U.S. patent application number 15/370373 was filed with the patent office on 2017-11-30 for clothes dryer or washer-dryer.
The applicant listed for this patent is WUXI LITTLE SWAN CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Song LU, Yulai MIAO, Wei QIAN, Qiong QIN.
Application Number | 20170342643 15/370373 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57629471 |
Filed Date | 2017-11-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170342643 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MIAO; Yulai ; et
al. |
November 30, 2017 |
CLOTHES DRYER OR WASHER-DRYER
Abstract
The present invention discloses a clothes dryer or washer-dryer.
The clothes dryer or washer-dryer includes: a cabinet; an inner
drum rotatably disposed in the cabinet and having an air inlet and
an air outlet; and a heat pump module disposed to an upper end of
the cabinet and including: a casing connected with the cabinet and
defining a heat exchange chamber therein, the heat exchange chamber
having a heat exchange inlet and a heat exchange outlet; a
condenser disposed in the heat exchange chamber; a compressor
disposed to the casing; an evaporator disposed to the casing; a
throttling device disposed to the casing and sequentially connected
with the condenser, the compressor and the evaporator to form a
heat pump circuit; and a fan assembly disposed to the casing and
having an inlet communicating with the heat exchange outlet, and an
outlet communicating with the air inlet.
Inventors: |
MIAO; Yulai; (WUXI, CN)
; LU; Song; (WUXI, CN) ; QIAN; Wei; (WUXI,
CN) ; QIN; Qiong; (WUXI, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
WUXI LITTLE SWAN CO., LTD. |
Wuxi |
|
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
57629471 |
Appl. No.: |
15/370373 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F 29/005 20130101;
D06F 58/206 20130101; D06F 58/20 20130101; D06F 58/22 20130101 |
International
Class: |
D06F 58/20 20060101
D06F058/20; D06F 29/00 20060101 D06F029/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 31, 2016 |
CN |
201610377460.5 |
May 31, 2016 |
CN |
201620517104.4 |
Claims
1. A clothes dryer or washer-dryer comprising: a cabinet; an inner
drum rotatably disposed in the cabinet and having an air inlet and
an air outlet; and a heat pump module disposed to an upper end of
the cabinet and comprising: a casing connected with the cabinet and
defining a heat exchange chamber therein, the heat exchange chamber
having a heat exchange inlet and heat exchange outlet; a condenser
disposed in the heat exchange chamber, a compressor disposed to the
casing; an evaporator disposed to the casing; a throttling device
disposed to the casing and sequentially connected with the
condenser, the compressor and the evaporator to form a heat pump
circuit; and a fan assembly disposed to the casing and having an
inlet and an outlet, the inlet communicating with the heat exchange
outlet, and the outlet communicating with the air inlet.
2. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 1, wherein
the heat pump module further comprises a filter, the filter is
disposed to the casing and has a filtering inlet and a filtering
outlet, the filtering inlet communicates with the air outlet, and
the filtering outlet communicates with the heat exchange inlet.
3. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 1, wherein
the cabinet has an upper end face configured as an annular
supporting face and the casing has a lower surface provided with a
supporting fitting face which is be supported on the annular
supporting face.
4. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 3, wherein
the casing is fixedly connected with the cabinet through a threaded
fastener.
5. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 3, wherein
the supporting fitting face is provided with a supporting groove
recessed upwards, and at least a portion of the annular supporting
face is inserted in the supporting groove.
6. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 3, wherein
an upper end of a front surface of the cabinet is provided with a
control panel, the control panel has a control region for
controlling the clothes dryer or washer-dryer to operate, and the
control panel extends upwards beyond the upper end face of the
cabinet and abuts against the casing.
7. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 1, wherein
the heat pump module further comprises a damping device, and the
damping device is disposed on the compressor.
8. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 1, wherein
the casing is detachably connected with the cabinet.
9. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 1, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
10. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 2, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
11. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 3, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
12. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 4, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
13. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 5, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
14. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 6, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
15. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 7, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
16. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 8, wherein
the casing comprises: a base disposed on the cabinet, the
condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device
and the fan assembly being disposed to the base, at least one of
the condenser, the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling
device and the fan assembly being supported on the base, and an
outlet end of the fan assembly stretching downwards out of the base
and being connected with the inner drum through an air intake pipe;
and a cover body covering on the base and shielding at least one of
the compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly.
17. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 9, further
comprising an outer cover that detachably covers on the casing and
is detachably connected with the base.
18. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 10,
further comprising an outer cover that detachably covers on the
casing and is detachably connected with the base.
19. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 11,
further comprising an outer cover that detachably covers on the
casing and is detachably connected with the base.
20. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to claim 15,
further comprising an outer cover that detachably covers on the
casing and is detachably connected with the base.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to and benefits of Chinese
Patent Application Serial No. 201620517104.4 and Chinese Patent
Application Serial No. 201610377460.5, filed with the State
Intellectual Property Office of P. R. China on May 31, 2016, the
entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a technical field of a
washing machine, and particularly to a clothes dryer or
washer-dryer.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In the related art, a clothes dryer or washer-dryer has a
separated type heat pump drying system, that is a compressor and
both of an evaporator and a condenser are arranged at an upper
portion and a lower portion of a cabinet respectively and connected
through pipes. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer having the above
arrangement is complex in structure, hard to assemble and
disassemble, and is disadvantageous to production and
maintenance.
SUMMARY
[0004] The present disclosure seeks to solve at least one of the
problems existing in the related art to at least some extent.
Therefore, the present disclosure provides a clothes dryer or
washer-dryer having an integral heat pump module mounted to a
cabinet, and the clothes dryer or washer-dryer is simple in
structure, convenient to assemble and disassemble, and low in costs
of production and maintenance.
[0005] The clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to embodiments
of the present disclosure includes: a cabinet; an inner drum
rotatably disposed in the cabinet and having an air inlet and an
air outlet; and a heat pump module disposed to an upper end of the
cabinet and including: a casing connected with the cabinet and
defining a heat exchange chamber therein, the heat exchange chamber
having a heat exchange inlet and a heat exchange outlet; a
condenser disposed in the heat exchange chamber, a compressor
disposed to the casing; an evaporator disposed to the casing; a
throttling device disposed to the casing and sequentially connected
with the condenser, the compressor and the evaporator to form a
heat pump circuit; and a fan assembly disposed to the casing and
having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet communicating with the
heat exchange outlet, and the outlet communicating with the air
inlet.
[0006] In the clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to the
embodiments of the present disclosure, the condenser, the
compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly and the like are disposed to the casing, and the casing is
connected with the cabinet, such that the heat pump module can be
integrally mounted to the cabinet. The clothes dryer or
washer-dryer is simple and compact in structure, convenient to
assemble and disassemble, and low in costs of production and
maintenance.
[0007] In addition, the clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to
embodiments of the present disclosure further may have the
following additional features:
[0008] According to some embodiments, the heat pump module may
further include a filter, the filter is disposed to the casing and
has a filtering inlet and a filtering outlet, the filtering inlet
communicates with the air outlet, and the filtering outlet
communicates with the heat exchange inlet.
[0009] According to some embodiments, the cabinet has an upper end
face configured as an annular supporting face, and the casing has a
lower surface provided with a supporting fitting face which is be
supported on the annular supporting face.
[0010] Optionally, the casing is fixedly connected with the cabinet
through a threaded fastener.
[0011] Optionally, the supporting fitting face is provided with a
supporting groove recessed upwards, and at least a portion of the
annular supporting face is inserted in the supporting groove.
[0012] Optionally, an upper end of a front surface of the cabinet
is provided with a control panel, the control panel has a control
region for controlling the clothes dryer or washer-dryer to
operate, and the control panel extends upwards beyond the upper end
face of the cabinet, abuts against and shields the casing.
[0013] According to some embodiments, the heat pump module further
includes a damping device, and the damping device is disposed on
the compressor.
[0014] According to some embodiments, the casing is detachably
connected with the cabinet.
[0015] According to some embodiments, the casing includes: a base
disposed on the cabinet, the condenser, the compressor, the
evaporator, the throttling device and the fan assembly being
disposed to the base, at least one of the condenser, the
compressor, the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan
assembly being supported on the base, and an outlet end of the fan
assembly stretching downwards out of the base and being connected
with the inner drum through an air intake pipe; and a cover body
covering on the base and shielding at least one of the compressor,
the evaporator, the throttling device and the fan assembly.
