# US 2019/0376701 A1 · Dehumidifier

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- Number: US 2019/0376701 A1
- Document ID: US20190376701A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/487,113
- Filed: 2018-02-12
- Published: 2019-12-12
- Earliest claimed: 2017-02-20
- Assignees: LG Electronics Inc.
- Applicants: LG Electronics Inc.
- Inventors: Minwoo JEONG; Bongjun KIM; Sehyeon KIM; Jaeyoung KIM; Yohan LEE
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190376701A1

## CPC

- F24F 3/1405: {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}
- F24F 3/153: 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
- F24F 13/30: Arrangement or mounting of heat-exchangers
- F28D 15/02: in which the medium condenses and evaporates, e.g. heat pipes {(heat pipes used in solar heat collectors F24S10/95; in radiators F28D1/0226; in nuclear reactors G21C15/257)}
- F28D 15/0275: {Arrangements for coupling heat-pipes together or with other structures, e.g. with base blocks; Heat pipe cores}
- F28F 1/24: and extending transversely (F28F1/38 takes precedence)
- F28F 1/30: the means being attachable to the element (F28F1/32 takes precedence)
- F28F 1/325: {Fins with openings}
- F24F 2003/144: {by dehumidification only}
- F24F 2003/1446: {by condensing}
- F24F 2003/1452: {heat extracted from the humid air for condensing is returned to the dried air}
- F25B 2339/04: Details of condensers
- F28D 2021/0068: {for refrigerant cycles}
- F28F 2215/02: Arrangements of fins common to different heat exchange sections, the fins being in contact with different heat exchange media
- F24F: AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING (removing dirt or fumes from areas where they are produced B08B15/00; vertical ducts for carrying away waste gases from buildings E04F17/02; tops for chimneys or ventilating shafts, terminals for flues F23L17/02)
- F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general)
- F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16)
- F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS

## Abstract

The present embodiment comprises: a case having a suction body having an air intake opening formed therein and a discharge body having an air discharge opening formed therein; an evaporator which is arranged inside the case, and which has an evaporating fin coupled to an evaporating tube; a condenser arranged inside the case and spaced from the evaporator; a fan configured such that air is made to flow to the evaporator and then to the condenser; at least one heat pipe comprising heat pipe assemblies positioned in front of and behind the evaporator in the air flow direction, respectively, each heat pipe assembly comprising a heat-absorbing pipe portion preceding the evaporator in the air flow direction, a heat-radiating pipe portion positioned between the evaporator and the condenser in the air flow direction, and a connecting pipe portion that connects the heat-absorbing pipe portion and the heat-radiating pipe portion; and at least one heat-conducting fin having a heat pipe coupling hole formed therein to be coupled to at least one selected from the heat-absorbing pipe portion and the heat-radiating pipe portion. The present embodiment has the following advantageous effects: the heat-conducting fin improves the heat transfer capability of the heat pipe such that the decrease in the amount of power consumed by the heat pipe can be increased; and the shared use of the evaporator having an evaporating fin coupled to an evaporating tube can minimize the costs for the entire facility for manufacturing each of a dehumidifier model having a heat pipe assembly and an evaporator installed together and a dehumidifier model having no heat pipe assembly.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A dehumidifier comprising:
a case including a suction body having an air intake opening defined therein and a discharge body having an air discharge opening defined therein;
an evaporator disposed inside the case, wherein the evaporator has an evaporating fin coupled to a evaporating tube;
a condenser disposed inside the case, wherein the condenser is spaced apart from the evaporator;
a fan flowing air from the evaporator to the condenser; and
a heat pipe assembly positioned in front of and behind the evaporator in a flow direction of air,
wherein the heat pipe assembly includes:
at least one heat pipe having a heat-absorbing pipe portion in front of the evaporator in a flow direction of air and a heat-dissipating pipe portion between the evaporator and the condenser in the flow direction of air connected with each other by a conducting pipe portion; and
at least one heat-conducting fin having a heat pipe coupling hole defined therein to which at least one of the heat-absorbing pipe portion and the heat-dissipating pipe portion is coupled.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the heat-conducting fin is spaced apart from the evaporating fin.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the heat-conducting fin is spaced apart from the evaporating fin in the flow direction of air and in a vertical direction.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the number of the heat-conducting fins is smaller than the number of the evaporating fins.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the evaporating tube includes a plurality of evaporating tubes and the heat pipe includes a plurality of heat pipes, and
wherein a pitch of the heat pipes is smaller than a pitch of the evaporating tubes.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the heat-conducting fin includes:
at least one front heat-conducting fin portion having a heat pipe coupling hole defined therein, wherein the heat-absorbing pipe portion is coupled to the heat pipe coupling hole; and
at least one rear heat-conducting fin portion having a heat pipe coupling hole defined therein, wherein the heat-dissipating pipe portion is coupled to the heat pipe coupling hole.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The dehumidifier of claim 6, wherein a distance between a rear-end of the front heat-conducting fin portion and a front-end of the rear heat-conducting fin portion is larger than a width of the evaporating fin in the flow direction of air.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The dehumidifier of claim 6, wherein the heat-conducting fin further includes a connecting fin portion connecting the front heat-conducting fin portion and the rear heat-conducting fin portion with each other, wherein the heat-conducting fin is integrally formed with the front heat-conducting fin portion and the rear heat-conducting fin portion.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The dehumidifier of claim 8, wherein the connecting fin portion is parallel to the connecting pipe portion.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The dehumidifier of claim 8, each of a width in a front and rear direction of the front heat-conducting fin portion and a width in the front and rear direction of the rear heat-conducting fin portion is larger than a width in a vertical direction of the connecting fin portion.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The dehumidifier of claim 8, wherein the connecting fin portion further includes:
an upper fin portion positioned above the evaporator; and
a lower fin portion positioned below the evaporator,
wherein an evaporator inserting space is defined by the front heat-conducting fin portion, the rear heat-conducting fin portion, the upper fin portion, and the lower fin portion.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The dehumidifier of claim 10, wherein the evaporator inserting space is defined to be larger than the heat pipe coupling hole.

### Claim 13 (depends on 5)

The dehumidifier of claim 5, wherein the plurality of heat pipes are vertically spaced apart from each other,
wherein a plurality of heat-absorbing pipe portions are coupled to the front heat-conducting fin portion, and
wherein a plurality of heat-dissipating pipe portions are coupled to the rear heat-conducting fin portion.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly further includes a heat-insulating member spaced apart from the heat-conducting fin and surrounding the connecting pipe portion.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly further includes a fixing member for fixing the heat pipe to the heat-conducting fin.