Dehumidifier housing

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6471739
  • Patent Number
    6,471,739
  • Date Filed
    Monday, December 4, 2000
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 29, 2002
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Simmons; David A.
    • Pham; Minh-Chau T.
    Agents
    • Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Abstract
Dehumidifier housing including a lower housing having a barrier part fitted vertically between a compressor and a water tank inside of a cabinet, a drain part formed in a horizontal direction above the barrier part for collecting condensate dehumidified at a heat exchanger and draining the water tank, and sidewalls formed at both sides of the barrier part and the drain part in a front and rear direction and supported on an inside of the cabinet, an upper housing having an orifice part with an air flow hole in a central portion, and a rim part around the orifice part in front and rear direction and supported on an inside of the cabinet, and coupling means for coupling the lower housing and the upper housing, thereby enhancing rigidity and dehumidifying effect.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a dehumidifier for removal of humidity in a room, and more particularly, to a dehumidifier housing which supports a heat exchanger and a fan.




2. Background of the Related Art





FIG. 1

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a dehumidifier having a related art housing structure, referring to which the related art dehumidifier will be explained.




There is a filter


54


behind a case


51


in a body of the dehumidifier


50


, a heat exchanger


60


in front of the filter


54


for carrying out a dehumidifying action, and a fan


70


in front of the heat exchanger


60


. That is, the room air flows from the rear of the dehumidifier, is dehumidified at the heat exchanger


60


, and is discharged into a room through a discharge grill


9


in front of the dehumidifier. The heat exchanger


60


is provided with an evaporator and a condenser, refrigerant is circulated by a compressor


53


, and water dehumidified at the condenser (hereafter called as “condensate”) is collected at a water tank


80


under the heat exchanger


60


.




Configuration of the compressor


53


, the heat exchanger


60


, and the fan


70


in the related art dehumidifier will be explained in detail.




The compressor


53


is mounted on a lower panel


52


which forms a bottom of the case


51


, and the heat exchanger


60


is fitted over a drain pan


61


having a water discharge groove


62


for guiding downward flow of the condensate. The fan


70


is fixed to a shroud


72


having a central air flow hole


73


by a motor mount


75


. The water tank


80


is placed inside of a barrier


85


bent to a rear direction (in a direction the filter is fitted). The drain pan


61


is formed of a plate for stable mounting of the heat exchanger


60


thereon, with a water groove


62


for making the condensate formed during the dehumidification process to flow to the water tank


80


under the drain pan


61


. The drain pan


61


has projections on both sides thereof for insertion in insertion grooves


81


in both sides of the water base.




In the meantime, the shroud


72


is fixed to an upper side of the drain pan


61


in a vertical direction, has an air flow hole


73


for flow of air by the fan


70


. And, the motor mount


75


is fitted to cross the air flow hole


73


in the shroud


72


, with both ends thereof fastened to a front side of the shroud


72


by using screws through a plurality of screw holes


76


. That is, the motor mount


75


fastens the fan


70


to the shroud


72


. In detail, at first the fan


70


is placed on an inside surface of the shroud


72


, with the screw holes in the flange


71


of the fan


70


matched with the screw holes


76


in the motor mount


75


, and screws are fastened therethrough, to fix the fan


70


to the shroud


72


. In the meantime, the barrier


85


, having both ends bent backward, is fitted to the lower panel


52


, and the shroud


72


and the drain pan


61


are fitted to an upper portion of the barrier


85


. And, the water tank


80


is placed inside of the barrier


85


for collecting the condensate flowing along the water groove


62


in the drain pan


61


.




However, the related art dehumidifier has the following problems.




First, the related art dehumidifier has the drain pan


61


, the shroud


72


, the motor mount


75


and the barrier


85


provided individually for supporting the heat exchanger


60


and the fan


70


. This results poor productivity during assembly of the dehumidifier as many components are required to be assembled.




Second, the mounting of heavy components, such as the heat exchanger


60


and the fan


70


, on an assembly of a plurality of components renders a poor rigidity and deformation of the components. Finally, the transmission of vibration from the heat exchanger


60


and the fan


70


to the components deteriorates fastening forces between the components, and causes noise and trouble as the components come apart.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a dehumidifier housing that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.




An object of the present invention is to provide a dehumidifier housing which can enhance a productivity in assembly of the dehumidifier.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a dehumidifier housing which can improve dehumidifier performance.




Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.




