Laundry treatment apparatus with heat pump

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9249538-B2
Application number	US-201214346840-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2012
Priority date	Sep 26, 2011
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

A laundry treatment apparatus, in particular a dryer ( 2 a ) or washing machine having a drying function, includes a cabinet having a front wall, a rear wall, side walls and a base section. The base section has an internal side facing the interior of the cabinet and an external side exposed to the outside of the cabinet. A laundry storing chamber for treating laundry using process air (A), a process air loop for circulating the process air through the laundry storing chamber, and a heat pump system for dehumidifying and heating the process air are also provided. The heat pump system has a refrigerant loop comprising: a first heat exchanger ( 10 ) for heating a refrigerant and cooling the process air (A), a second heat exchanger ( 12 ) for cooling the refrigerant and heating the process air, a refrigerant expansion device, a compressor, and an auxiliary heat exchanger ( 13 ). The auxiliary heat exchanger ( 13 ) is arranged at the external side of the base section.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A laundry treatment apparatus having a drying function, comprising:
a cabinet having a front wall, a rear wall, side walls and a base section, wherein the base section comprises an internal side facing the interior of the cabinet and an external side exposed to the outside of the cabinet, a laundry storing chamber arranged inside the cabinet for treating laundry using process air,
a process air loop for circulating the process air through the laundry storing chamber, and
a heat pump system for dehumidifying and heating the process air, the heat pump system having a refrigerant loop comprising:
a first heat exchanger for heating a refrigerant and cooling the process air, a second heat exchanger for cooling the refrigerant and heating the process air, a refrigerant expansion device,
a compressor, and
an auxiliary heat exchanger;
wherein, the auxiliary heat exchanger is arranged at the external side of the base section.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the base section forms, at the internal side, at least a portion of a battery channel of the process air loop for housing the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the internal side of the base section supports the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the internal side of the base section forms a seat for the compressor.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the external side of the base section comprises a recess and/or mounting structure for receiving the auxiliary heat exchanger.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the base section comprises a bottom shell and a cover shell forming together the battery channel, wherein the auxiliary heat exchanger is arranged at the bottom shell.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising a blower for blowing or sucking cooling air through the auxiliary heat exchanger.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the blower is arranged at the bottom of the base section or at the external side of the base section at or in close proximity to the cooling air inlet or outlet of the auxiliary heat exchanger.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the blower is arranged below a channel section unit of the process air loop.

10. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the blower is arranged in the base section or a bottom shell of the base section laterally offset to the auxiliary heat exchanger and an air guiding means is provided to guide the air from the blower to the auxiliary heat exchanger or from the auxiliary heat exchanger to the blower.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the air guiding means is a channel extending from a first side front region in the base section or bottom shell to a second side front region at the bottom side of the cabinet.

12. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the blower is a radial blower or tangential blower.

13. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the blower sucks in or blows out the cooling air through at least one opening in the front wall of the apparatus or through openings in a front bottom panel of the cabinet.

14. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the blower sucks in or blows out the cooling air through at least one opening at the bottom side of the cabinet or at the back side of the cabinet or at least one opening to the inner side of the cabinet.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the apparatus cabinet has ventilation openings at a bottom shell, at the cabinet side wall or at the cabinet rear wall.

16. An apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising guiding means for guiding the cooling air from the auxiliary heat exchanger to one or more of the following or from one or more of the following to the auxiliary heat exchanger: the compressor, a drum drive motor of the apparatus and power electronics of the apparatus.

17. An apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising a process air heat exchanger,
wherein the process air heat exchanger is at least partially integrated in or is part of a channel section unit arranged in the base section or a bottom shell of the apparatus,
wherein the channel section unit forms part of a process air channel section of the process air loop, and
wherein the process air heat exchanger is adapted to exchange heat between the process air and the cooling air.

18. An apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the blower additionally blows the cooling air to the process air heat exchanger or sucks it from the process air heat exchanger.

Assignees

• Electrolux Home Prod Corp

Inventors

• Bison Alberto
• Cavarretta Francesco
• Vignocchi Massimiliano

Classifications

• D06F58/24

  Condensing arrangements · CPC title

• D06F58/206 Primary

  Heat pump arrangements · CPC title