Abstract:
A drum-and-cabinet type dryer is disclosed which is capable of continuously circulating air to dry laundry contained in a drying drum and laundry contained in a drying cabinet, and more efficiently using the inner space of the drying cabinet. The drum-and-cabinet type dryer includes a drum dryer which includes a drying drum adapted to receive the laundry, a hot air supplier adapted to generate hot air, and a hot air supply duct adapted to guide the hot air into the drying drum, a cabinet dryer which includes a body defined with a laundry receiving compartment, and a hot air introduction duct adapted to receive the hot air from the drum dryer, and to guide the received hot air into the laundry receiving compartment of the body, and a length-adjustable shelf which has an adjustable length, and is mounted to the body such that the shelf is arranged in the laundry receiving compartment.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-99157, filed on Nov. 30, 2004 which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a drying apparatus, and more particularly, to a drying apparatus which is capable of continuously circulating laundry-drying air through dryers while obtaining a more efficient drying effect, so that the composite washing system has a suitable built-in structure, and has minimal influence on the indoor environment.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Generally, laundry dryers are adapted to dry laundry such as clothes. Such a laundry dryer receives completely-washed laundry, and then performs an operation to dry the laundry while continuously supplying hot air.  
         [0006]      FIG. 1  illustrates a general drum dryer as an example of a conventional laundry dryer.  
         [0007]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the conventional drum dryer mainly includes a body  10 , a drying drum  20 , a door  40 , a motor  50 , a drying heater  60 , and a blowing fan  70 .  
         [0008]     The body  10  defines an appearance of the drum dryer. The drying drum  20  is rotatably disposed in the body  10 . A laundry inlet  11  is formed through the front of the body  10 . The door  40  is mounted to the front of the body  10  to open and close the laundry inlet  11 .  
         [0009]     The motor  50  is fixedly mounted on the bottom of the body  10  inside the body  10 . The motor  50  generates a drive force to rotate the drying drum  20  and the blowing fan  70 .  
         [0010]     The drying heater  60  is arranged in a hot air supply path  91  in order to heat air flowing through the hot air supply path  91 . The hot air supply path  91  guides a flow of hot air supplied into the drying drum  20 .  
         [0011]     The blowing fan  70  operates to outwardly discharge the hot air, namely, drying air, flowing through the interior of the drying drum  10 . The blowing fan  70  communicates with a hot air discharge path  92 .  
         [0012]     In accordance with the above-mentioned configuration, when the blowing fan  70  operates, air around the laundry dryer, namely, ambient air, is introduced into the body  10 , is heated while passing through the drying heater  60 , and is then introduced into the drying drum  20  while being guided by the hot air supply path  91 .  
         [0013]     Accordingly, wet laundry received in the drying drum  20  is gradually dried by the hot air.  
         [0014]     The air used to dry the laundry while passing through the drying drum  10  is outwardly discharged while being guided by the hot air discharge path  92 .  
         [0015]     When the laundry is completely dried in accordance with repeated execution of the above-mentioned procedure, the operations of the blowing fan  70  and drying heater  60  are stopped to complete the drying cycle.  
         [0016]     In the conventional drum dryer, however, there is a problem in that laundry is inefficiently dried because the drying cycle is carried out while the laundry is in an entangled state.  
         [0017]     Furthermore, there is a problem in that the laundry cannot be maintained in the dryer.  
         [0018]     To this end, a demand for a new laundry dryer has recently been made which has an increased drying capacity and enables storage of dried laundry for a prolonged period of time. To satisfy this demand, a combination type dryer has been developed, as disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 2004/0194339 A1 and 2004/0154194 A1. Such a combination type dryer includes a separate drying cabinet, in addition to a drum dryer, namely, a tumble dryer.  
         [0019]     In such a combination type dryer, a drying cabinet, which has a drying compartment for various clothes, is mounted on the top of a general drum dryer having a rotatable drum such that hot air is supplied to the drying cabinet.  
         [0020]     The drying cabinet receives hot air supplied from the drum dryer to dry clothes received in the drying cabinet. The drying cabinet may also be used to store the dried clothes for a prolonged period of time.  
         [0021]     However, the above-mentioned combination type dryer has a problem in that it cannot be of a built-in type because it has an air discharge type structure in which the air used to dry laundry is outwardly discharged from the dryer.  
         [0022]     In other words, where the combination type dryer is built in a wall, it is necessary to provide a sufficient built-in space to provide a sufficient gap from the surface of the wall such that air is adequately discharged away from the dryer. For this reason, the appearance of the dryer is unattractive.  
