Patent Application
20230106714
The present disclosure relates generally to laundry appliances and more particularly to an in-door condenser for a front-load washer and dryer combination appliance.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute as prior art.
Laundry appliances (i.e., laundry machines, washing machines, and dryers) are prolific in both residential and commercial settings. Traditionally, separate washer and dryer machines have been used in tandem to clean and dry laundry. However, there is a growing market for washer and dryer combination appliances where a single machine performs both the washing and drying functions, thereby eliminating the need for two separate machines. There are a number of different names used to describe washer and dryer combination appliances, including without limitation, “washer/dryer combos” and “all-in-one washer dryers.” While these units save space compared to separate washer and dryer machines, combining the washing and drying functions into a single appliance presents a number of engineering challenges.
Many washer and dryer combination appliances have a front-load appliance configuration, where the washer and dryer combination appliance includes a cabinet with a front opening that is accessed by a front-mounted appliance door. A drum is positioned in and is rotatable with respect to the cabinet. During tumbling, a motor housed within the cabinet rotates the drum. The drum typically has a front end with a drum opening that provides access to a laundry compartment inside the drum.
Washer and dryer combination appliances are gaining in popularity because they save space compared to a set of separate washer and dryer appliances and because they do not require the act of transferring laundry between separate appliances between the wash and drying cycles. This allows consumers to simply load laundry into the washer and dryer combination appliance and select the desired wash and drying cycle settings and they do not have to return again until the laundry is washed and dried. However, performing the drying cycle in the same appliance that performed the wash cycle presents a number of engineering challenges due to the presence of water inside the drum during the wash cycle and the resulting levels of humidity that remain inside the appliance during the drying cycle. Solutions that improve the performance and efficiency of the drying cycle in washer and dryer combination appliances in the face of these challenges are needed.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a laundry appliance is provided that comprises: a cabinet with a front opening, a drum rotatably supported within the cabinet, a laundry compartment disposed inside the drum, and a front appliance door that is pivotally mounted with respect to the cabinet such that the front appliance door is configured to swing between a closed position where the front appliance door closes the front opening in the cabinet and an open position where the front appliance door is swung away from the front opening to provide access to the laundry compartment. The front appliance door has an outer wall, an inner wall, and a door perimeter. The inner wall of the front appliance door includes a bowl that defines an in-door cavity with the front appliance door. The bowl of the front appliance door is positioned such that at least a portion of the bowl extends into the front opening in the cabinet when the front appliance door is in the closed position. The laundry appliance further includes an in-door condensing system mounted within the in-door cavity. More specifically, the in-door condensing system has an in-door condenser, arranged as an air-to-air heat exchanger, that includes an air cooling loop positioned inside the in-door cavity.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, the air cooling loop of the in-door condenser is a tube that extends in a flat spiral to form multiple loops arranged in a condenser loop plane. The multiple loops of the tube forming the in-door condenser have a curvature that gradually increases in radius as the air cooling loop extends out towards the door perimeter.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the in-door condensing system includes an in-door circulation fan, positioned in the in-door cavity, that is arranged to pull moist air from inside the laundry compartment into the in-door cavity, where the moist air flows past the air cooling loop of the in-door condenser to facilitate condensation in the in-door cavity. This removes moisture from the moist air that is pulled into the in-door cavity by the in-door circulation fan to create dryer air (i.e., air with less moisture) that is expelled out of the in-door cavity and back into the laundry compartment.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the in-door condensing system includes a heat exchanger fan, also positioned in the in-door cavity, that is arranged to pull cooling air from outside the laundry appliance into the air cooling loop of the in-door condenser through an air intake located in the outer wall of the appliance door. In other words, in accordance with this aspect of the present disclosure, there are two fans positioned inside the in-door cavity - the in-door circulation fan that circulates moist air from the laundry compartment through the in-door cavity and the heat exchanger fan that circulates cooling air from outside the laundry appliance through the air cooling loop of the in-door condenser.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the air cooling loop of the in-door condenser is positioned inside said door cavity and arranged to receive a cooling air flow from a chiller located inside the cabinet. In accordance with this aspect of the present disclosure, the chiller is arranged in fluid communication with the in-door condenser when the front appliance door is in the closed position and is configured to cool off the air in the cooling air flow at a location that is upstream of the in-door cooling loop.
