U.S. patent application number 11/599286 was filed with the patent office on 2008-01-10 for dehumidifier and centrifugal blower thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Invention is credited to Jin Baek Kim, Young Jae Kim, Jai Kwon Lee, Jin Yong Mo.
Application Number | 20080006039 11/599286 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38917956 |
Filed Date | 2008-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080006039 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Jin Baek ; et
al. |
January 10, 2008 |
Dehumidifier and centrifugal blower thereof
Abstract
A dehumidifier includes a body having inlet and outlet ports and
a centrifugal fan mounted inside the body to circulate air. The
centrifugal fan includes a fan disk coupled to a fan motor such
that the fan disk can be rotated, and the fan disk includes an
incline inclined toward the outlet ports to guide the flow of air
passing through the centrifugal fan to the outlet ports. The
incline extends from a motor coupling part of the fan disk, which
is coupled to the fan motor, in the radial direction. Blades are
mounted at the outer circumference of the incline.
Inventors: |
Kim; Jin Baek; (Suwon-si,
KR) ; Mo; Jin Yong; (Anyang-si, KR) ; Kim;
Young Jae; (Yongin-si, KR) ; Lee; Jai Kwon;
(Suwon-si, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STANZIONE & KIM, LLP
919 18TH STREET, N.W., SUITE 440
WASHINGTON
DC
20006
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
38917956 |
Appl. No.: |
11/599286 |
Filed: |
November 15, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/93 ;
62/272 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 3/153 20130101;
F04D 29/663 20130101; F04D 29/281 20130101; F24F 13/24 20130101;
F04D 29/5826 20130101; F04D 17/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/93 ;
62/272 |
International
Class: |
F25D 17/06 20060101
F25D017/06; F25D 21/00 20060101 F25D021/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 10, 2006 |
KR |
2006-64546 |
Claims
1. A dehumidifier comprising: a body having inlet and outlet ports
and a centrifugal fan mounted in the body to circulate air, the
centrifugal fan including a fan disk coupled to a fan motor such
that the fan disk can be rotated, the fan disk including an incline
which inclines toward the outlet ports to guide the flow of air
passing through the centrifugal fan to the outlet ports.
2. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the fan disk
further includes a motor coupling part coupled to the fan motor,
and the incline extends from the motor coupling part in a radial
direction.
3. The dehumidifier according to claim 2, wherein the incline
includes a first incline part connected to the motor coupling part
and a second incline part bent from the first incline part toward
the outlet ports and extending a predetermined length.
4. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the centrifugal
fan further includes blades mounted at the outer circumference of
the incline.
5. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the outlet ports
are disposed at opposite sides of a rear part of the body, and each
outlet port includes an inclined outlet part extending toward each
side part of the body while being inclined toward the interior of
the body.
6. The dehumidifier according to claim 5, wherein each outlet port
further includes a side outlet part formed in each side surface of
the body while being connected to the inclined outlet part.
7. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the body includes
a protrusion protruding outward to maintain a predetermined
distance between the outlet ports and a wall when the body is
positioned adjacent to the wall.
8. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the inlet ports
are formed in opposite sides of a front part of the body.
9. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, further comprising a heat
exchanger mounted within the interior space of the body to remove
moisture from a room air received through the inlet ports.
10. The dehumidifier according to claim 9, wherein the heat
exchanger comprises: an evaporator to absorb heat and condense
moisture from the room air; and a condenser to supply heat to the
air passing through the evaporator.
11. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the inlet ports
comprise two inlet ports each including a filter mounted therein to
remove foreign matter contained in the received room air.
12. A dehumidifier comprising: a body including outlet ports formed
in opposite sides of a rear part of the body; and a centrifugal fan
mounted in the body to circulate air, wherein the centrifugal fan
includes a motor coupling part, which is coupled to a fan motor, an
incline extending from the motor coupling part in a radial
direction thereof and inclined toward the outlet ports to naturally
guide the flow of air toward the outlet ports, and blades mounted
at the incline.
13. A centrifugal blower mounted in a dehumidifier to circulate
air, the centrifugal blower comprising: a fan motor; and a fan disk
coupled to the fan motor such that the fan disk can be rotated,
wherein the fan disk includes an incline inclined toward outlet
ports of the dehumidifier to guide the flow of air toward the
outlet ports.
