Condensing type clothes dryer having a heat pump cycle and a method for controlling a condensing type clothes dryer having a heat pump cycle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9657430-B2
Application number	US-201514960549-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2015
Priority date	Dec 8, 2014
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A condensing type clothes dryer having a heat pump cycle is provided that may include a drum in which an object to be dried may be accommodated; a circulation duct that forms a circulation passage such that air may circulate via the drum; and a heat pump cycle. The heat pump cycle may include a plurality of evaporators provided adjacent to each other in the circulation duct; a condenser provided at a downstream side of the plurality of evaporators and spaced therefrom, that absorbs heat of air discharged from the drum through the plurality of evaporators, and transfers the heat to air introduced into the drum through the condenser, using an operation fluid, which may circulate via the plurality of evaporators and the condenser; a plurality of divergence pipes that form a divergence passage, such that the operation fluid discharged from the condenser may be introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators; a plurality of electronic expansion valves provided at the plurality of divergence pipes, respectively, that opens and closes the plurality of divergence passage; and a controller that controls a flow amount of the operation fluid to be introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators by controlling an open degree of the divergence passage based on a super heat degree of the operation fluid passing through each of the plurality of evaporators.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A condensing type clothes dryer having a heat pump cycle, comprising: a drum in which an object to be dried is accommodated;
a circulation duct that forms a circulation passage that circulates air through the drum; and
a heat pump cycle-including:
a plurality of evaporators provided adjacent to each other in the circulation duct, that absorb heat of air discharged from the drum through the plurality of evaporators, using an operation fluid that circulates via the plurality of evaporators;
a condenser provided at a downstream side of the plurality of evaporators and spaced from the plurality of evaporators, that transfers heat to air introduced into the drum through the condenser, using an operation fluid that circulates via: the condenser;
a plurality of divergence pipes that form a divergence passage such that the operation fluid discharged from the condenser is introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators;
a plurality of electronic expansion valves provided at the plurality of divergence pipes, that opens and closes the divergence passage; and
a controller that controls a flow amount of the operation fluid introduced Into each of the plurality of evaporators by controlling an open degree of the divergence passage based on a super heat degree of the operation fluid passing through each of the plurality of evaporators.

2. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of evaporators includes a first evaporator and a second evaporator provided in the circulation duct In a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction of air flow in the circulation duct.

3. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 2 , wherein the first evaporator and the second evaporator are provided in the circulation duct without a gap therebetween.

4. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 2 , wherein the first evaporator is provided adjacent to an upper portion of the circulation duct and the second evaporator is provided adjacent to a lower portion of the circulation duct.

5. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of evaporators includes a first evaporator and a second evaporator provided In the circulation duct in a line with respect to a direction of airflow in the circulation duct.

6. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 5 , wherein the first evaporator and the second evaporator are provided in the circulation duct without a gap therebetween.

7. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of
electronic expansion valves Includes a first electronic expansion valve and a second
electronic expansion valve provided at the plurality of divergence pipes, respectively, that control a flow amount of the operation fluid introduced into each of a first evaporator and a second evaporator.

8. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the heat pump cycle further includes:
a compressor that compresses the operation fluid discharged from the plurality of evaporators and transfers the operation fluid to the condenser;
a first temperature sensor provided at an inlet of each of the plurality of evaporators, that senses a temperature of the operation fluid at the inlet of each of the plurality of evaporators;
a second temperature sensor provided at an inlet of the compressor, that senses a temperature of the operation fluid at the inlet of the compressor, and wherein the controller determines the super heat degree of the operation fluid by comparing the temperature of the operation fluid at the inlet of the compressor with the temperature at the inlet of each of the plurality of evaporators, based on detection signals received from the first and second temperature sensors.

9. The condensing type clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the condenser Includes a fin and tube-type heat exchanger.

10. A method for controlling a condensing type clothes dryer including a drum in which an object to be dried is accommodated, a circulation duct that forms a
circulation passage such that air circulates via the drum, and a heat pump cycle having a plurality of evaporators provided adjacent to each other in the circulation duct, a condenser provided at a downstream side of the plurality of evaporators and spaced therefrom, that absorbs heat of air discharged from the drum through the plurality of evaporators and transfers the heat to air introduced into the drum through the condenser, using an operation fluid that circulates via the plurality of evaporators and the condenser, the method comprising;
sensing a super heat degree of the operation fluid passing through the plurality of evaporators; and
diverging the operation fluid discharged, from the condenser to a plurality of divergence passages, and controlling a flow amount of the operation fluid to be introduced Into each of the plurality of evaporators based on sensed super heat degree of the operation fluid.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein sensing a super heat degree of the operation fluid passing through the plurality of evaporators includes measuring the super heat degree of the operation fluid passing through the plurality of evaporators based on a difference between a temperature of the operation fluid measured at an inlet of a compressor and a temperature of the operation fluid measured at an inlet of each of the plurality of evaporators, and wherein controlling a flow amount of the operation fluid to be introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators based on the sensed super heat degree of the operation fluid Includes increasing a flow amount of the operation fluid introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators as an open degree of the
divergence passage is controlled according to an increase in the super heat degree of the operation fluid.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the evaporator includes a first evaporator and a second evaporator provided in the circulation duct in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction of air flow In the circulation duct, and wherein a same amount of operation fluid is Introduced into each of the first evaporator and the second evaporator.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of evaporators include a first evaporator and a second evaporator provided in the circulation duct in a line with respect to a direction of air flow in the circulation duct, and wherein the operation fluid is introduced into each of the first evaporator and the second evaporator with a different flow amount determined based on a super heat degree of the refrigerant having passed through each of the plurality of evaporators.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein when a super heat degree of the operation fluid introduced Into the first evaporator is larger than a super heat degree of the operation fluid introduced into the second evaporator, the controlling a flow amount of the operation fluid to be introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators based on the sensed super heat degree of the operation fluid includes increasing a flow amount of the operation fluid to be Introduced into the first evaporator more than a flow amount of the operation fluid to be introduced into the second evaporator.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the controlling a flow amount of the operation fluid to be introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators based on sensed super heat degree of the operation fluid includes controlling the flow amount of the operation fluid introduced into each of the plurality of evaporators by a plurality of electronic expansion valves provided at the plurality of divergence passages, respectively.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Yongju
• Ryoo Byeongjo
• Kim Jongseok

Classifications

• D06F2105/26

  Heat pumps · CPC title

• D06F2103/50

  related to heat pumps, e.g. pressure or flow rate · CPC title

• D06F2103/08

  Humidity · CPC title

• D06F58/206 Primary

  Heat pump arrangements · CPC title

• D06F58/28

  Textiles & Paper · mapped topic