LI, Weichen (No. 129 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 5, 21000, CN)
LIU, Yongqing (No. 129 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 5, 21000, CN)
YANG, Huijia (Room 602, Unit 1 No.2, Yanxi Jie residential zone, south Daoqiao roa, Nanjing Jiangsu 0, 21000, CN)
ZHANG, Wei (No.110, Room201 Fenglei Xincu, Wuxi Jiangsu 3, 21404, CN)
LI, Weichen (No. 129 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 5, 21000, CN)
LIU, Yongqing (No. 129 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 5, 21000, CN)
YANG, Huijia (Room 602, Unit 1 No.2, Yanxi Jie residential zone, south Daoqiao roa, Nanjing Jiangsu 0, 21000, CN)
| CLAIMS 1. A laundry processing apparatus (1 ) with a drying procedure, for drying laundry through continuous air cycles when the drying procedure is performed, comprising a condensing unit (5) for condensing the cycled air, characterized in that the laundry processing apparatus (1 ) further comprises a spraying device (7) with a telescopic spray head structure (9), for spraying water onto the condensing unit (5) by the spray head structure (9). 2. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the spray head structure (9) is rotatable. 3. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 2, characterized in that, the spray head structure (9) comprises at least one pair of nozzles (14) disposed in opposite directions. 4. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 3, characterized in that the spray head structure (9) further comprises a plurality of water spray holes (15). 5. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the spraying device (7) comprises a telescopic structure (8) allowing the spray head structure (9) to telescope freely. 6. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 5, characterized in that a self-locking structure (10) is disposed between the telescopic structure (8) and the spray head structure (9). 7. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 5, characterized in that the telescopic structure (8) comprises a telescoping rod (1 1 ) and a spring device (13). 8. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that the telescoping rod (1 1 ) is a pipe body structure (1 1 ) and comprises a pressboard (12) disposed on a top, and the pressboard (12) is formed with holes. 9. The laundry processing apparatus (1 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that an elastic force provided by the spring device (13) is slightly larger than a sum of a weight of the telescoping rod (1 1 ) and a weight of the spray head structure (9). |
PROCEDURE
The present invention relates to a laundry processing apparatus, and more particularly to a laundry processing apparatus with a drying procedure. As is well known, the conventional laundry processing apparatus with a drying procedure performs the following drying operation. Firstly, a heating device heats air to a high temperature and low moisture. Then, the hot air with the high temperature and low moisture is transported by a circulation device to a drum that receives clothes placed by a user, so as to perform heat exchange with the clothes in the drum and take away the water content in the clothes, thereby forming hot air with a low temperature and high moisture. The air with the low temperature and high moisture is discharged and then enters the condensing unit. Under the action of the condensing unit, the water content contained in the hot air with the low temperature and high moisture is condensed sufficiently to be water, so that the hot air with the low temperature and high moisture becomes the hot air with the low temperature and low moisture. The hot air with the low temperature and low moisture is driven by the circulation device to be reheated by the heating device to be the hot air with the high temperature and low moisture to enter the next cycle. Due to such continuous cycles, the water content contained in the clothes is continuously absorbed by the hot air with the high temperature and low moisture, and thus the clothes are dried gradually. During the drying operation and the washing operation, it is inevitable that fluff falls off from the clothes, the fluff will be continuously accumulated on the pipe wall or corners of the condensing unit under the action of the cycled air, and too much accumulated fluff will cause blockage and influence the drying performance. In addition, since it is wet in the apparatus, mildew will be easily generated from the fluff to cause secondary contamination on the clothes when the user dries or washes the clothes by the apparatus next time. Therefore, it is necessary to rinse the fluff accumulated in the condensing unit, so as to avoid the aforementioned situations. In view of the aforementioned situations, publications CN 101 387 059 A and EP 2 037 035 A1 each disclose a solution. Accordingly, a spraying device connected to a water supply device of the apparatus is disposed between the condensing unit and the air circulation device. The spraying device can spray the water provided by the water supply device onto the condensing unit, so as to rinse out the fluff (or called scraps and clothes fibers) accumulated on the condensing unit, thereby achieving the purpose of rinsing the condensing unit. The solution can rinse the condensing unit to a good extent, but possibly not thoroughly. The main reason lies in that the water sprayed by the spraying device might not cover the whole condensing unit effectively, and the fluff accumulated in some areas (such as corners) might not be rinsed out effectively, for the structure of the condensing unit has its own limitations and the sprayed water may not produce a sufficient force. In addition, the accumulated fluff may possibly cause the blockage of the spraying structure. As a result, the overall rinsing effect is not so perfect.