Advantageously, the in-door condensing systems described herein improve the drying performance of the washer and dryer combination laundry appliance by reducing the humidity of the air inside the laundry compartment, which is heated and recirculated during a drying cycle. Improved drying performance is realized because warm dry air provides better drying performance than warm moist air. In addition, the in-door condensing systems described herein utilize the space within the bowl of the front appliance door, which is normally wasted space.
Other advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, various aspects of a washer and dryer combination laundry appliance 20, 20' are illustrated.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
For purposes of description herein the terms “up,” “down,” “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the assembly as oriented in
With reference to
The front appliance door 26 includes an outer wall 30 that presents an outer door surface 31, which faces out away from the front opening 24 in the cabinet 22 when the front appliance door 26 is in the closed position and an inner wall 32 that faces the front opening 24 in the cabinet 22 when the front appliance door 26 is in the closed position. The front appliance door 26 also includes a door perimeter 33 and a bowl 34. The door perimeter 33 is configured to abut the cabinet 22 when the front appliance door 26 is in the closed position. The bowl 34 is provided on the inner wall 32 of the front appliance door 26 and is spaced radially inward of the door perimeter 33. At least a portion of the bowl 34 is received in the front opening 24 in the cabinet 22 when the front appliance door 26 is in the closed position. Among other functions, the bowl 34 prevents laundry inside the laundry appliance 20 from accumulating in the front opening 24 during tumbling and particularly during the wash cycle of the laundry appliance 20. Although other materials can be used, in the illustrated example, the front appliance door 26 is made of metal, while the bowl 34 is made of a molded plastic material. Portions of the bowl 34 are spaced from the front appliance door 26 such that an in-door cavity 35 is defined between the outer wall 30 and the inner wall 32 of the front appliance door 26.
The laundry appliance 20 includes a drum housing 36 with a cylindrical shape that is mounted inside the cabinet 22 on dynamic mounts 38, which keep the drum housing 36 from rotating, but permit limited degrees of freedom that allow the drum housing 36 to move/oscillate relative to the cabinet 22 during tumbling. The drum housing 36 includes a front ring 40, a rear drum housing wall 42, and a drum housing sidewall 44 that extends longitudinally from the front ring 40 to the rear drum housing wall 42 to define a drum housing cavity 46 inside the drum housing 36. The front ring 40 of the drum housing 36 includes a drum housing opening 48 positioned in at least partial alignment with the front opening 24 in the cabinet 22.
A drum 50 is positioned in the drum housing cavity 46 and is supported therein such that the drum 50 is rotatable with respect to the drum housing 36 about a longitudinal axis 52. The drum 50 also has a cylindrical shape and extends longitudinally between a front drum end 54 and a rear drum end 56. The drum 50 includes a drum opening 58 at the front drum end 54, a rear drum wall 60 at the rear drum end 56, and a drum sidewall 62 that extends longitudinally between the front and rear drum ends 54, 56. The drum sidewall 62 includes an outer surface 64 that faces the drum housing sidewall 44. The front drum end 54, the drum sidewall 62, and the rear drum wall 60 cooperate to define a laundry compartment 66 inside the drum 50. The front opening 24 in the cabinet 22, the drum housing opening 48 in the front ring 40 of the drum housing 36, and the drum opening 58 at the front drum end 54 are at least partially aligned with one another and therefore provide access to the laundry compartment 66 inside the drum 50 when the front appliance door 26 is in the open position. Thus, it should be appreciated that in use, laundry (e.g., clothes, towels, and/or bedding, etc.) is placed inside the laundry compartment 66 where it is first cleaned during the wash cycle and then dried during the drying cycle of the laundry appliance 20.
A drive shaft 68, fixedly coupled to the rear drum end 56, is supported by a bearing pack 70 such that the drive shaft 68 and the drum 50 rotate together as a single unit within the cabinet 22. An electric motor 72, positioned in the cabinet 22, operates to drive rotation of the drive shaft 68, which in turn drives rotation of the drum 50 within the drum housing 36 and the cabinet 22 during operation of the laundry appliance 20, such as during washing and tumbling.
As best seen in
To improve drying performance, the laundry appliance 20 further includes an in-door condensing system 86 that is mounted within the in-door cavity 35. The in-door condensing system 86 operates to remove some of the humidity (i.e., moisture) from the air in the laundry compartment 66 through condensation to improve the drying performance of the laundry appliance 20. The space in the front appliance door 26 that is taken up by the bowl 34 is normally wasted. Advantageously, the in-door condensing system 86 described herein makes use of this otherwise wasted space.