[0016] Optionally, the clothes dryer or washer-dryer further
includes an outer cover, the outer cover detachably covers on the
casing, and the cover body is detachably connected with the
base.
[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of present
disclosure will be given in part in the following descriptions,
become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be
learned from the practice of the embodiments of the present
disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a clothes dryer or
washer-dryer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure
at an angle;
[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the clothes dryer or
washer-dryer according to the embodiment of the present disclosure
at another angle;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a heat pump module of a
clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure at an angle;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the heat pump module of the
clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to the embodiment of the
present disclosure at another angle;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a partial exploded view of a heat pump module of a
clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0023] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a heat pump module of a
clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a top view of a partial structure of a heat pump
module of clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment
of the present disclosure;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged top view of a heat pump module
of a clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment of
the present disclosure;
[0026] FIG. 9 is a schematic assembling view of a condenser of a
heat pump module of a clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0027] FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a heat pump module of a
clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a heat pump module of a
clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0029] FIG. 12 is an exploded view of a casing of a heat pump
module of a clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0030] FIG. 13 is a partial enlarged view of a casing of a heat
pump module of a clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0031] FIG. 14 is a partial schematic view of a compressor of a
heat pump module of a clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0032] FIG. 15 is a partial enlarged schematic view of a heat pump
module of a clothes dryer or washer-dryer according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0033] 1000 clothes dryer or washer-dryer [0034] 100 cabinet; 200
inner drum; 300 heat pump module; [0035] 101 control panel; 100A
annular upper end face; 100B supporting fitting face; [0036] 1
casing; 11 base; 12 cover body; [0037] 10a heat exchange chamber;
101b compressor mounting chamber; 102b evaporator mounting chamber;
103b throttling device mounting chamber; 104b filter mounting
chamber; [0038] 110 mounting plate pair; 1101 mounting plate; 1102
connecting plate; 111 column with threaded hole; 112 slot; 113
inserting tongue; 13 edge plate; 131 vertical plate segment; 132
horizontal plate segment; [0039] 2 condenser; 3 compressor; 4
evaporator; 5 throttling device; 6 fan assembly; [0040] 7 filter; 8
damping device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in
detail and examples of the embodiments will be illustrated in the
drawings. The embodiments described herein with reference to
drawings are explanatory, which are used to illustrate the present
disclosure, but shall not be construed to limit the present
disclosure.
[0042] In the following, a clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000
according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be
described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 15. As to an up-down
direction, an up-down direction of the clothes dryer or
washer-dryer 1000 in normal use shall prevail.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 15, the clothes dryer or
washer-dryer 1000 according to the embodiments of the present
disclosure may include a cabinet 100, an inner drum 200 and a heat
pump module 300. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cabinet 100 may
be configured to be substantially rectangular in shape. The inner
drum 200 is rotatably disposed in the cabinet 100 and may have an
air inlet and an air outlet. Clothes to be washed and dried can be
put into the inner drum 200, and the clothes can be washed and
dried in the inner drum 200. Hot air can enter through the air
inlet, and flows out through the air outlet after drying the
clothes. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the heat pump module 300
may be disposed to an upper end of the cabinet 100. Referring to
FIG. 3 to FIG. 7, the heat pump module may include a casing 1, a
condenser 2, a compressor 3, an evaporator 4, a throttling device 5
and a fan assembly 6. That is the compressor 3 is arranged together
with the condenser 2, the evaporator 4 and the throttling device 5,
thus improving modularity and integration level, providing a simple
and compact structure and reduced costs of production and
maintenance, and facilitating assembling and disassembling.
[0044] Specifically, the casing 1 may be connected with the cabinet
100 and define a heat exchange chamber 10a, the condenser 2 may be
disposed in the heat exchange chamber 10a that has a heat exchange
inlet and a heat exchange outlet, the heat exchange outlet
communicates with the air inlet, and air after heat exchange in the
heat exchange chamber 10a may flow out through the heat exchange
outlet and enter the inner drum through the air inlet. The
compressor 3, the evaporator 4 and the throttling device 5 may be
disposed to the casing 1, and the throttling device 5 is
sequentially connected with the condenser 2, the compressor 3 and
the evaporator 4 to form a heat pump circuit. A refrigerant may
flow in the heat pump circuit and exchange heat with air in the
heat exchange chamber 10a, such that the heat pump circuit can
provide heat energy for drying the clothes in the inner drum. The
condenser 2, the compressor 3, the evaporator 4 and the throttling
device 5 may be connected together through connecting pipes.
