint collecting means according to the present invention being indicated with the dashed line.
Fig. 5 demonstrates a general perspective view of the lint collecting means according to the present invention.
Fig. 6 demonstrates an enlarged detail view of the lint collecting means according to the present invention.
The following numerals are used in the detailed description of the invention:

Laundry treatment machine
Drum
Tub
Air circulation duct
Closed cycle fan
Drying channel
Cooling channel
Condenser
Open cycle fan
Outer air duct
Condenser inlet tube
Condenser outlet tube
Tub connection
Lint collecting means
Base plate
Protrusion

The present invention relates to a laundry treatment machine (1) comprising a drum (2), in which the laundry is to be placed and an air circulation duct (4) by means of which circulation of the processing air is provided in order for effecting drying of the laundry in said drum (2).
The drying process taking place subsequent to the washing process, a closed cycle fan (5) conventionally provides the circulation of the processing air such that the processing air is condensed by an air-cooled condenser (8). The cooling air is obtained from an outer air duct (10) by means of an open cycle fan (9). The cooling air is then passed onto the condenser (8) in order to provide the cooling of the same. A heater placed in the air circulation duct (4) provides the dehumidified processing air coming from the condenser (8) to be heated and sent onto the laundry.
Along at least one drying channel (6) through the condenser (8), flows the processing air coming from the air circulation duct (4) by means of said closed-cycle fan (5) and at least one cooling channel (7), also passing through the condenser (8) draws heat from said drying channels (6). The cooling air taken from the outer air duct (10) is circulated through the cooling channel (7) by means of said open cycle fan (9). Said drying channels (6) and said cooling channels (7) are disposed in the condenser’s (8) main housing in between a condenser inlet tube (11) and a condenser outlet tube (12). The condenser inlet tube (11) is communicating with the tub (3) through a tub connection (13).
While the drying process continues in the laundry treatment machine (1), the processing air getting humid by passing over the laundry in the drum (2) is sent to the condenser (8) by means of the closed cycle fan (5) through the air circulation duct (4) and passes through the drying channels (6). The condenser (8) condenses and dehumidifies the processing air and the heater then in turn heats the same. The cooling air passes through the cooling channels (7) in the condenser (8) and the cooling channels (7) decreases the temperature of the humid processing air passing through the drying channels (6).
According to the present invention, fluff particles travelling through the air between the components in the closed air cycle are collected by means of a lint collecting means (14) as explained hereinafter.
During the closed cycle of air, lint particles come off the laundry as a result of mechanical interaction of cloth items with each other and with the drum’s (2) inner surfaces and these particles build up as a layer on the condenser’s (8) inlet tube (11) and on the internal surfaces thereof. According to the present invention, a lint collecting means (14) is provided for effectively collecting fluff particles and individual fibers in the closed cycle air. It is to be noted that once an effective and reliable arrangement for collecting and trapping lint is ensured, all the fluff particles can be eliminated at once since they are accumulated at a single location.
According to the present invention, the lint collecting means (14) is disposed within said condenser’s (8) inlet tube (11) such that said lint collecting means (14) is fixedly secured to an internal surface portion of the condenser inlet tube (11). It is substantially in the form of a base plate (15) having a plurality of triangular protrusions (16) symmetrically spaced with respect to each other. Particular triangular shape provides that fluff particles travelling through the air in the direction of the arrow “A” in Fig. 6 are stopped by the bases of said triangular protrusions (16). To this end, any other protrusion form with a projecting stopping surface lying substantially parallel with the surface normal of the base plate (15) and receiving airflow as in the case with the bases of said triangular protrusions (16), would fulfill the same function.
In return, the outer surfaces of the triangular protrusions (16), i.e. the surfaces facing away the base plate surface (15), have a slight inclination with respect to the base plate surface (15) such that water flowing down through the base plate surface (15) in the direction of the arrow “B” in Fig. 6 can clean all the fluff particles trapped by said triangular protrusions (16). The angle between the planar surface of the base plate (15) and the outer surface of the protrusion (16) is preferably less than 30 degrees. Again, any other protrusion form with a surface having a slight inclination with respect to the base plate surface (15) is equally effective in this regard, i.e. for allowing flow of cleaning water.
Water flow down through the base plate surface (15) is conventionally realized by means of one or a plurality of water spraying nozzles (not shown) such that a water curtain is provided through the base plate surface (15). Since the internal surface portion of the condenser inlet tube (11) to which the lint collecting means (14) is secured is in fluid communication with the tub (3), said water spraying nozzles are only operated at the end of the laundry treatment process and the tub (3) water containing lint is accordingly conventionally discharged by means of a discharge pump.
In a nutshell, the present invention proposes a lint collecting means (14) disposed within the condenser’s (8) inlet tube (11) such that the lint collecting means (14) is fixedly secured to an internal surface portion of the condenser inlet tube (11). The lint collecting means (14) is secured in an orientation such that it extends in a planar direction substantially perpendicular to longitudinal axes of said at least one drying channel (6) and said at least one cooling channel (7).
Said internal surface portion extends in between the tub connection (13) and the main housing of the condenser (8). The lint collecting means (14) is preferably disposed to be facing the main housing of the condenser (8).
The lint collecting means (14) is substantially in the form of a base plate (15) having a plurality of protrusions (16) spaced with respect to each other. Said protrusions (16) have surfaces projecting from the base plate (15) in the manner to be lying substantially parallel with the surface normal of the base plate (15). The protrusions (16) further have surfaces facing away the base plate surface (15), with an inclination with respect to the base plate surface (15).
The surfaces facing away the base plate surface (15) preferably have an inclination of less than 30 degrees with respect to the base plate surface (15). The protrusions (16) are preferably of triangular form. They are spaced with respect to each other in a symmetrical manner.
It is to be noted that the lint collecting means (14) of the invention is aimed at effectively collecting fluff particles and individual fibers in the closed cycle air. It therefore constitutes an effective and reliable solution that eliminates the need for using special filters for collecting and trapping lint as such filters are generally not subject to regular maintenance they are meant to receive. The invention therefore ensures that all the fluff particles are eliminated at once since they are accumulated at a single location.