To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the dehumidifier housing includes a lower housing having a barrier part fitted vertically between a compressor and a water tank inside of a cabinet, and a drain part formed on an upper portion of the barrier part in a horizontal direction for collecting condensate dropped from a heat exchanger and draining to the water tank, and an upper housing having a shroud part extended from the upper portion of the barrier part a vertical direction with an air flow hole at a central portion for mounting a fan, and a motor fixing part projected from the air flow hole in the shroud part in a radial form for fixing a motor of the fan thereto, wherein the upper housing and the lower housing are formed as one unit.




The barrier part further includes a main wall part fitted vertically between the compressor and the water tank, and sidewalls extended from both sides of the main wall to both sides of the drain part.




In other aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dehumidifier housing including a lower housing having a barrier part fitted vertically between a compressor and a water tank inside of a cabinet, a drain part formed in a horizontal direction above the barrier part for collecting condensate dehumidified at a heat exchanger and draining the water tank, and sidewalls formed at both sides of the barrier part and the drain part in a front and rear direction and supported on an inside of the cabinet, an upper housing having an orifice part with an air flow hole in a central portion, and a rim part around the orifice part in front and rear direction and supported on an inside of the cabinet, and coupling means for coupling the lower housing and the upper housing.




The upper housing further includes guide parts projected from an inside of the rim part toward the heat exchanger for guiding flow of dehumidifying air passed through the heat exchanger.




The coupling means includes a setting part formed recessed at an upper portion of sidewalls of the lower housing, and a barrier assembly part extended from a bottom of he rim part of the upper housing. And, the guide part of the upper housing includes a downward guide extension below the guide part, and the drain part of the lower housing includes a guide insertion part for inserting the guide extension thereto.




There is a turbo fan mounted in the air flow hole in the upper housing. And, there is an annular guide around the air flow hole of the orifice part projected toward the heat exchanger for guiding air flow toward the turbo fan.




It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention:




In the drawings:





FIG. 1

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a related art dehumidifier;





FIG. 2

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a dehumidifier in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 3

illustrates a perspective view of a housing of the dehumidifier in

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

illustrates a front view of a housing of the dehumidifier in

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

illustrates an enlarged front view of“A” part in

FIG. 4

;





FIG. 6

illustrates a perspective view of a housing seen in a “B” direction in

FIG. 4

;





FIG. 7

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a dehumidifier in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 8

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a housing of the dehumidifier in

FIG. 7

;





FIG. 9

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a housing of the dehumidifier in

FIG. 8

seen in an opposite side;





FIG. 10

illustrates a section across


14


line in

FIG. 9

; and





FIG. 11

a perspective view of the housing in

FIG. 7

having the heat exchanger and the turbo fan mounted therein;











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. A first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS.


2


˜


6


.




Basically, the dehumidifier of the present invention also includes a compressor


2


, a heat exchanger


3


having an evaporator


3




a


and a condenser


3




b


, a filter


8


for filtering air, a fan


4


for forced flow of room air, a water tank


6


for collecting dehumidified water. The above various components are mounted inside of a cabinet


1


of the dehumidifier, with a base pan


7


fitted under the cabinet


1


, and a discharge grill


9


assembled in front of the cabinet


1


. The heat exchanger


3


, the fan


4


, and the water tank


6


are fitted to the housing


10


on the base pan


7


.




The housing


10


will be explained in detail.




The housing


10


includes a barrier part


11


disposed in the cabinet


1


between the compressor


2


and the water tank


6


in a vertical direction, a shroud part


20


extended from the barrier part


11


in a vertical direction having an air flow hole


20




a


with the fan


4


fitted to a center thereof, a motor fixing part


30


projected from the air flow hole


20




a


in the shroud part


20


in a radial direction for fixing the motor


5


of the fan


4


, and a drain part


40


formed in a horizontal direction between the barrier part


11


and the shroud part


20


for collecting condensate dropping from the heat exchanger


3


and draining to the water tank


6


under the heat exchanger


3


. In the present invention, the barrier part


11


, the shroud part


20


, the motor fixing part


30


, and the drain part


40


are injection molded as one unit.




Respective part of the housing will be explained in more detail. At first, the barrier part


11


will be explained.