14. The centrifugal blower according to claim 10, wherein the fan
disk further includes a motor coupling part, coupled to the fan
motor, and the incline extends from the motor coupling part in a
radial direction of the fan disk.
15. A dehumidifier, comprising: a body having a front portion
including at least two inlet ports to intake air at different
angles with respect to each other and a rear portion including at
least two outlet ports to discharge the air therein outside the
body at different angles with respect to each other; and a heat
exchanging unit to dehumidify the air in the body before the air is
discharged through the at least two outlet ports.
16. The dehumidifier according to claim 15, further comprising a
blower device disposed between the heat exchanging unit and the at
least two outlet ports to draw the air through the at least two
inlet ports and the heat exchanging unit and to distribute the heat
exchanged air to each of the at least two outlet ports.
17. The dehumidifier according to claim 16, wherein the blower
device comprises: a disk-shaped portion that extends in a curved
shape from a central portion toward the rear portion of the body; a
motor coupling part disposed at the center of the blower device to
couple with a motor; and blades extending along the outer periphery
of the disk shaped portion and disposed to draw the dehumidified
air into the blower device in an axial direction with respect to
the disk-shaped portion and to blow the dehumidified air radially
outward along a surface of the disk-shaped portion toward the at
least two outlet ports.
18. A method of dehumidifying air the method comprising:
introducing room air through inlet ports disposed at different
angles in a back portion of a body; passing the room air through a
heat exchanger in a first direction to remove moisture from the
air; and blowing the air passing through the heat exchanger toward
a plurality of directions other than the first direction and out of
a plurality of outlet ports disposed at different angles in a front
portion of the body.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein passing the room air through
the heat exchanger further comprises passing the air first through
a condenser to supply heat to the room air and then through an
evaporator to absorb heat and condense moisture from the room
air.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein passing the room air through
the inlet ports further comprises passing the air through a filter
to remove foreign matter contained in the room air.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(a) from Korean Patent Application No. 2006-64546, filed
on Jul. 10, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the
entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present general inventive concept relates to a
dehumidifier having a centrifugal blower, and, more particularly,
to a dehumidifier wherein the structure of a centrifugal blower is
modified to improve the blowing efficiency of the centrifugal
blower.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A dehumidifier is an apparatus that removes moisture from
air using movement of heat generated during condensation. The
dehumidifier includes a blowing fan to circulate room air. When a
turbo fan is used as the blowing fan to blow a desired amount of
air, noise is reduced as compared to when an axial fan is used as
the blowing fan.
[0006] An example of a dehumidifier with a turbo fan is disclosed
in Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-12768. As
illustrated in FIG. 1, the dehumidifier includes a cabinet 1 having
an outlet port 1b formed in the front part thereof and an inlet
port 1a formed in the rear part thereof, a turbo fan 3 mounted in
the cabinet 1 to forcibly move room air, and an evaporator 4
disposed between the inlet port la and the turbo fan 3 to remove
moisture from the air through heat exchange.
[0007] The flow direction of air in the dehumidifier is illustrated
in FIG. 1. When a turbo fan 3 is rotated by a fan motor 2, room air
is introduced through the inlet port 1a. Moisture contained in the
room air is removed as the air passes through the evaporator 4 and
a condenser 5. Subsequently, the air passes through the turbo fan
3, and is discharged in the radial direction of the turbo fan
3.
[0008] In the conventional dehumidifier, the air discharged from
the turbo fan 3 in the radial direction is not naturally guided to
the outlet port 1b, but instead the air collides with the side
surfaces of the cabinet 1. As a result, flow resistance is greatly
generated in the dehumidifier, and therefore, the blowing
efficiency is decreased, and flow noise is generated. When a space
between the outlet side of the turbo fan 3 and the cabinet 1 is
decreased in order to reduce the size of the dehumidifier, the
above-mentioned problems become more serious.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present general inventive concept provides a
dehumidifier wherein the structure of a centrifugal blower is
modified to improve the blowing efficiency of the centrifugal
blower and to reduce noise.
[0010] Additional aspects and advantages of the present general
inventive concept 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 general inventive concept.