         [0023]     Furthermore, the air discharged from the combination type dryer is hot and humid, thereby causing the indoor environment to be an environment undesirable for the user, namely, a high-temperature and humid environment.  
         [0024]     In the drying cabinet, shelves and hangers are disposed to support laundry. However, only a limited amount of laundry is accommodatable by such shelves and hangers in the laundry compartment of the drying cabinet. For this reason, there is a problem in that it is impossible to efficiently use the laundry compartment of the drying cabinet.  
         [0025]     For example, where the amount of laundry to use the hangers is larger than the amount of laundry to use the shelves, it is necessary to perform the drying cycle several times because the laundry compartment of the drying cabinet can fit only a limited number of hangers. In this case, accordingly, there is a problem of an increase in power consumption.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0026]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a drum-and-cabinet type dryer with a length-adjustable shelf that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0027]     An object of the present invention is to provide a drum-and-cabinet type dryer which is capable of continuously circulating air to dry laundry contained in a drying drum and laundry contained in a drying cabinet, and more efficiently using the inner space of the drying cabinet.  
         [0028]     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.  
         [0029]     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a drum-and-cabinet type dryer comprises: a drum dryer which includes a drying drum adapted to receive the laundry, a hot air supplier adapted to generate hot air, and a hot air supply duct adapted to guide the hot air into the drying drum; a cabinet dryer which includes a body defined with a laundry receiving compartment, and a hot air introduction duct adapted to receive the hot air from the drum dryer, and to guide the received hot air into the laundry receiving compartment of the body; and a length-adjustable shelf which has an adjustable length, and is mounted to the body such that the shelf is arranged in the laundry receiving compartment.  
         [0030]     An article to be dried, namely, laundry, is received in the drum of the drum dryer. As hot air is supplied to the drum, the laundry is dried. Another laundry is received in the laundry receiving compartment of the body included in the cabinet dryer. The laundry in the laundry receiving compartment is dried in accordance with the supply of hot air to the laundry receiving compartment.  
         [0031]     The drum dryer may further include a third hot air supply duct which guides air emerging from the drum into the hot air supplier, and the cabinet dryer further includes an air discharge duct which guides air emerging from the laundry receiving compartment of the body into the hot air supplier. Also, the drum-and-cabinet type dryer may further comprise a condenser which condenses moisture contained in the air guided into the hot air supplier. Accordingly, the air used to dry laundry is continuously circulated in the dryer without being discharged away from the dryer.  
         [0032]     The drum-and-cabinet type dryer may further comprise a second hot air supply duct having a first end communicating with the hot air supplier, and a second end communicating with the first hot air supply duct and the hot air introduction duct. Accordingly, the hot air from the hot air supplier can be supplied to both the drum and the laundry receiving compartment of the body in a distributed manner.  
         [0033]     A valve may be arranged at the second end of the second hot air supply duct connected to the first hot air supply duct and hot air introduction duct. Accordingly, the hot air from the second hot air supply duct can be guided into at least one of the first hot air supply duct and the hot air introduction duct.  
         [0034]     Since particles may be contained in the air guided to the condenser, the drum-and-cabinet type dryer may further comprise a filter for filtering air guided to the condenser.  
         [0035]     The length-adjustable shelf may be a foldable shelf in which one portion of the foldable shelf is foldable on the other portion of the foldable shelf to vary a length of the foldable shelf, or may be a shelf which is foldable in accordance with other methods.  
         [0036]     In another aspect of the present invention, a drum-and-cabinet type dryer comprises: a drum dryer which dries laundry to be dried, and includes a drying drum adapted to receive the laundry, a hot air supply duct adapted to guide a flow of hot air, and a hot air supplier arranged in the hot air supply duct to generate the hot air; a cabinet dryer which is coupled to a top of the drum dryer, and is defined with a laundry receiving compartment, the cabinet dryer including a hot air introduction duct adapted to receive the hot air from the hot air supply duct; and a plurality of foldable shelves which are detachably mounted in the cabinet dryer, and are foldable to increase the utility of the laundry receiving compartment of the cabinet dryer.  
         [0037]     Each of the foldable shelves may include a base which includes a first base member and a second base member, and supports laundry in such a manner that the laundry is laid on the base, a hinge member which hingably connects the first and second base members such that the second base member is foldable with respect to the first base member, and a fixing member which is fixed to one end of the second base member, to fix the foldable shelf in the cabinet dryer. A similar fixing member may also be provided at the first base member.  