The barrier part


11


includes a main wall part


12


provided vertical between the compressor


2


and the water tank


6


, and sidewall parts


13


extended from both sides of the main wall part


12


to both sides of the drain part


40


. The barrier part


11


supports the heat exchanger


3


and the motor


5


, and isolates front and rear spaces of the shroud part


20


. There are a plurality of reinforcing ribs


12


a for reinforcing a supporting strength against the shroud part


20


. The main wall part


12


has a space securing recess


14


recessed from a front face(where the compressor is disposed) to a rear face(where the water tank is disposed) for easy mounting of devices, such as the compressor


2


and other tubes. And, as shown in

FIG. 6

, the main wall part


12


has a plurality of fastening projections


16


on a bottom face thereof for coupling with the base pan


7


. Of course, as shown in

FIG. 2

, the base pan


7


has recesses


7




a


for inserting the fastening projections


16


. Of the fastening projections


16


, the fastening projections on both sides thereof are bent in ‘λ’ forms for inserting into the recesses


7




a


in the base pan


7


. And, the main wall part


12


has holes


17


and


18


for fitting a switch to make confirmation of water tank


6


mounting and a switch to make confirmation of full of the water tank


6


. In the meantime, as shown in

FIG. 4

, the main wall part


12


has hanging projections


19


on inside surfaces of the sidewall parts


13


, and the water tank


6


has recesses


6




a


in both sides thereof to insert the hanging projections


19


thereto. And, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the sidewall part


13


has a cable guide part


19




a.






The shroud part


20


will be explained.




The shroud part


20


includes an annular shroud


22


projected from a circumference of the air flow hole


20




a


in the isolation wall


21


. And, there is a tube pass through hole


23


in a side portion of the isolation wall


21


for pass of refrigerant tubes connected from the compressor to the heat exchanger. And, there is a controller fitting part


24


in an upper portion of the tube pass through hole


23


for fitting a controller


9




b


connected to an operation switch


9




a


fitted to top of the discharge grill


9


. The controller fitting part


24


has a hanging part


24




a


formed relatively high portion for hanging a controller


9




b


, and a projection


24




b


formed in a lower portion of the hanging part


24




a


for supporting the controller


9




b


to prevent movement of the controller


9




b


. And, the shroud


22


has a cable guide projection


25


on a front surface thereof for guiding the cable connected to the controller


9




b.






Next, the motor fixing part


30


will be explained.




The motor fixing part


30


includes a motor fastener


31


formed in a ring form in front of the shroud part


20


for fastening the motor


5


thereto, and supporting members


35


connected from the motor fastener


31


to the shroud


22


of the shroud part


20


in a radial form. There are a plurality of ribs


32


projected from an inside circumference of the motor fastener


31


, for maintaining a gap between the motor


5


and the motor fastener


31


, to prevent a heat generated during operation of the motor


5


from transmission toward the motor fastener


31


, which is formed by injection molding, as it is, and secure a heat dissipation space of the motor. The supporting member


35


has main supporting members


36


formed at 120° intervals from the motor fastener


31


to the shroud part, and a plurality of supplementary supporting members


37


formed between the main supporting members


36


for maintaining a concentricity of the motor fastener


31


and reinforcing a supporting strength. The main supporting members


36


are formed to have an adequate rigidity for supporting the fan


4


and the motor


4


, and the supplementary supporting members


37


are formed to be parallel to a flow direction of the air so as to have the least contact area with a flowing air for minimizing a resistance to the air discharged from the fan


4


. The motor fixing part


30


has a plurality of screw holes


33


for fastening the motor


5


with bolts or screws. In this instance, as shown in

FIGS. 4 and 5

, the screw hole


33


has a nut recess


34


of a regular bolt head form, to cope with a case when the screw hole


33


is worn down owing to frequent screwing for taking out and repair of the motor, when a bolt or nut is inserted in the nut recess


34


and fasten it. According to the present invention, because the motor


5


is firmly mounted on the motor fixing part


30


by the plurality of supporting members


35


, and the fan


4


is supported by the firmly mounted motor


5


, the vibration generated during operation of the fan


4


and motor


5


can be reduced.




Next, the drain part


40


will be explained.




The drain part


40


is formed to receive the condensate, and includes a condensate drain hole


41


in communication with the water tank


6


in one side portion thereof, and a filter fastening part


43


projected from a rear portion thereof for supporting a bottom of the filter


8


.




The operation of the foregoing dehumidifier of the present invention will be explained.




When the compressor


2


and the fan


4


are put into operation, room air is forced to flow toward the discharge grill


9


from the filter


8


, when the heat exchanger


3


having the evaporator


3




a


and the condenser


3




b


dehumidifies, to control a humidity of the room air. The condensate formed by the dehumidification of the heat exchanger 3 drops onto the drain part


40


, drains into the water tank


6


through the drain hole


41


, and stored in the water tank


6


.