[0011] The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the
present general inventive concept are achieved by providing a
dehumidifier including a body having inlet and outlet ports and a
centrifugal fan mounted in the body to circulate air. The
centrifugal fan includes a fan disk coupled to a fan motor such
that the fan disk can be rotated, and the fan disk includes an
incline that can be inclined toward the outlet ports to guide the
flow of air passing through the centrifugal fan to the outlet
ports.
[0012] The fan disk can further include a motor coupling part,
which is coupled to the fan motor, and the incline can extend from
the motor coupling part in the radial direction.
[0013] The incline can include a first incline part connected to
the motor coupling part and a second incline part bent from the
first incline part toward the outlet ports and extending a
predetermined length.
[0014] The centrifugal fan can further include blades mounted at
the outer circumference of the incline.
[0015] The outlet ports can be disposed at opposite sides of a rear
part of the body, and each outlet port includes an inclined outlet
part extending toward each side of the rear part of the body while
being inclined toward the interior of the body and a side outlet
part formed in each side surface of the body while being connected
to the inclined outlet part.
[0016] The body can include a protrusion protruding outward to
maintain a predetermined distance between the outlet ports and a
wall when the body is positioned adjacent to the wall.
[0017] The inlet ports can be formed in opposite sides of a front
part of the body.
[0018] The dehumidifier can further include a heat exchanger
mounted within the interior space of the body to remove moisture
from the room air.
[0019] The heat exchanger can also include an evaporator to absorb
heat and to condense moisture from the room air and a condenser to
supply heat to the air passing through the evaporator.
[0020] The inlet ports can further include a filter mounted within
each inlet port to remove foreign matter contained in the room
air.
[0021] The foregoing and or other aspects and utilities of the
present general inventive concept are also achieved by providing a
dehumidifier including a body, outlet ports formed in opposite
sides of a rear part of the body, and a centrifugal fan mounted in
the body to circulate air, wherein the centrifugal fan includes a
motor coupling part, which is coupled to a fan motor, an incline
extending from the motor coupling part in the radial direction and
inclined toward the outlet ports to naturally guide the flow of air
to the outlet ports, and blades mounted at the incline.
[0022] The foregoing and or other aspects and utilities of the
present general inventive concept are also achieved by providing a
centrifugal blower mounted in a dehumidifier to circulate air
including a fan motor and a fan disk coupled to the fan motor such
that the fan disk can be rotated, wherein the fan disk includes an
incline that is inclined toward outlet ports of the dehumidifier to
guide the flow of discharged air to the outlet ports.
[0023] The foregoing and or other aspects and utilities of the
present general inventive concept are also achieved by providing a
dehumidifier including a body having a front portion including at
least two inlet ports to intake air at different angles with
respect to each other and a rear portion including at least two
outlet ports to discharge the air therein outside the body at
different angles with respect to each other, and a heat exchanging
unit to dehumidify the air in the body before the air is discharged
through the at least two outlet ports.
[0024] The dehumidifier can further include a blower device
disposed between the heat exchanging unit and the at least two
outlet ports to draw the air through the at least two inlet ports
and the heat exchanging unit and to distribute the heat exchanged
air to each of the at least two outlet ports.
[0025] The blower device can further include a disk-shaped portion
that extends in a curved shape from a central portion toward the
rear portion of the body, a motor coupling part disposed at the
center of the blower device to couple with a motor, and blades
extending along the outer periphery of the disk shaped portion and
disposed to draw the dehumidified air into the blower device in an
axial direction with respect to the disk-shaped portion and to blow
the dehumidified air radially outward along a surface of the
disk-shaped portion toward the at least two outlet ports.
[0026] The foregoing and or other aspects and utilities of the
present general inventive concept are achieved by providing a
method of dehumidifying air using a dehumidifier having a hollow
body having inlet ports and outlet ports includes introducing room
air through the inlet ports, passing the room air through a heat
exchanger to remove moisture from the air, and drawing the air
through a centrifugal blower in a first direction and blowing the
drawn air toward a plurality of directions other than the first
directions and out of a plurality of outlet ports disposed at
different angles in a rear portion of the body.