         [0038]     The fixing member fixed to the second base member may include a hollow fixing pipe which communicates with the hot air introduction duct. The fixing pipe may have a plurality of hot air outlets formed through a peripheral wall of the fixing pipe. The hot air guided through the hot air introduction duct may be introduced into the cabinet dryer through the hot air outlets.  
         [0039]     The cabinet dryer may be arranged on the top of the drum dryer. In this case, the body of the cabinet dryer may include an extension causing the laundry receiving compartment to extend downwardly into the drum dryer. By virtue of the extension, clothes having a relatively long length, such as a coat, can fit in the laundry receiving compartment without being folded.  
         [0040]     The drum-and-cabinet type drier according to the present invention has various advantages as follows.  
         [0041]     First, air flowing in the drum dryer and cabinet dryer is continuously circulated without being discharged out of the dryers in accordance with the present invention. Accordingly, the air used in the drying cycle has no influence on the indoor environment. Therefore, the present invention can provide a composite washing system having a suitable built-in structure.  
         [0042]     Second, in accordance with the present invention, humid air discharged from the drum dryer and cabinet dryer is condensed by the air condenser, so that moisture contained in the air is removed. Accordingly, it is possible to more effectively dry laundry.  
         [0043]     Third, in accordance with the present invention, the cabinet dryer is equipped with the foldable shelves. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently use the inner space of the cabinet dryer.  
         [0044]     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0045]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0046]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating an inner configuration of a conventional drum dryer;  
         [0047]      FIG. 2  is a front view schematically illustrating an appearance of a drum-and-cabinet type dryer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0048]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0049]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the composite washing system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0050]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a foldable shelf according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0051]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating a folded state of the foldable shelf according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0052]      FIG. 7  is a front view schematically illustrating the foldable shelf which is in a folded state in the cabinet dryer in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0053]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention associated with a drying apparatus, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, namely, FIGS.  2  to  7 . Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0054]     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a drying apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated which may be of a drum-and-cabinet type. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the drying apparatus mainly includes a drum dryer  100 , a cabinet dryer  200 , foldable shelves  300 , and a controller  400 .  
         [0055]     The drum dryer  100  only performs an operation to dry laundry. The drum dryer  100  includes a drying drum  110  which can perform a rotating operation and a stirring operation, a hot air supply duct, a hot air supplier  130 , and an air condenser  140 .  
         [0056]     The hot air supply duct is a duct to guide a flow of hot air. The hot air supply duct communicates with an inner space defined in the apparatus among the drying drum  110 , air condenser  140 , and cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0057]     The hot air supply duct includes a first air supply duct  121  which supplies hot air into the drying drum  110 , and a second air supply duct  122  which receives air emerging from the air condenser  140 , and guides the received air into the first air supply duct  121 . The hot air supply duct further includes a third air supply duct  123  which receives air emerging from the drying drum  110 , and guides the received air into the air condenser  140 .  
         [0058]     A filter  124  is also arranged in the third air supply duct  123  to filter air passing through the third air supply duct  123 , and thus, to remove particles contained in the air.  
         [0059]     The hot air supplier  130  is arranged in the second air supply duct  122  to produce hot air.  
         [0060]     The hot air supplier  130  includes a drying heater  131  which heats air passing through the second air supply duct  122 , and a blowing fan  132  which forcibly blows the air heated in the second air supply duct  122 .  
         [0061]     Preferably, the blowing fan  132  is arranged in a portion of the second air supply duct  122  upstream from the drying heater  131 , in order to minimize any damage to the blowing fan  132  caused by hot air.  
         [0062]     The air condenser  140  condenses air flowing through the hot air supply duct, and radiates heat from the air. The air condenser  140  includes a condenser  141  and a condensing fan  142 .  
         [0063]     The condenser  141  is configured to receive hot air from the third air supply duct  123  of the hot air supply duct. The condenser  141  includes a pipe having a plurality of bent portions, and cooling fins arranged around the pipe.  
         [0064]     The condensing fan  142  is adapted to blow external air toward the condenser  141 .  
         [0065]     Accordingly, humid air passing through the condenser  141  is condensed as it heat-exchanges with the external air supplied in accordance with the operation of the condensing fan  142  while passing through the pipe of the condenser  141 .  
         [0066]     The cabinet dryer  200  is defined with a laundry compartment to receive a large amount of laundry. The cabinet dryer  200  is coupled to the top of the drum dryer  100 .  