The aforementioned dehumidifier of the present invention has the following advantages.




First, the formation of a plurality of assembly structures as one unit for supporting the heat exchanger and the fan permits to reduce assembly components, that improves productivity and saves cost. The formation of the shroud part, the fan and the motor supported on the one unit and the drain part of the heat exchanger also supported on the one unit above the barrier part significantly enhances the strength. Support for components is improved and the assembly is simplified as the unit does not have to be loosened even after a prolonged use.




Second, the perfect isolation of a front space and a rear space inside of the dehumidifier owing to formation of the barrier part and the shroud part as one unit in the housing of the present invention can enhance a dehumidifying capability as the air passed through the heat exchanger and the fan is flow, not in a reverse direction to a space of the heat exchangers again, but discharged through the discharge grill as it is, thereby enhancing the dehumidifying capability. That is, since the formation of the housing of the present invention with almost no gaps permits to prevent flow loss liable to occur during heat exchanging, the dehumidifying capability can be enhanced.




Third, the sliding in type mounting structure of the water tank into the barrier part permits an easy mounting of the water tank at an exact position.




In the meantime, the first embodiment shows formation of the barrier part


11


, the shroud part


20


, the motor fixing part


30


, and the drain part


40


formed as a unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, either the barrier part


11


, the shroud part


20


, and the motor fixing part


30


only may be formed as one unit, or the shroud part


20


, the motor fixing part


30


, and the drain part


40


only may be formed as one unit.




A dehumidifier housing in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS.


7


˜


11


.




Though the barrier part, the shroud part, the motor fixing part, and the drain part are formed as one unit in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, in this second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the barrier part and the drain part are formed as one unit as a lower housing


300


, and the shroud part and the motor fixing part are formed as one unit as an upper housing


200


. And, the upper housing


200


and the lower housing


300


are coupled. And, an axial fan is used in the first embodiment, a turbo fan


104


is used in the second embodiment.




The lower housing


300


and the upper housing


200


will be explained in detail, respectively.




The upper housing


200


has barrier assembly parts


129


at bottom portions of both side rim parts


127


, and a guide part


125


has a guide extension at a bottom. And, the lower housing


300


has relatively recessed setting parts


135




a


in upper portions of sidewalls


135


for setting the barrier assembly parts


129


, and guide inserting parts


142


in a top surface of the drain part


400


for insertion of the guide extensions


125




c


. That is, the guide extension


125




c


has a horizontal bent at an end thereof, and the guide insertion part


142


has a projection of a rectangular rim from the top surface of the drain part


400


for insertion of the end part of the guide extension


142


. In the meantime, as shown in

FIG. 8

, the lower housing


300


has a hanger part


136


projected from the sidewall


135


for hanging the recess


6




a


in the water tank


6


, wherein it is preferable that a hole is formed in the hanger part


136


for a fastening screw


112


to fasten the barrier assembly part


129


and the sidewall


135


. In the meantime, as shown in

FIGS. 8 and 9

, there is a screw fastening part


121




c


in a lower portion of an orifice part


121


of the upper housing


200


, and an orifice fastening part


131




a


in an upper portion of the barrier part


131


of the lower housing


300


for fastening the screw


113


to the screw fastening part


121




c


. Eventually, the upper housing


200


and the lower housing


300


are assembled as the barrier assembly parts


129


and the screw fastening part


121




c


of the upper housing


200


are assembled to the sidewalls


135


and the orifice fastening part


131




a


of the lower housing


300


with the screws


112


and


113


, and the guide extensions


125




c


of the upper housing


200


are set to the guide insertion parts


142


of the drain part


400


.




The foregoing upper housing


300


and the lower housing


200


will be explained, in more detail.




First, the barrier part


131


in the lower housing


300


is vertically fitted between the compressor


2


and the water tank


6


for supporting the heat exchanger


3


and the motor


104




a


and isolating the front space and the rear space of the dehumidifier together with the upper housing


200


. And, as shown in

FIG. 8

, the barrier part


131


has a plurality of fixing projections


133




a


and


133




b


in a lower portion for fixing to a top portion of the base pan


7


. Of course, as shown in

FIG. 7

, the base pan


7


has recesses


7




a


and


7




b


for inserting the fixing projections


133




a


and


133




b


. And, there are hanger parts


136


projected from opposite sides of inside of the sidewalls


135


, and recesses


6




a


on both sides of the water tank


6


for insertion in the hanger parts


136


. And, similar to the first embodiment, the barrier part


131


has a space securing recessed part


132


, and holes


134




a


and


134




b


for use in confirmation of mounted water tank


6


and fitting full water confirming switches.




