Dehumidifier

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9951964-B2
Application number	US-201514883910-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2015
Priority date	Oct 16, 2014
Publication date	Apr 24, 2018
Grant date	Apr 24, 2018

Abstract

A dehumidifier is provided that may include a main body, a compressor provided within the main body to compress a refrigerant, a plurality of heat exchangers provided within the main body to condense the refrigerant compressed in the compressor or to evaporate the refrigerant, a first fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers and having subsequently undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant condensed in the plurality of heat exchangers, out of the main body, a mode switch to perform switching between operating modes, including a cooling mode and a dehumidification mode, and a second fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers in the cooling mode, out of the main body.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dehumidifier, comprising:
a main body;
a compressor provided within the main body to compress a refrigerant;
a plurality of heat exchangers provided within the main body to condense the refrigerant compressed in the compressor or to evaporate the refrigerant;
a first fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers and having subsequently undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant condensed in the plurality of heat exchangers, out of the main body;
a mode switch to perform switching between operating modes inducing a cooling mode and a dehumidification mode; and
a second fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers in the cooling mode, out of the main body, wherein the plurality of heat exchangers includes:
a condenser connected to the compressor and the mode switch to condense the refrigerant;
an evaporator connected to the compressor and the mode switch to evaporate the refrigerant; and
a mode heat exchanger connected to the mode switch, wherein the second fan discharges the refrigerant, having undergone heat exchange in the mode heat exchanger, out of the main body, and wherein the mode switch causes the mode heat exchanger to evaporate the refrigerant in the cooling mode and causes the mode heat exchanger to condense the refrigerant in the dehumidification mode, thereby allowing the second fan to discharge the air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant condensed in the mode heat exchanger, out of the main body.

2. The dehumidifier according to claim 1 , wherein the condenser is located after the evaporator in an air flow direction.

3. The dehumidifier according to claim 1 , wherein the main body includes a first air discharge port and a second air discharge port, wherein air, having sequentially undergone heat exchange with the evaporator and the condenser, is discharged through the first air discharge port, and wherein air, having undergone heat exchange with the mode heat exchanger, is discharged through the second air discharge port.

4. The dehumidifier according to claim 1 , further including:
an expansion valve connected to the mode switch and the mode heat exchanger to expand the refrigerant, wherein the mode switch, in the cooling mode, guides the refrigerant, condensed in the condenser, to the expansion valve and guides the refrigerant, expanded in the expansion valve and evaporated in the mode heat exchanger, to the evaporator, and in the dehumidification mode, guides the refrigerant, condensed in the condenser, to the mode heat exchanger and guides the refrigerant, condensed in the mode heat exchanger and expanded in the expansion valve, to the evaporator.

5. The dehumidifier according to claim 4 , wherein the mode switch is four-way valve, and wherein the four-way valve is connected to the condenser through a condenser outlet path, wherein the four-way valve is connected to the mode heat exchanger through a four-way valve-mode heat exchanger connection path, wherein the four-way valve is connected to the expansion valve through an expansion valve-valve connection path, and wherein the four-way valve is connected to the evaporator through an evaporator inlet path.

6. The dehumidifier according to claim 1 , wherein the mode switch includes:
a first expansion valve connected to the condenser and having an adjustable opening degree; and
a second expansion valve connected to the mode heat exchanger and the evaporator and having an adjustable opening degree, wherein the first expansion valve is adjusted to within a predetermined opening degree range in the cooling mode so as to expand the refrigerant, and is fully opened in the dehumidification mode, and wherein the second expansion valve is fully opened in the cooling mode and is adjusted to within a predetermined opening degree range in the dehumidification mode so as to expand the refrigerant.

7. The dehumidifier according to claim 6 , wherein the mode heat exchanger is connected to the first expansion valve through a mode heat exchanger inlet path, and is connected to the second expansion valve through a mode heat exchanger outlet path.

8. A dehumidifier, comprising:
a main body;
a compressor provided within the main body to compress a refrigerant;
a plurality of heat exchangers provided within the main body to condense the refrigerant compressed in the compressor or to evaporate the refrigerant;
a first fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers and having subsequently undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant condensed in the plurality of heat exchangers, out of the main body;
a mode switch to perform switching between operating modes including a cooling mode and a dehumidification mode; and
a second fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers in the cooling mode, out of the main body, wherein the plurality of heat exchangers includes;
an evaporator to evaporate the refrigerant; and
a condenser to condense the refrigerant, wherein the dehumidifier further includes an expansion valve connected to the condenser and the evaporator, wherein the mode switch includes:
a path-varying wall located to linearly move into a region between the condenser and the evaporator in the cooling mode; and
a mover to move the path-varying wall, wherein the first fan discharges the air, having sequentially passed through the evaporator and the condenser, out of the main body, in the dehumidification mode, and wherein the second fan discharges air, guided to a surface of the path-varying wall that faces the evaporator, out of the main body, in the cooling mode, and stops operation in the dehumidification mode.

9. The dehumidifier according to claim 8 , wherein the mover includes:
a rack formed on the path-varying wall;
a pinion engaged with the rack; and
a drive to rotate the pinion.

10. The dehumidifier according to claim 8 , wherein the dehumidifier includes a first airflow path and a second airflow path, and wherein the first airflow path and the second airflow are separated by a partition wall.

11. A dehumidifier, comprising:
a main body having at least one air suction port and first and second discharge ports;
a compressor provided within the main body to compress a refrigerant;
a plurality of heat exchangers provided within the main body to condense the refrigerant compressed in the compressor or to evaporate the refrigerant;
a first fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers and having subsequently undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant condensed in the plurality of heat exchangers, out of the main body through the first discharge port;
a mode switch to perform switching between operating modes including a cooling mode and a dehumidification mode; and
a second fan to discharge air, having undergone heat exchange with the refrigerant evaporated in the plurality of heat exchangers in the cooling mode, out of the main body through the second discharge port.

12. The dehumidifier according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of heat exchangers includes:
a condenser connected to the compressor and the mode switch to condense the refrigerant;
an evaporator connected to the compressor and the mode switch to evaporate the refrigerant; and
a mode heat exchanger connected to the mode switch, wherein the second fan discharges the refrigerant, having undergone heat exchange in t

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Byungsoon
• Ha Jongchul
• Chang Jiwon
• Min Junho

Classifications

• F24F2221/56

  Cooling being a secondary aspect · CPC title

• F24F2003/1452

  heat extracted from the humid air for condensing is returned to the dried air · CPC title

• F24F2003/1446

  by condensing · CPC title

• F24F3/153 Primary

  with subsequent heating, i.e. with the air, given the required humidity in the central station, passing a heating element to achieve the required temperature · CPC title

• F24F3/1405 Primary

  in which the humidity of the air is exclusively affected by contact with the evaporator of a closed-circuit cooling system or heat pump circuit · CPC title