[0045] When the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 works, first the
clothes to be washed is washed in the inner drum 200, then the heat
pump module 300 starts working, and the fan assembly 6 transports
hot air generated after heat exchange into the inner drum 200 to
dry the clothes. Specifically, the compressor 3 starts working to
compress the refrigerant, a high-pressure refrigerant compressed by
the compressor 3 is discharged from the compressor 3, flows into
the condenser 2 through the connecting pipes and emits heat in the
condenser 2 to raise a temperature of the air in the heat exchange
chamber 10a, and the high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant is
converted into a medium-temperature high-pressure refrigerant at
the same time. High-temperature air in the heat exchange chamber
10a can flow out through the heat exchange outlet and flow into the
inner drum 200 through the air inlet to dry the clothes in the
inner drum 200.
[0046] Then the refrigerant flows out of the condenser 2 and flows
into the throttling device 5 to be throttled and depressurized, the
medium-temperature high-pressure refrigerant is throttled and
depressurized to become a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant
which flows to the evaporator 4, and absorbs heat in the evaporator
4 to be vaporized. Finally, the refrigerant flows back to the
compressor 3 to accomplish a circulation so as to dry the
clothes.
[0047] In a drying process, the fan assembly 6 may accelerate
flowing of the high-temperature air, such that the high-temperature
air flowing out through the heat exchange outlet may quickly flow
into the inner drum 200 through the air inlet, thus raising a
drying speed.
[0048] In the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 according to the
embodiments of the present disclosure, the condenser 2, the
compressor 3, the evaporator 4, the throttling device 5 and the fan
assembly 6 are disposed to the casing 1, and the casing 1 is
connected with the cabinet 100, thereby integrally mounting the
heat pump module 300 to the cabinet 100, so the clothes dryer or
washer-dryer 1000 is simple and compact in structure, convenient to
assemble and disassemble, low in the costs of production and
maintenance, and good in drying effect.
[0049] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as
shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an upper end face of the cabinet 100
may be configured as an annular upper end face 100A, a lower
surface of the casing 1 is provided with a supporting fitting face
100B which can be supported on the annular upper end face 100A,
thus mounting the casing 1 to the upper end of the cabinet 100,
providing a simple structure and reliable positioning, and
improving an appearance of the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000
to some extent.
[0050] In some embodiments, the supporting fitting face 100B may be
provided with a supporting groove recessed upwards, and at least a
portion of the annular supporting face is inserted in the
supporting groove, to position the annular upper end face 10 and
the supporting fitting face 100B, thus preventing malposition
during assembling.
[0051] In some embodiments, the casing 1 is detachably connected
with the cabinet 100, thus provide convenient assembling,
disassembling and maintenance.
[0052] Optionally, the casing 1 is fixedly connected with the
cabinet 100 through a threaded fastener. Specifically, the casing 1
is provided with a first mounting hole, the cabinet 100 may be
provided with a second mounting hole for fitting with the threaded
fastener, and the threaded fastener may pass through the first
mounting hole and be fitted in the second mounting hole to fixedly
connect the casing 1 and the cabinet 100, thus providing reliable
positioning and connection, a high assembling efficiency with low
mounting difficulty and a reduced cost, and facilitating processing
and manufacturing.
[0053] According to some embodiment of the present disclosure, as
shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an upper end of a front surface of the
cabinet 100 may be provided with a control panel 101, the control
panel 101 may have a control region for controlling the clothes
dryer or washer-dryer 1000 to operate, and a user can control the
clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 to operate through the control
region to wash and dry the clothes. The control panel 101 may
extend upwards beyond the upper end face of the cabinet 100 and
abut against the casing 1, thus preventing the casing from being
exposed, and further improving the appearance of the clothes dryer
or washer-dryer 1000.
[0054] Optionally, the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 may
include an outer cover (not shown in figures), the outer cover may
be detachably disposed to the casing 1 to protect the casing 1 and
other components, and the outer cover may make the appearance of
the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 better.