In view of the aforementioned problems, the present invention is directed to the problem to provide an improvement of a laundry processing apparatus, thereby rinsing the fluff accumulated on the condensing unit more effectively, ensuring the washing and drying effects of the apparatus effectively, and avoiding damages of the apparatus and clothes due to the accumulation of the fluff.
The inventive solution is defined in the independent patent claim attached. Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in dependent patent claims as well as in the subsequent disclosure.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention is implemented as follows. A laundry processing apparatus with a drying procedure is provided, for drying laundry through continuous air cycles when the drying procedure is performed, which includes a condensing unit for condensing the cycled air; and a spraying device with a telescopic spray head structure, for spraying water onto the condensing unit via the spray head structure to rinse the condensing unit.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spray head structure is rotatable. According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spray head structure includes at least one pair of nozzles disposed in opposite directions.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spray head structure further includes a plurality of water spray holes.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spraying device includes a telescopic structure allowing the spray head structure to telescope freely.
According to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a self- locking structure is disposed between the telescopic structure and the spray head structure.
According to yet a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the telescopic structure includes a telescoping rod and a spring device.
According to still a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the telescoping rod is a pipe body structure and includes a pressboard disposed on a top, and the pressboard is formed with holes.
According to again another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an elastic force provided by the spring device is slightly larger than a sum of a weight of the telescoping rod and a weight of the spray head structure.
The present invention has the following beneficial effects and advantages. Since the spray head structure of the spraying device is configured as a telescopic structure, when water is fed in, the water flow overcomes the elastic force of the spring device by applying a pressure on the pressboard disposed on the top of the telescoping rod and forces the spray head structure to telescope from the spraying device, and meanwhile, the water enters the pipe body of the telescoping rod through the holes in the pressboard, and then flows into the spray head structure. Since the pair of nozzles disposed in the spray head structure are disposed in opposite directions, under the counteracting force of the water flow, the spray head structure will rotate in the horizontal plane, and the water flow passes through the water spray holes around the spray head structure to rinse every corner of the condensing unit, which greatly increases the spraying area, thereby covering the whole condensing unit as far as possible, and effectively ensuring the rinsing effect. In addition, since the spray head structure is connected to the telescopic structure through the self- locking structure, the spray head structure and the telescopic structure cannot move relative to each other in the upright direction, but can rotate relative to each other in the horizontal plane freely. After rinsing is finished, due to absence of action of the water flow, the spray head structure is telescoped back into the telescopic structure by the elastic restoring force of the spring structure, thereby reducing the resistance force of the spray head structure against the cycled air, and effectively preventing blockage of the nozzle and water spray holes due to accumulation of fluff.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are now described in detail with reference to the attached drawing. In the drawing, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a laundry processing apparatus according to an embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a spraying device that is not in operation according to an embodiment; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a spraying device that is in operation according to an embodiment.
With reference to FIG. 1 , the laundry processing apparatus 1 with the drying procedure may be a dryer only having a drying function, or a washer-dryer having washing and drying functions. In particular, the laundry processing apparatus 1 is a washer-dryer, and includes a drum 2 for receiving clothes placed by a user to be washed or dried, an tub 3 for accommodating the drum 2 and wash water, a heating device 4 for heating air disposed out of the tub 3, a condensing unit 5 for condensing the air which has exchanged heat with the clothes, and an air circulation device 6 for facilitating air circulation. The heating device 4, the tub 3, the condensing unit 5, and the air circulation device 6 are connected through air circulation passages, so as to form an air circulation loop. In order to rinse the fluff accumulated on the condensing unit 5, a spraying device 7 is disposed on an appropriate position, such as the top, of the condensing unit 5. A water inlet of the spraying device 7 is in communication with a water supply system of the laundry processing apparatus, so as to feed water into the spraying device 7.
