Laundry dryer

• US 5,279,047 A
• Filed: 05/08/1992
• Issued: 01/18/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zanker GmbH
• Original Assignee: Zanker GmbH
• Inventors: Janecke, Werner
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennet, Henry A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gromada, Denise L.
• Application Number:
  US07/880,738
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 34/73, 34/76, 34/77, 34/78, 34/27, 34/133 J, 34/133 H, 165/111
• US Class Current: 34/78
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/24 Condensing arrangements

Abstract

A laundry dryer has an interior for holding laundry that is accessible via a door. Vapor-laden warm air from the interior, on the one hand, and a cooling medium, on the other, can be introduced into a condenser. The air and the cooling medium are brought into thermally conductive contact one with the other in the condenser to cool the air. In order to obtain the smallest possible outside dimensions relative to the usable interior and to be able to easily open the condenser or remove it from the laundry dryer for cleaning purposes, the condenser is arranged on an outer panel, preferably integrated in the door.

Claims

1. A laundry dryer comprising:

a housing having outer panels, said housing having an interior for receiving laundry, said interior being accessible via a door;

a condenser being arranged on one of said outer panels and having an enclosure comprising a first cavity for advancing vapor-laden warm air, a second cavity for advancing a cooling medium and a thermally conductive partition of large surface area separating said cavities, one of said cavities having first and second chambers and a plurality of tubes disposed adjacent to one another, said tubes having first and second open ends for communicating between said first and second chambers respectively, and wherein sections intermediate the ends of the tubes have interspaces therebetween defining the other cavity; and

means for blowing said vapor-laden warm air from said interior on the one hand, into said first cavity, and for advancing said cooling medium on the other hand, into said second cavity of said condenser for bringing said vapor-laden warm air and said cooling medium into thermally conductive contact one with the other in said condenser for cooling said vapor-laden warm air.

2. The laundry dryer of claim 1 wherein said one outer panel is a front panel of a door of said laundry dryer and said condenser is integrated in said door.

3. The laundry dryer of claim 1 wherein said first cavity additionally communicates in a thermally conductive manner and throughout a large surface area with an exterior area surrounding said laundry dryer via a thermally conductive front panel of said door.

4. The laundry dryer of claim 1 wherein said second cavity additionally communicates in a thermally conductive manner and throughout a large surface area with an exterior area surrounding said laundry dryer via a thermally conductive front panel of said door.

5. The laundry dryer of claim 1 further comprising means for collecting water having condensed from said cooled vapor-laden air, wherein said collecting means are also integrated in said door.

6. The laundry dryer of claim 1 further comprising a lint screen disposed upstream of said condenser, through which said vapor-laden warm air is advanced, wherein said lint screen is also integrated in said door.

7. The laundry dryer of claim 1 wherein said condenser is thermally insulated from said interior by means of an insulating panel.

8. The laundry dryer of claim 3 wherein said condenser and said door form a single-piece plastic component.

9. The laundry dryer of claim 1 wherein said cooling medium is air and a fan is provided for said air, wherein said fan is integrated in said housing of said laundry dryer above said door.

10. A laundry dryer comprising:

a housing having outer panels, said housing having an interior for receiving laundry, said interior being accessible via a door;

a condenser being arranged on one of said outer panels and having a first cavity for advancing vapor-laden warm air, a second cavity for advancing a cooling medium and a thermally conductive partition of large surface area separating said cavities, said condenser being formed by a plurality of tubes, said tubes being disposed adjacent one to the other with widened ends, while sections thereof extending between said widened ends display interspaces one between the other, and wherein said tubes form one of said cavities and said interspaces form said other cavity; and

means for blowing said vapor-laden warm air from said interior, on the one hand, into said first cavity, and or advancing said cooling medium on the other hand, into said second cavity of said condenser for bringing said vapor-laden air and said medium into thermally conductive contact one with the other in said condenser for cooling said vapor-laden air.

11. The laundry dryer of claim 10 wherein said first cavity additionally communicates in a thermally conductive manner and throughout a large surface area with an exterior area surrounding said laundry dryer via a thermally conductive front panel of said door.

12. The laundry dryer of claim 18 wherein said second cavity additionally communicates in a thermally conductive manner and throughout a large surface area with an exterior area surrounding said laundry dryer via a thermally conductive front panel of said door.

13. The laundry dryer of claim 10 wherein said cooling air flows radially against an area of one end of said tubes from said exterior, wherein said airflow is deflected in an axial direction, flows axially along said tubes, is again radially deflected and flows away from said tubes in said radial direction.

14. The laundry dryer of claim 10 further comprising means for collecting water having condensed from said cooled vapor-laden air, wherein said collecting means is also integrated in said door.

15. The laundry dryer of claim 10 further comprising a lint screen disposed upstream of said condenser through which said vapor-laden warm air is advanced, wherein said lint screen is also integrated in said door.

16. The laundry dryer of claim 10 wherein said condenser is thermally insulated from said interior by means of an insulating panel.

17. The laundry dryer of claim 11 wherein the radial cross-sections of said widened ends are of hexagonal configuration.

18. The laundry dryer of claim 10 wherein said cooling medium is air and a fan is provided for said air, wherein said fan is integrated in said door.

19. The laundry dryer of claim 10 wherein said cooling medium is air and a fan is provided for said air, wherein said fan is integrated in said housing of said laundry dryer above said door.

20. A laundry dryer comprising:

a housing having outer panels, said housing having an interior for receiving laundry, said interior being accessible via a door;

a condenser being arranged on an outer front panel of said door, said condenser being integrated in said door, said condenser further having a first cavity for advancing vapor-laden warm air, a second cavity for advancing a cooling medium and having a thermally conductive partition of large surface area separating said cavities one from the other, wherein one of said cavities is formed by a plurality of tubes having first and second open ends and extending through the other cavity, said first open ends of said tubes disposed adjacent one to the other and said second open ends disposed adjacent one to the other; and

means for blowing said vapor-laden warm air from said interior, on the one hand into said first cavity, and for advancing said cooling medium, on the other hand, into said second cavity of said condenser for bringing said vapor-laden warm air and said cooling medium into thermally conductive contact with the other in said condenser for cooling said vapor-laden warm air.

21. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said first cavity additionally communicates in a thermally conductive manner and throughout a large surface area with an exterior area surrounding said laundry dryer via a thermally conductive front panel of said door.

22. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said second cavity additionally communicates in a thermally conductive manner and throughout a large surface area with an exterior area surrounding said laundry dryer via a thermally conductive front panel of said door.

23. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said cooling medium comprises air that flows radially against an area of said first ends of said tubes from said exterior, wherein said airflow is deflected in an axial direction, flows axially along said tubes, is again radially deflected and flows out of said second ends away from said tubes in said radial direction.

24. The laundry dryer of claim 20 further comprising means for collecting water having condensed from said cooled vapor-laden air, wherein said collecting means is also integrated in said door.

25. The laundry dryer of claim 20 further comprising a linty screen disposed upstream of said condenser, through which said warm air is advanced, wherein said lint screen is also integrated in said door.

26. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said condenser is thermally insulated from said interior by means of an insulating panel.

27. The laundry dryer of claim 21, wherein said first and second ends of said plurality of tubes are widened and further wherein the radial cross-sections of said widened ends are of hexagonal configuration.

28. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said condenser and said door form a single-piece plastic component.

29. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said cooling medium is air and a fan is provided for said air, wherein said fan is integrated in said door.

30. The laundry dryer of claim 20 wherein said cooling medium is air and a fan is provided for said air, wherein said fan is integrated in said housing of said laundry dryer above said door.