[0055] In the following, a specific structure of the heat pump
module 300 is described with reference to drawings.
[0056] Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 15, the heat pump 300 may
include the casing 1, the condenser 2, the compressor 3, the
evaporator 4, the throttling device 5 and the fan assembly 6, in
which the condenser 2, the compressor 3, the evaporator 4 and the
throttling device 5 are sequentially connected to form the heat
pump circuit.
[0057] According to some embodiments, the heat pump module 300 may
further include a filter 7. As shown in FIG. 6, the filter 7 may be
disposed to the casing 1 and have a filtering inlet and a filtering
outlet. The filtering inlet communicates with the air outlet, the
air in the inner drum 200 flows out through the air outlet and
enters the filter 7 through the filtering inlet, and the filer 7
filters flocks and the like impurities in the air. The filtering
outlet may communicate with the heat exchange inlet, and clear air
after filtering may flow into the heat exchange chamber 10a through
the heat exchange inlet after passing the filtering outlet,
exchange heat with the condenser 2 and absorb heat of the condenser
2 to carry out a drying circulation. Therefore, the filter 7 can
filter the air entering the heat exchange chamber 10a, thus improve
cleanliness of the air in the inner drum 200, preventing the flocks
and the like impurities from entering the heat exchange chamber
10a, and improving heat exchanging performance of the condenser 2
to some extent.
[0058] In order to reduce vibration, the heat pump module 300 may
further include a damping device 8. As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7,
the damping device 8 may be disposed on the compressor 3. The
damping device can be used for buffering to reduce vibration
generated by the compressor 3 when the compressor compresses the
refrigerant, thus not only ensuring that the heat pump module 300
can normally work, but also reducing noise.
[0059] As shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the fan assembly 6
may be disposed on the lower surface of the casing 1 to accelerate
circulation of the air in the inner drum 200. An internal space of
the casing 1 can be saved through disposing the fan assembly 6 on
the lower surface of the casing 1, which can facilitate layout and
mounting of the condenser 2, the evaporator 4 and the throttling
device 5, such that the internal space of the casing 1 can be
reasonably utilized, the heat pump module 300 can have a simple and
compact structure, and components can have a reasonable layout.
[0060] In the following, the casing 1 of the heat pump module 300
in the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 according to the
embodiments of the present disclosure is described with reference
to the drawings.
[0061] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as
shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 15, the casing 1 may define the heat
exchange chamber 10a therein, and the condenser 2 is disposed in
the heat exchange chamber 10a. The casing 1 may define at least one
mounting chamber, and at least one of the compressor 3, the
evaporator 4, the throttling device 5 and the fan assembly 6 is
disposed in a corresponding mounting chamber.
[0062] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 15, the
casing 1 may include a base 11 and a cover body 12. The base 11 may
be disposed on the cabinet 100, and the condenser 2, the compressor
3, the evaporator 4, the throttling device 5 and the fan assembly 6
may be disposed to the base 11, and at least one of the condenser
2, the compressor 3, the evaporator 4, the throttling device 5 and
the fan assembly 6 are supported on the base 11 to improve
stability of positioning the components to some extent. The cover
body 12 detachably covers on the base 11, and the cover 12 may
shield at least one of the compressor 3, the evaporator 4, and the
throttling device 5 to protect the components.
[0063] For example, in an example shown in FIG. 5, the condenser 2,
the compressor 3, the evaporator 4 and the throttling device 5 are
supported on the base 11 and shielded by the cover body 12, thus
improving stability and safety, protecting the components by the
cover body 12, preventing the components from being exposed, and
improving the appearance.
[0064] Specifically, the cover body 12 may cooperate with the base
11 to define the heat exchange chamber 10a and the at least one
mounting chamber, the condenser 2 may be mounted in the heat
exchange chamber 10a, and at least one of the compressor 3, the
evaporator 4, the throttling device 5 and the fan assembly 6 may be
disposed in the corresponding at least one mounting chamber to
improve stability during mounting.
[0065] As shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the fan assembly 6
may be disposed to the casing 1, the fan assembly 6 may have an
inlet and an outlet, the inlet may communicate with the heat
exchange outlet, and the outlet may communicate with the air inlet.
An outlet end of the fan assembly 6 may stretch downwards out of
the base 11, and the fan assembly 6 may be connected with the inner
drum 200 through an air intake pipe, so after the condenser 2 emits
heat, the heat can be transmitted to air around the condenser 2,
the fan assembly 6 may blow the air flowing out through the heat
exchange outlet into the inner drum 200 to dry the clothes, which
can accelerate circulation of the air and raise a drying
efficiency.
[0066] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, the at
least one mounting chamber may include a compressor mounting
chamber 101b, an evaporator mounting chamber 102b and a throttling
device mounting chamber 103b. The compressor 3, the evaporator 4
and the throttling device 5 may be respectively mounted in the
compressor mounting chamber 101b, the evaporator mounting chamber
102b and the throttling device mounting chamber 103b, so the
compressor 3, the evaporator 4 and the throttling device 5 can be
mounted in respective mounting chambers, which provides a
reasonable layout of the components, reduces mounting difficulty
and simplifies mounting steps.
[0067] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 12, the casing 1 may be
provided with a first two-component chamber and a second
two-component chamber therein, in which the first two-component
chamber may be provided with a separating plate therein to separate
the first two-component chamber into the heat exchange chamber 10a
and the evaporator mounting chamber 102b. That is, the first
two-component chamber is separated into the heat exchange chamber
10a and the evaporator mounting chamber 102b through the separating
plate, such that a heat exchanger and the evaporator 4 may be
disposed in the first two-component chamber and spaced apart from
each other.
[0068] Further, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 12, the compressor
mounting chamber 101b may communicate with the throttling device
mounting chamber 103b to form the second two-component chamber, and
the compressor 3 and the throttling device 5 may be disposed in the
second two-component chamber. The second two-component chamber can
position the compressor 3 and the throttling device 5 to improve
stability and reliability of the compressor 3 and the throttling
device 5, and to reduce the number of mounting chambers, which
means that the mounting chambers are larger in size and convenient
to manufacture.
[0069] As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 and FIG. 12, the first
two-component chamber may be located in front of the second
two-component chamber, that is the evaporator 4 and the condenser 2
may be mounted at positions close to the control panel 101, and the
compressor 3 and the throttling device 5 may be disposed at a rear
side of the casing 1, thus further optimizing the layout of the
components, reducing vibration and raising a heat exchange
efficiency.
[0070] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as
shown in FIG. 12, the at least one mounting chamber may further
include a filter mounting chamber 104b, and the filter 7 may be
disposed in the filter mounting chamber 104b, thus facilitating
mounting the filter 7 and positioning the filter 7.
[0071] In a selectable embodiment, the base 11 may be connected
with a cover plate through threaded fasteners, thus detachably
mounting the base 11 and the cover plate, and providing a simple
structure and convenient dismounting and mounting. Optionally, as
shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 15, the heat exchanger or the evaporator
mounting chamber 102b may be provided with a plurality of columns
111 with threaded holes, and the threaded fasteners may pass
through the cover plate and be fitted in the threaded holes of the
columns 111 to connect the cover plate with the base 11.
[0072] In the following, a manner of positioning the condenser 2
and the evaporator 4 to the casing 1 in the clothes dryer or
washer-dryer 1000 according to the embodiments of the present
disclosure is described with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 15.
[0073] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, at
least one of the heat exchange chamber 10a and the evaporator
mounting chamber 102b may be provided with a slot 112, and at least
one of the evaporator 4 and the condenser 2 may be provided with an
inserting tongue 113 for inserting into the corresponding slot 112.
The inserting tongue 113 is fitted in the slot 112 to position the
condenser 2 and the evaporator 4 into the heat exchange chamber 10a
or the evaporator mounting chamber 102b. On the one hand, the
condenser 2 and the evaporator 4 can be positioned to prevent
malposition caused by waggle during transportation; one the other
hand, vibration generated during usage of the condenser 2 and the
evaporator 4 can be reduced, thus improving stability and reducing
noise.