Claims

A laundry treatment machine (1) comprising a drum (2) wherein the laundry to be treated is placed, an air circulation duct (4) through which circulation of processing air is effected such that drying of the laundry is performed subsequent to washing process, said laundry treatment machine (1) further comprising a closed cycle fan (5) circulating processing air, an air-cooled condenser (8) and an outer air duct (10) along which an open cycle fan (9) functions to deliver cooling air from outer environment to the condenser (8) in order to provide cooling of the same, said air-cooled condenser (8) comprising at least one drying channel (6) arranged therein through which the processing air is circulated and at least one cooling channel (7) arranged therein through which the cooling air is circulated, characterized in that a lint collecting means (14) is disposed within said condenser’s (8) inlet tube (11) such that said lint collecting means (14) is fixedly secured to an internal surface portion of the condenser inlet tube (11).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 1, characterized in that the lint collecting means (14) is secured in an orientation such that it extends in a planar direction substantially perpendicular to longitudinal axes of said at least one drying channel (6) and said at least one cooling channel (7).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said internal surface portion of the condenser inlet tube (11) extends in between a tub connection (13) and a main housing of the condenser (8) having said at least one drying channel (6) and said at least one cooling channel (7).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 3, characterized in that the lint collecting means (14) is disposed to be facing said main housing of the condenser (8).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in any of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the lint collecting means (14) is substantially in the form of a base plate (15) having a plurality of protrusions (16) spaced with respect to each other.
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 5, characterized in that the protrusions (16) have surfaces projecting from the base plate (15) in the manner to be lying substantially parallel with the surface normal of said base plate (15).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 5, characterized in that the protrusions (16) have surfaces facing away the base plate surface (15), with an inclination with respect to the base plate surface (15).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 7, characterized in that the surfaces facing away the base plate surface (15) have an inclination of less than 30 degrees with respect to the base plate surface (15).
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in Claim 5, characterized in that the protrusions (16) are of triangular form.
A laundry treatment machine (1) as in any of the Claims 5 to 9, characterized in that the protrusions (16) are spaced with respect to each other in a symmetrical manner.