[0027] The method can further include passing the room air through
the heat exchanger and passing the air first through a condenser to
supply heat to the room air and then through an evaporator to
absorb heat and condense moisture from the room air. Passing the
room air through the inlet ports may also include passing the air
through a filter to remove foreign matter contained in the room
air.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present
general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily
appreciated from the following description of the embodiments,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0029] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating the flow direction
of air in a conventional dehumidifier with a turbo fan;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external
appearance of a dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the
present general inventive concept;
[0031] FIG. 3 is a side view, illustrating the structure of the
dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the present general
inventive concept;
[0032] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a centrifugal fan
of the dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the present
general inventive concept; and
[0033] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the operation of the
dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the present general
inventive concept.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of
the present general inventive concept, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are
described below in order to explain the present general inventive
concept by referring to the figures.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the external
appearance of a dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the
present general inventive concept, FIG. 3 is a side view
illustrating the structure of the dehumidifier according to an
embodiment of the present general inventive concept, and FIG. 4 is
a perspective view illustrating a centrifugal fan of the
dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the present general
inventive concept.
[0036] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the dehumidifier includes a
body 10 having inlet ports 11, through which room air is
introduced, and outlet ports 12, through which the air is
discharged, a heat exchanger 20 mounted in the body 10 to perform
heat exchange with the room air introduced through the inlet ports
11 such that moisture is removed from the room air, a centrifugal
blower 100 disposed at the rear of the heat exchanger 20 to
circulate the air, and a water bucket 30 disposed below the heat
exchanger 20 to collect water condensed during
dehumidification.
[0037] The inlet ports 11 are formed in opposite sides of a front
part of the body 10. Inside each inlet port 11 is mounted a filter
13 to filter foreign matter contained in the room air. The outlet
ports 12 are formed in opposite sides of a rear part 10a of the
body 10. Each outlet port 12 includes an inclined outlet part 12a,
which extends toward each side part 10b of the body 10 while being
inclined toward the interior of the body 10, and a side outlet part
12b, which is formed in one side of each side surface 10b of the
body 10 while being connected to the inclined outlet part 12a. The
outlet ports 12 are formed in the opposite sides of the rear part
10a of the body 10 in an inclined fashion, and the outlet ports 12
are also formed in one side of each side surface 10b of the body
10, in consideration of blowing characteristics. Specifically, air
is discharged from the centrifugal blower 100 in the radial
direction of the centrifugal blower 100, i.e., toward the side
parts 10b of the body 10. When the outlet ports 12 are formed in
the opposite sides of the rear part 10a such that the inclined
outlet parts 12a are inclined toward the interior of the body 10,
and the outlet ports 12a are also formed in one side of each side
surface 10b, as illustrated in FIG. 2, air discharged from the
centrifugal blower 100 is smoothly supplied into the interior of a
room without a substantial flow resistance.
[0038] The body 10 has a first protrusion 14 formed between the two
outlet ports 12 such that the first protrusion 14 protrudes to the
rear of the body 10. When the body 10 is disposed adjacent to a
wall of the room, the first protrusion 14 maintains a predetermined
distance between the outlet ports 12 and the wall to prevent the
outlet ports 12 from being blocked by the wall. Similarly, a second
protrusion 15 is formed between the two inlet ports 11 such that
the second protrusion 15 protrudes to the front of the body 10.
[0039] The interior of the body 10 is partitioned into front and
rear interior parts by an intermediate partition 16. The heat
exchanger 20 and the water bucket 30 are disposed in the front
interior part of the intermediate partition 16. In the rear
interior part of the intermediate partition 16 is disposed a
compressor 17 to compress refrigerant to a high temperature and a
high pressure. In the upper part of the intermediate partition 16
is formed a blowing port 16a, through which air is blown. The
centrifugal blower 100 is mounted in the blowing port 16a.
[0040] A drain pan 18 having a drain port 18a formed in one side
thereof is mounted between the heat exchanger 20 and the water
bucket 30. The drain pan 18 collects condensed water, which falls
from the heat exchanger 20, and discharges the collected water into
the water bucket 30 located below the drain pan 18.