[0074] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure,
referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 15, the condenser 2 and/or the
evaporator 4 may have a fin structure to improve the heat exchange
efficiency. Two ends of the condenser 2 and/or the evaporator 4 may
be individually provided with the inserting tongue 113, and two
ends of the heat exchange chamber 10a and/or the evaporator
mounting chamber 102b may be individually provided with the slot
112, to achieve further positioning and improve the stability and
the reliability. That is at least one of the condenser 2 and the
evaporator 4 may have the fin structure to improve the heat
exchange efficiency, two ends of at least one of the condenser 2
and the evaporator 4 may be individually provided with the
inserting tongue 113, the heat exchange chamber 10a and the
evaporator mounting chamber 102b are provided with the slot 112
therein, and the inserting tongue 113 is inserted in the slot 102b
to position at least one of the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4,
thus firmly mounting and providing the stability and the
reliability.
[0075] Optionally, the heat exchanger and/or the evaporator 4 may
be rectangular in shape, and two nonadjacent corners of the
condenser 2 and/or those of the evaporator 4 may be individually
provided with the inserting tongue 113, to position the condenser 2
or the evaporator 4 in the heat exchange chamber 10a or the
evaporator mounting chamber 102b through cooperation between two
slots 112 and two inserting tongues 113.
[0076] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the condenser 2
and/or the evaporator 4 may be rectangular in shape, and four
corners of the condenser 2 and/or those of the evaporator 4 may be
individually provided with the inserting tongue 113. That is four
corners of at least one of the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4 may
be individually provided with the inserting tongues 113, the heat
exchange chamber 10a or the evaporator mounting chamber 102b are
correspondingly provided with four slots 112, and the four
inserting tongues 113 are fitted in the corresponding four slots
112, thus further improving the stability and the reliability of
the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4, preventing malposition and
reducing the vibration and the noise.
[0077] In some embodiments, the condenser 2 and/or the evaporator 4
may be rectangular in shape, and two ends of the condenser 2 and/or
those of the evaporator 4 may be individually provided with an edge
plate 13. The edge plate 13 may include a vertical plate segment
131 having at least one end extending outwards beyond the condenser
2 and/or the evaporator 4 to form the inserting tongue 113, which
is simple in structure and convenient to process.
[0078] For example, as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 9, the condenser 2
is rectangular in shape, the two ends of the condenser 2 are
individually provided with the edge plate 13 including the vertical
plate segment 131, and two ends of the vertical plate segment
extend outwards beyond the condenser 2 to form the inserting tongue
113. Therefore, the four corners of the condenser 2 may be provided
with four inserting tongues 113, and the four inserting tongues 113
are respectively inserted into corresponding four slots 112 to
position the condenser 2.
[0079] Similarly, the evaporator 4 is rectangular in shape, and the
two ends of the evaporator 4 are individually provided with the
edge plate 13 including the vertical plate segment 131, two ends of
the vertical plate segment extend outwards beyond the evaporator 4
to form the inserting tongue 113, and the inserting tongue 113 is
fitted in the slot 112 in the evaporator mounting chamber 102b to
position the evaporator 4. After the inserting tongues 113 are
aligned with the slots 112, the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4
can be pushed downwards to be mounted, which is low in mounting
difficulty and high in efficiency.
[0080] Optionally, each inserting tongue 113 has a length of 3 mm
to 8 mm, that is the length of each inserting tongue 113 may be
chosen in a range from 3 mm to 8 mm, thus positioning and mounting
the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4, avoiding interference, saving
mounting spaces of the heat exchange chamber 10a and the evaporator
mounting chamber 102b, and making the layout of the components more
reasonable.
[0081] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as
shown in FIG. 15, the heat exchange chamber 10a and the evaporator
mounting chamber 102b may be individually provided with a mounting
plate pair 110. The mounting plate pair 110 includes two mounting
plates 1101 which extend along a vertical direction and disposed in
parallel, and the slot 112 may be defined by the two mounting
plates 1101 of the mounting plate pair 110. That is the slot 112
may be formed between the two mounting plates 1101 disposed in
parallel, which can simplify a structure of the slot 112,
facilitate processing and assembling and provide a low cost.
[0082] Optionally, at least one column 111 with the threaded hole
may be connected with the mounting plate pair 110, to improve
strength of the column 111 with the threaded hole and the mounting
plate pair 110 and the reliability thereof. For example, in an
embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the two mounting plates 1101 are
connected with the column 111 with the threaded hole through a
connecting plate 1102, and the connecting plate 1102 separates the
mounting plate pair 110 into two slots 112. On the one hand, the
connecting plate 1102 can improve strength and stability of the
slots; on the other hand, the connecting plate 1102 and the
mounting plate pair 110 can improve the strength of the column 111
with the threaded hole, thus preventing the column 111 with the
threaded hole from deforming and further improving reliability of
connection between the cover body 12 and the base 11.