Referring to

FIG. 9

, the drain part


400


includes a guide forming part


141


for coupling with the guide part


125


of the upper housing


200


and forming a lower portion of an air flow passage, a drain passage


143


under the heat exchanger


3


formed by the guide forming part


141


and an isolation wall


43




a


, and an orifice coupling part


145


, a flat portion, projected upward from a front portion of the guide forming part


141


for close fitting of the bottom of the orifice part


121


of the upper housing


200


. There is a condensate discharge hole


143




b


at one side of the drain passage


143


in communication with the water tank


6


, and a filter fixing part


144


at a rear portion of the drain passage


143


for supporting a bottom of the filter


8


. And, there are channel inserting parts


143




c


on both sides of the drain passage part


143


for inserting channels


3




c


of the heat exchanger


3


.




Next, the upper housing


200


will be explained in more detail.




Referring to

FIGS. 7 and 8

, portions of the orifice part


121


and the rim part


127


of the upper housing


200


are cut away to form a tube passage


128


for passing refrigerant tube connected from the compressor


2


to the heat exchanger


3


. And, there is a controller fitting part


123


above the tube passage


128


for fitting a controller


9




b


connected to an external operation switch


9




a


. The controller fitting part


123


has a hanging part


123




a


formed relatively higher for hanging the controller


9




b


, and a movement prevention projection


123




b


below the hanging part


123




a


for supporting the controller


9




b


. And, there is a clamp fixing part


121




d


for guiding cables connected to the fan and the motor.




And, referring to

FIGS. 9 and 11

, there are mounter fixing parts


124


in upper and lower portions of a rear face of the orifice part


121


for fixing the motor mounter


104




b


to mount the motor


104




a


driving the turbo fan


104


. And, as shown in

FIG. 8

, there are a plurality of reinforcing ribs


121




b


at a corner part where the orifice part


121


, the guide part


125


and the rim part


127


meet.




In the meantime, the turbo fan


104


is mounted in the air flow hole


121




a


of the upper housing


200


. There is an annular guide


122


around the air flow hole


121




a


projected in a direction of the heat exchanger


3


for guiding the air flow toward the turbo fan


104


. And, the guide part


125


has a cable slot


125




d


at one side for inserting and fixing a cable connected to the motor


104




a


driving the turbo fan


104


.




In the meantime, as shown in

FIG. 11

, a circumference of the guide part


125


is formed to have a size the same with a size of a circumference of the heat exchanger


3


for close contact of the circumference of the heat exchanger


3


to the circumference of the guide part


125


in mounting the heat exchanger


3


. And, the guide part


125


has a plurality of fixing parts


125




e


for fixing the channels


3




c


of the heat exchanger


3


.




As the operation of the second embodiment dehumidifier is similar to the first embodiment, a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. And, advantages of the dehumidifier housing of the present invention will be explained.




The stable mounting of the upper housing


200


the turbo fan


104


, the motor


104




a


, and the heat exchanger


3


are supported thereon on the lower housing


300


having the barrier part


131


and the drain part


400


permits to enhance a rigidity. And, the prevention of reverse flow of air passed through the heat exchanger


3


and the turbo fan


104


toward a heat exchanger


4


space again owing to an efficient isolation of the front space and the rear space in the dehumidifier permits to enhance a dehumidifying capability. Especially, the formation of the annular guide


122


on the orifice part


121


of the upper housing


200


and formation of the guide part


125


for tight sealing between the heat exchanger


3


and the orifice part


121


permits no loss of the dehumidified air, but total discharge toward the discharge grill


9


through the air flow hole


121




a


, thereby enhancing the dehumidifying effect, further.




The handy mounting of the water tank


6


at an exact position is made possible as the water tank


6


is inserted inside of the sidewalls


135


in the mounting, and the fastening of the screw


112


for fixing the upper housing


200


to the hanger part


136


on the sidewalls


135


improves a supporting rigidity.




It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the dehumidifier housing of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.



