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EP-4737635-A1 - A LAUNDRY DRYER COMPRISING A THERMAL CONDUCTION MEMBER

EP4737635A1EP 4737635 A1EP4737635 A1EP 4737635A1EP-4737635-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer (1) comprising a body (2); a drum (3) which is disposed in the body (2) and which is configured to receive laundry to be dried; an air duct (4) through which the drying air is circulated during the drying process; an evaporator (5) which is disposed in the air duct (4) and which is configured to condense the moisture contained in the drying air; a collection receptacle (6) wherein the water condensed by the evaporator (5) is collected; a heat exchanger (7) which is provided in the air duct (4) and which is configured to heat the drying air; and at least one thermal conduction member (8) which has a first part (81) provided in the air duct (4) and a second part (82) provided in the collection receptacle (6) and which is at least partially manufactured from thermally conductive material so as to transfer at least part of the heat drawn from the hot air in the air duct (4) to the collection receptacle (6).

Inventors

  • SELCUK, Cem
  • CERKEZ, Volkan
  • CIN, ENGIN
  • TEKES, Yunus Ekrem

Assignees

  • Arçelik Anonim Sirketi

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20250730

Claims (14)

  1. A laundry dryer (1) comprising a body (2); a drum (3) which is disposed in the body (2) and which is configured to receive laundry to be dried; an air duct (4) through which the drying air is circulated during the drying process; an evaporator (5) which is disposed in the air duct (4) and which is configured to condense the moisture contained in the drying air; a collection receptacle (6) wherein the water condensed by the evaporator (5) is collected; and a heat exchanger (7) which is provided in the air duct (4) and which is configured to heat the drying air, characterized by at least one thermal conduction member (8) which has a first part (81) provided in the air duct (4) and a second part (82) provided in the collection receptacle (6) and which is at least partially manufactured from thermally conductive material so as to transfer at least part of the heat drawn from the hot air in the air duct (4) to the collection receptacle (6).
  2. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the first part (81) having a plate form and provided on a duct side wall (41) of the air duct (4).
  3. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 2, characterized by the first part (81) which is disposed on the duct side wall (41) such that at least a portion thereof forms a right angle with an air flow direction (X) in the air duct (4).
  4. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 3, characterized by a fan (9) which is disposed downstream of the heat exchanger (7) in the air flow direction (X) in the air duct (4), and the first part (81) which is positioned between the fan (9) and the heat exchanger (7).
  5. A laundry dryer (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by at least one first embossment form (811) which is provided on the surface of the first part (81) facing the air duct (4) and which increases the surface area of the first part (81).
  6. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 5, characterized by the first embossment form (811) which is configured to direct the air in the air duct (4) toward the fan (9).
  7. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 5 or 6, characterized by the first embossment form (811) having a triangular cross-section.
  8. A laundry dryer (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the collection receptacle (6) having a receptacle base (61) and at least one receptacle side wall (62) extending upward from the receptacle base (61) and at least partially surrounding the receptacle base (61).
  9. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 8, characterized by the second part (82) which is provided on the receptacle base (61).
  10. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 8, characterized by the second part (82) which is provided on the receptacle side wall (62).
  11. A laundry dryer (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by at least one second embossment form (821) which is provided on the surface of the second part (82) facing the collection receptacle (6) and which increases the surface area of the second part (82).
  12. A laundry dryer (1) as in Claim 11, characterized by the second embossment form (821) having an oval cross-section.
  13. A laundry dryer (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the collection receptacle (6) which is positioned so as to be adjacent to the air duct (4).
  14. A laundry dryer (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the thermal conduction member (8) which is disposed on the air duct (4) and the collection receptacle (6) by means of the plastic injection method.

Description

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer wherein the water in the water collection receptacle, in which the condensate obtained through condensation of drying air is collected, is prevented from freezing due to cold. In laundry dryers, the heated air is delivered onto the laundry loaded into the drum. The heated air dehumidifies the laundry. The moist air is passed over an evaporator having a cold surface so as to condense the moisture in the air. The condensed water is transferred to the collection receptacle by means of drainage channels. Subsequently, the condensed water in the collection receptacle is either discharged outside by means of a pump or is generally sent to a water tank provided in the upper section of the laundry dryer. Since the pump disposed in the collection receptacle is positioned at a certain height, it is not possible to suck all of the water. Therefore, a certain amount of water remains in the collection receptacle at the end of the drying cycle. If the laundry dryer is kept in a cold environment, the water remaining in the collection receptacle freezes. After the water freezes, the frozen water prevents the pump in the collection receptacle from operating when the laundry dryer is desired to be operated again. This situation leads to improper functioning of the laundry dryer. In the state of the art, there are laundry dryers having structures wherein the heat obtained from the heat pump is transferred to the collection receptacle in various ways so as to prevent the water collected in the collection receptacle from freezing or so as to melt the frozen water. However, such structures have generally high costs and are inefficient in terms of thermal conduction. In the state of the art European Patent Application No. EP3808889, a laundry dryer is disclosed, wherein it is detected that the condensate has frozen, and heat is transferred into the collection receptacle to melt the frozen condensate. The aim of the present invention is the realization of a laundry dryer wherein the water in the collection receptacle is prevented from freezing or the frozen water in the collection receptacle is melted. The laundry dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a drum which is disposed in a body and wherein the laundry to be dried is loaded. The laundry dryer comprises an air duct which circulates the drying air delivered into the drum. A heat exchanger configured to heat the air and an evaporator configured to condense the moisture in the air used in the drying process are provided in the air duct. The water condensed by the evaporator is sent to the collection receptacle. In the laundry dryers particularly installed in cold environments, in order to prevent the water in the collection receptacle from freezing or to melt the water in the collection receptacle after freezing, the collection receptacle is required to be heated. Therefore, the laundry dryer comprises a thermal conduction member which enables at least a portion of the heat in the air duct to be transferred to the collection receptacle. The thermal conduction member comprises a first part which is provided at least partially in the air duct and a second part which is provided at least partially in the collection receptacle, the two parts being thermally connected to each other. Thus, at least a portion of the heat obtained from the air heated by the heat exchanger is transferred to the collection receptacle. In other words, the collection receptacle is heated by utilizing the heat obtained from the hot air circulating in the air duct by means of the thermal conduction member. At least a portion of the thermal conduction member is manufactured from a material with high thermal conductivity. Preferably, the thermal conduction member is manufactured from metals with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, copper, iron, or steel. Thus, the heat in the air duct is efficiently transferred to the interior of the collection receptacle. In an embodiment of the present invention, the first part is provided on the duct side wall. Thus, the first part is positioned so as not to obstruct the air flow in the air duct. In a preferred version of the present invention, the first part is in the form of a plate. In another embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of the first part extends over the duct side wall in a direction perpendicular to the air flow direction. Thus, it is ensured that more hot air is passed over the first part, and the first part is heated more effectively. In another embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer comprises a fan which is disposed downstream of the heat exchanger with respect to the air flow direction. The first part is positioned between the heat exchanger and the fan. The heat exchanger ensures the heating of the air. By passing the heated air over the first part, the first p