With reference to FIG. 2 or 3, the spraying device 7 further includes a telescopic structure 8, a spray head structure 9, and a self-locking structure 10 connecting the telescopic structure 8 and the spray head structure 9. Through the self-locking structure 10, the spray head structure 9 after being telescoped out cannot move relative to the telescopic structure 8 in the upright direction, but can rotate in the horizontal plane freely. The telescopic structure 8 includes a telescoping rod 1 1 which is substantially a pipe body structure; a pressboard 12 disposed on the top of the telescoping rod 1 1 , and a spring device 13. The pressboard 12 has a plurality of holes, the spring device 13 is disposed under the pressboard 12, has a small elastic coefficient, and provides such an elastic restoring force that is substantially equal to a sum of a weight of the telescoping rod and a weight of the spray head structure plus a friction force there-between and a force needed to extrude the water remained in the telescopic structure, so as to ensure that the spray head structure 9 can be telescoped out smoothly when water is fed in, and meanwhile, when no water is fed in, the spray head structure 9 can be telescoped back smoothly. The telescoping rod 1 1 penetrates through the spring device 13. The spray head structure 9 is substantially a longwise pipe body structure, with two ends thereof sealed. The nozzle 14 is disposed on the side wall at positions near the two ends respectively, and the two nozzles 14 are disposed in opposite direction by 180 degrees. In addition, the side wall of the spray head structure 9 is further formed with water spray holes 15 with relatively small sizes, so as to increase the spraying area. During the drying procedure, the control system of the apparatus controls the water supply system to supply water for the spraying device 7. When water is fed into the spraying device 7, the pressure generated when the water flow impacts the pressboard 12 is sufficient to overcome the elastic force of the spring device 13, and therefore, under the action of both the weight of the spray head structure 9 and the pressure generated by the water flow, the telescopic structure 8 is telescoped downward, and meanwhile, the water passes through the holes of the pressboard 12 to flow into the telescoping rod 1 1 , and then flows into the spray head structure 9 in communication with the telescoping rod 1 1. Since the nozzles 14 at the two ends of the spray head structure 9 are disposed in opposite directions, under the action of the water flow, the counteracting force of the water flow causes the spray head structure 9 to rotate, thereby achieving the objective of cleaning. Meanwhile, the water will be sprayed from the water spray holes 15 in the side wall of the spray head structure 9, so that the spraying area is greatly increased, thereby ensuring that every corner of the condensing unit 5 can be rinsed. After rinsing is finished, since the action of the water flow does not exist any longer, the spray head structure 9 will be telescoped back into the telescopic structure 8 under the action of the elastic restoring force of the spring device 13, thereby reducing the resistance force of the spray head structure 9 against the cycled air in the condensing unit 5, and avoiding the danger of blocking the nozzles and the water spray holes of the spray head structure 9 due to the accumulation of fluff. According to the embodiments of the present invention, the water supply system can be used to control supply of water to the spraying device 7, thereby controlling the operation of cleaning the condensing unit, which is simple and convenient.
Of course, the embodiments described as above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can have many other embodiments. For persons of ordinary skill in the art, the equivalent modifications on the present invention made under the teachings of the present invention shall be contained in the scope claimed by the claims of the present invention.
REFERENCE NUMERALS Laundry processing apparatus
Drum
Tub
Heating device
Condensing unit
Air circulation device
Spraying device
Telescopic structure
Spray head structure
Self-locking structure
Telescoping rod
Pressboard
Spring device
Nozzle
Water spray hole
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