With additional reference to
The bowl 34 in the inner wall 32 of the front appliance door 26 has a dome-shaped depression 148 and a partition 150, attached to the bowl 34, that extends from the bowl 34 towards the in-door condenser 88 to divide at least part of the in-door cavity 35 into a first zone 152 and a second zone 154. The air inlet 90 and the air outlet 92 are positioned in different zones 152, 154 of the in-door cavity 35 such that the partition 150 directs airflow inside the in-door cavity 35 past the in-door condenser 88 before exiting through the air outlet 92. Although other configurations are possible, in the illustrated example, the air inlet 90 is positioned in fluid communication with the first zone 152 of the in-door cavity 35 and the air outlet 92 is positioned in fluid communication with the second zone 154 of the in-door cavity 35. In other words, the air inlet 90 extends through the bowl 34 at a location that is positioned above the air outlet 92. However, it should be appreciated that this arrangement may be reversed, where the air inlet 90 is positioned below the air outlet 92 or where the air inlet 90 and the air outlet 92 are positioned on opposite sides of the bowl 34 with the partition extending vertically instead of horizontally like in the illustrated examples.
In the illustrated example, the in-door circulation fan 94 is positioned in the second zone 154 of the in-door cavity 35 adjacent to the air outlet 92 and is mounted to the bowl 34. However, it should be appreciated that other configurations are possible. For example, the indoor circulation fan 94 is positioned in the first zone 152 of the in-door cavity 35 adjacent to the air inlet 90 or at a location in the in-door cavity 35 that is spaced from the air inlet 90 and air outlet 92. Regardless of the location, the in-door circulation fan 94 operates to draw moist air from the laundry compartment 66 into the in-door cavity 35 along an air intake flow path 132 (shown in
While other configurations are possible, in the illustrated examples, the air inlet 90 and the air outlet 92 are provided in the form of a plurality of holes 140a, 140b that extend through the bowl 34 where the group of holes 140a forming the air inlet 90 are positioned below the group of holes 140b forming the air outlet 92. Referring back to
The heat exchanger fan 96 of the in-door condensing system 86 is positioned in the in-door cavity 35 and is arranged to pull cooling air from outside the laundry appliance 20 (i.e., the ambient air outside the cabinet 22) into the air cooling loop 98 of the in-door condenser 88 through a cooling air intake 100 located in the outer wall 30 of the front appliance door 26 near the door perimeter 33 at the twelve o’clock position. As shown by the arrows in
The in-door condensing system 86 further includes a cooling air intake duct 106 and a cooling air exhaust duct 108. The cooling air intake duct 106 is located in the front appliance door 26 and extends between the cooling air intake 100 and the in-door condenser 88. The cooling air exhaust duct 108 is also located in the front appliance door 26 and extends between the in-door condenser 88 and the cooling air exhaust vent 102. In the illustrated example, the in-door circulation fan 94 is arranged in fluid communication with the cooling air intake duct 106 for drawing ambient air in through the cooling air intake 100 and is mounted to the partition 150. However, it should be appreciated that the in-door circulation fan 94 could be placed in other locations, including in locations where the in-door circulation fan 94 is arranged in fluid communication with the cooling air exhaust duct 108 or the in-door condenser 88.
As shown in
With reference to
Although other configurations are possible, in the illustrated example, the chiller 130' is an air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger. Accordingly, a compressor 160', located in the cabinet 22', is connected to the chiller 130' by refrigerant lines 162a', 162b' that circulate a refrigerant (such as R134a, for example) between the compressor 160' and the chiller 130' to extract heat from the cooling air flow as it passes from the inlet side 142' of the chiller 130' to the outlet side 144' of the chiller 130'. It should also be appreciated that although the heat exchanger fan 96' in the illustrated example is arranged in fluid communication with the outside air duct 138' at the rear of the cabinet 22', the heat exchanger fan 96' may be placed in other locations, including in fluid communication with the cool air duct 156' or the chiller 130'.
With additional reference to
Many modifications and variations of the apparatus and assemblies described in the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the appended claims. These antecedent recitations should be interpreted to cover any combination in which the inventive novelty exercises its utility.