[0041] The heat exchanger 20 includes an evaporator 21 and a
condenser 22. The evaporator 21 is disposed at the rear of the
inlet ports 11 to absorb heat from the room air introduced through
the inlet ports 11 and, at the same time, to condense moisture. The
condenser 22 is disposed at the rear of the evaporator 21 to supply
heat to the air passing through the evaporator 21.
[0042] The centrifugal blower 100 includes a fan motor 200 fixed to
the intermediate partition 16 by way of a motor mount 19. The
centrifugal blower 100 also includes a centrifugal fan 300 (see
FIG. 4) that is rotated by the fan motor 200 to induce the flow of
air.
[0043] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the centrifugal fan 300
includes a fan disk 310 coupled to the fan motor 200 such that the
fan disk 310 can be rotated, a plurality of blades 320 mounted at
the outer circumference of the front surface of the fan disk 310,
and a shroud 330 mounted to the front ends of the blades 320. The
shroud 330 has an opening 331 formed in the center thereof, through
which air is introduced. When the centrifugal fan 300 is rotated by
the fan motor 200, air is introduced in the axial direction of the
fan 300 through the opening 331 in the shroud 330, and is
discharged in the radial direction thereof.
[0044] According to the present general inventive concept, the fan
disk 310 has an incline 311 which is inclined toward the outlet
ports 12. The incline 311 naturally guides the flow of air passing
through the centrifugal fan 300 toward the outlet ports 12 such
that the air discharged from the centrifugal fan 300 can be
smoothly discharged from the body 10 without a substantial
resistance.
[0045] Also, the fan disk 310 has a motor coupling part 312, which
is coupled to the fan motor 200. The incline 311 of the fan disk
310 extends from the motor coupling part 312 in the radial
direction. The blades 320 are arranged along the outer
circumference of the incline 311. The fan motor 200 is coupled to
the motor coupling part 312 of the fan disk 310 through the opening
331 of the shroud 330.
[0046] The incline 311 includes a first incline part 311a inclined
gently from the motor coupling part 312 to the rear of the
centrifugal fan 300 and a second incline part 311b bent from the
first incline part 311a toward the outlet ports 12 and extending a
predetermined length. When air passing over the first incline part
311a is discharged through the centrifugal fan 300, the air is
moved such that the air is spread toward the outlet ports 12 by the
second incline part 311b.
[0047] Hereinafter, the operation of the dehumidifier according to
the present general inventive concept will be described with
reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the
operation of the dehumidifier according to the present general
inventive concept.
[0048] When the operation of the dehumidifier is initiated, the
centrifugal fan 300 is rotated by the fan motor 200, and therefore,
room air is introduced through the inlet port 11. The room air is
cooled through heat exchange with the evaporator 21 as the air
passes through the evaporator 21. As a result, moisture contained
in the air is condensed, and is then collected in the drain pan 18
disposed below the evaporator 21. Subsequently, the air passes
through the condenser 22. As a result, the air is supplied with
heat, and is then introduced into the centrifugal fan 300 through
the opening 331 of the shroud 330.
[0049] The air introduced into the centrifugal fan 300 is guided
along the fan disk incline 311 of the fan disk 310, and then flows
to the outlet ports 12 formed in the body 10. As a result, the air
discharged from the centrifugal fan 300 is naturally discharged
through the outlet ports 12 without substantial resistance.
Consequently, the blowing efficiency is improved, and noise is
reduced.
[0050] The condensed water, which is collected in the drain pan 18,
is discharged through the drain port 1 8a, and is received in the
water bucket 30.
[0051] As apparent from the above description, air passing through
the centrifugal fan is naturally guided to the outlet ports.
Consequently, the blowing efficiency of the centrifugal blower is
improved, and flow noise is reduced.
[0052] Also, the structure and the location of the outlet ports are
modified in consideration of the blowing characteristics of the
centrifugal blower. Consequently, air discharged from the
centrifugal blower is smoothly discharged into a room without
substantial flow resistance.
[0053] Furthermore, the protrusions are formed on the body of the
dehumidifier such that the protrusions protrude to the front and
rear of the body. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the
outlet ports from being blocked by a wall of the room, even when
the dehumidifier is positioned adjacent to the wall, and therefore,
the blowing operation is smoothly performed.
[0054] Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive
concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by
those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these
embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the
general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the
appended claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *