Combination laundry appliance with heat pump assembly
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorMiron Wawrzusiak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A combination laundry appliance includes a cabinet, a drum disposed within the cabinet, a fluid directing system for directing wash fluid into the drum during a wash cycle and directing air into the drum during a dry cycle, and a heat pump assembly operably coupled to the fluid directing system. The heat pump assembly includes a first condenser, a second condenser, and a three-way valve. The three-way valve is configured to direct refrigerant to the first condenser during the wash cycle to heat the wash fluid and to the second condenser during the dry cycle to heat the air. A controller is communicatively coupled to the heat pump assembly. The controller is configured to control the three-way valve to direct the refrigerant based on a laundry cycle.
Claims18
A combination washer and dryer, comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a drum disposed within the cabinet;
- a liquid directing system disposed within the cabinet and configured to direct wash fluid into the drum for a wash cycle, wherein the liquid directing system includes a drain reservoir fluidly coupled to an interior of the drum via a drain line and a pump in fluid communication with the drain reservoir;
- an air directing system disposed within the cabinet and configured to direct air into the drum for a dry cycle;
- a heat pump assembly operably coupled to the liquid directing system and the air directing system, wherein the heat pump assembly includes:
- an evaporator;
- a first condenser in fluid communication with the evaporator, wherein the first condenser is disposed within the drain reservoir upstream of the pump, wherein the first condenser is a fin-and-tube condenser to maximize surface area and, consequently, heat transfer to the wash fluid in the drain reservoir;
- a second condenser in fluid communication with the evaporator;
- and
- a valve operably coupled to the first and second condensers, wherein the valve is configured to direct refrigerant to the first condenser during the wash cycle to heat the wash fluid in the drain reservoir and to the second condenser during the dry cycle to heat the air;
- a heater disposed within the cabinet, wherein the heater is configured to selectively heat the wash fluid during a predefined mode of operation of the wash cycle;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the heat pump assembly to control the valve to direct the refrigerant based on a laundry cycle.
A combination laundry appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a drum disposed within the cabinet;
- a fluid directing system for directing wash fluid into the drum during a wash cycle and directing air into the drum during a dry cycle, wherein the fluid directing system includes a reservoir compartment configured to receive the wash fluid from the drum via a drain line and a recirculation pump in fluid communication with the reservoir compartment;
- a heat pump assembly operably coupled to the fluid directing system, wherein the heat pump assembly includes:
- a first condenser disposed within the reservoir compartment upstream of the recirculation pump, wherein the first condenser is a fin-and-tube condenser to maximize surface area and, consequently, heat transfer to the wash fluid in the reservoir compartment, and wherein the wash fluid is configured to be delivered to the reservoir compartment around the first condenser to receive heat emitted by the first condenser during the wash cycle, and wherein heated wash fluid is configured to be recirculated from the reservoir compartment via the recirculation pump during the wash cycle;
- a second condenser;
- and
- a three-way valve configured to direct refrigerant to the first condenser during the wash cycle to heat the wash fluid, and wherein the three-way valve is configured to direct the refrigerant to the second condenser during the dry cycle to heat the air;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the heat pump assembly, wherein the controller is configured to control the three-way valve to direct the refrigerant based on a laundry cycle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.