Claims
  • 1. A dehumidifier housing comprising:a cabinet having an inside; a lower housing including a barrier part fitted vertically between a compressor section and a water tank section within the inside of the cabinet, a drain part formed in a horizontal direction above the barrier part for collecting condensate dehumidified at a heat exchanger section and for draining the water tank section, and sidewalls formed at both sides of the barrier part and the drain part portion in a front and rear direction and positioned along the inside of the cabinet; an upper housing including an orifice part having an air flow hole in a central portion, and a rim part around the orifice part in front and rear direction, said orifice part being positioned within the inside of the cabinet; and means for coupling the lower housing and the upper housing.
  • 2. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper housing further includes guide parts projecting from an inside of the rim part toward the heat exchanger for guiding flow of dehumidifying air passed through the heat exchanger.
  • 3. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for coupling includesa setting part formed recessed at an upper portion of sidewalls of the lower housing, and a barrier assembly part extending from a bottom of the rim part of the upper housing.
  • 4. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 3, wherein the guide part of the upper housing includes a downward guide extension below the guide part, and the drain part of the lower housing includes a guide insertion part for inserting the guide extension thereto.
  • 5. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sidewall of the lower housing includes a hanger part projected from an inside surface thereof for hanging the water tank, and the hanger part has a hole for inserting a screw for fastening the barrier assembly part and the setting part.
  • 6. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the drain part includesa guide forming part for coupling the guide part of the upper housing and forming a lower portion of an air flow passage, and a drain passage under the heat exchanger separated from the guide forming part by the isolation wall.
  • 7. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 6, further comprising channel inserting parts on both sides of the drain passage for inserting both side channels of the heat exchanger.
  • 8. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a turbo fan mounted in the air flow hole in the upper housing.
  • 9. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 8, wherein there is an annular guide around the air flow hole of the orifice part projected toward the heat exchanger for guiding air flow toward the turbo fan.
  • 10. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein there are mounter fixing parts on upper and lower sides of the air flow hole for fixing the motor mounter to mount the motor driving the turbo fan.
  • 11. A dehumidifier housing comprising:a cabinet having an inside; a lower housing including a barrier part fitted vertically between a compressor section and a water tank section within the inside of the cabinet, and a drain part formed on an upper portion of the barrier part in a horizontal direction for collecting condensate dropped from a heat exchanger section and draining to the water tank section; and an upper housing including a shroud part extending from the upper portion of the barrier part in a vertical direction and having an air flow hole at a central portion thereof for mounting a fan, and a motor fixing part projected from the air flow hole in the shroud part in a radial form for fixing a motor of the fan thereto, wherein the upper housing and the lower housing are formed as one unit.
  • 12. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the barrier part further includesa main wall part fitted vertically between the compressor section and the water tank section, and sidewalls extended from both sides of the main wall to both sides of the drain part.
  • 13. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 12, wherein the shroud part includes an annular shroud projected from a circumference of the air flow hole.
  • 14. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 13, wherein the motor fixing part includes;a ring formed motor fastener, and supporting members connected from the motor fastener to the shroud part in a radial form.
  • 15. The dehumidifier housing as claimed in claim 14, wherein the motor fastener includes a plurality of ribs formed on an inside circumference of the motor fastener for maintaining a gap between the motor and the motor fastener.
  • 16. A dehumidifier comprising:a compressor; a heat exchanger; a fan and a motor; a water tank; a cabinet having an interior, said compressor, said heat exchanger, said fan and said motor and said water tank being positioned within the interior of the cabinet; a lower dehumidifier housing including a barrier portion fitted vertically between a compressor and the water tank within the interior of the cabinet, and a drain part formed on an upper portion of the barrier part in a horizontal direction for collecting condensate falling from the heat exchanger and draining to the water tank; and an upper housing including a shroud part extending from the upper portion of the barrier part in a vertical direction and having an air flow hole at a central portion thereof mounting the fan, and a motor fixing part projected from the air flow hole in the shroud part in a radial form and fixing the motor of the fan thereto, wherein the upper housing and the lower housing are formed as one-piece, molded unit.
Priority Claims (2)
Number Date Country Kind
99-54575 Dec 1999 KR
2000-53169 Sep 2000 KR
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
3594990 Hawley Jul 1971 A
3866333 Sarukahanian et al. Feb 1975 A
4712382 LeClear Dec 1987 A
4927436 Glienke May 1990 A
5089035 Kaneko Feb 1992 A
5230719 Berner et al. Jul 1993 A
5478379 Bevins Dec 1995 A
5843213 Fujimura Dec 1998 A