[0083] Further, as shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, each edge plate 13
may include an upper horizontal plate and/or a lower horizontal
plate, an upper horizontal plate segment 132 may be connected to an
upper end of the vertical plate segment 131, and a lower horizontal
plate segment 132 may be connected with a lower end of the vertical
plate segment 131. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 13, a level of an
upper end face of the upper horizontal plate segment 132 may be
higher than that of an upper end face of at least one of the heat
exchanger and the evaporator 4, and a level of a lower end face of
the lower horizontal plate segment 132 may be lower than that of a
lower end face of the heat exchanger or the evaporator 4.
Therefore, the lower horizontal plate segment 132 can abut against
the base 11, and the upper horizontal plate segment 132 can
separate the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4 from the cover body
12, which can reduce the vibration and the noise, facilitate heat
exchange, and further improve heat exchanging performance of the
condenser 2 and the evaporator 4.
[0084] To sum up, in the clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000
according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the
condenser 2, the compressor 3, the evaporator 4, the throttling
device 5 and the fan assembly 6 and the like are mounted in the
casing 1, and the casing 1 is connected with the cabinet 100, such
that the heat pump module 300 can be integrally mounted to the
cabinet 100; moreover, the compressor 3, the evaporator 4, the
throttling device 5 and the fan assembly 6 are disposed in
corresponding mounting chambers, which provides the reasonable
layout and stable mounting of the components; and at the same time,
the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4 can be reliably positioned in
the heat exchange chamber 10a and the evaporator mounting chamber
102b through fitting of the inserting tongues 113 and the slots
112. The clothes dryer or washer-dryer 1000 is simple and compact
in structure, high in integration level, convenient to assemble and
disassemble, and low in costs of production and maintenance.
[0085] Other configurations and operation of the clothes dryer or
washer-dryer 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure
are known for those skilled in the art, which will not be described
in detail herein.
[0086] In the specification, it is to be understood that terms such
as "central," "longitudinal," "transverse," "length," "width,"
"thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right,"
"vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer,"
"clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and
"circumferential" should be construed to refer to the orientation
as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion.
These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not
require that the present disclosure be constructed or operated in a
particular orientation.
[0087] In addition, terms such as "first" and "second" are used
herein for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate
or imply relative importance or significance or to imply the number
of indicated technical features. Thus, the feature defined with
"first" and "second" may include one or more of this feature. In
the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality of" means
at least two, e.g. two or three and etc., unless specified
otherwise.
[0088] In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited
otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "coupled," "fixed" and
the like are used broadly, and may be, for example, fixed
connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; may
also be mechanical, or electrical connections, or communicate with
each other; may also be direct connections or indirect connections
via intervening structures; may also be inner communications or
interaction of two elements, which can be understood by those
skilled in the art according to specific situations.
[0089] In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited
otherwise, a structure in which a first feature is "on" or "below"
a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first
feature is in direct contact with the second feature, and may also
include an embodiment in which the first feature and the second
feature are not in direct contact with each other, but are
contacted via an additional feature formed therebetween.
Furthermore, a first feature "on," "above," or "on top of" a second
feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is
right or obliquely "on," "above," or "on top of" the second
feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height higher
than that of the second feature; while a first feature "below,"
"under," or "on bottom of" a second feature may include an
embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely
"below," "under," or "on bottom of" the second feature, or just
means that the first feature is at a height lower than that of the
second feature.
[0090] Reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment,"
"some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some
examples," means 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
present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases in various
places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring
to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or
characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or
more embodiments or examples. Those skilled in the art can
integrate and combine different embodiments or examples and the
features in different embodiments or examples in the specification,
in the condition without mutual contradiction.
[0091] Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and
described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
the above embodiments cannot be construed to limit the present
disclosure, and changes, alternatives, and modifications can be
made in the embodiments without departing from spirit, principles
and scope of the present disclosure.
* * * * *