         [0067]     The cabinet dryer  200  mainly includes a body  210 , a laundry support  220 , an opening/closing door  230 , a hot air introduction duct  241 , and an air discharge duct  242 .  
         [0068]     The body  210  defines an appearance of the cabinet dryer  200 , and is open at the front thereof.  
         [0069]     Preferably, the body  210  includes a hollow extension  250  extending into the interior of the drum dryer  100 .  
         [0070]     The extension  250  allows laundry having a long length, such as a coat or trousers, to fit in the body  210  without coming into contact with the bottom of the body  210 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , it is preferred that the extension  250  be arranged at one side of the body  210  such that the extension  250  does not interfere with the rotation of the drying drum  110  included in the drum dryer.  
         [0071]     The opening/closing door  230  functions to open/close the open front of the body  210 .  
         [0072]     The hot air introduction duct  241  has one end connected to the second air supply duct  122  included in the hot air supply duct of the drum dryer  100 , and the other end communicating with the interior of the body  210 . Accordingly, the hot air introduction duct  241  receives hot air from the second air supply duct  122 , and guides the received hot air into the body  210 .  
         [0073]     Preferably, a plurality of hot air outlets  241   a  are formed through the hot air introduction duct  241  such that the hot air outlets  241   a  communicate with the interior of the body  210  of the cabinet dryer.  
         [0074]     Preferably, a valve  125  is arranged in the second supply duct  122  to guide the air flowing through the second air supply duct  122  toward the first air supply duct  121  and/or the hot air introduction duct  241 .  
         [0075]     The air discharge duct  242  has one end communicating with the body  210 , and the other end connected to the third air supply duct  123  of the hot air supply duct. Accordingly, the air discharge duct  242  functions to discharge hot and humid air passing through the laundry in the body  210 .  
         [0076]     A hanger bar  221 , on which hangers may be hung, is mounted in an inner upper portion of the body  210  such that the hanger bar  221  is arranged at one side of the body  210 .  
         [0077]     Each foldable shelf  300  is detachably mounted in the body  210  to support laundry in such a manner that the laundry is laid on the shelf  300 . Each shelf  300  has a foldable structure to increase the utility of the laundry compartment of the cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0078]     For example, when it is necessary to increase the space for laundry to be placed on hangers because the amount of the laundry to be hung is larger than the amount of the laundry to be placed on shelves, the foldable shelves  300  may be folded to reduce the shelf space, and thus, to increase the hanger space.  
         [0079]     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , each foldable shelf  300  includes a base  310  which includes a first base member  311  and a second base member  312 , hinge members  320  which hingably connect the first and second base members  311  and  312  such that the second base member  312  is foldable with respect to the first base member  311 , and a fixing pipe  330  which is fixed to one end of the second base member  312 , and can fit into a fitting hole formed through the body  210  of the cabinet dryer  200  to fix the foldable shelf  300  to the body  210 .  
         [0080]     Preferably, each foldable shelf  300  also includes a support lug  340  which is mounted to the first base member  311  to support the first base member  311  in a state in which the second base member  312  is folded on the first base member  311 .  
         [0081]     Preferably, fitting grooves (not shown) are formed at the rear of the body  210  of the cabinet dryer  200 . The support lug  340  of each foldable shelf  300  can fit into an associated one of the fitting grooves.  
         [0082]     It is preferred that the fixing pipe  330  of each foldable shelf  300  communicate with the hot air introduction duct  241 , as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0083]     At least one hot air outlet  331  is formed through a peripheral wall of the fixing pipe  330 , in order to supply hot air introduced into the fixing pipe  330  directly to laundry, and thus, to more effectively dry the laundry.  
         [0084]     The controller  400  according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention controls the operations of the drum dryer  100  and cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0085]     The controller  400  may be equipped in one of the drum dryer  100  and cabinet dryer  200 , or may be equipped in either the drum dryer  100  or the cabinet dryer  200 . In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the controller  400  is illustrated as being equipped in the drum dryer  100 .  
         [0086]     Where two controllers  400  are equipped in the drum dryer  100  and cabinet dryer  200 , respectively, it is preferred that the two controllers  400  be connected by a data cable (not shown), for information transfer therebetween.  
         [0087]     Meanwhile, the controller  400  may be configured to control the drum dryer  100  and cabinet dryer  200  in an independent manner or in a linked manner.  
         [0088]     Hereinafter, the drying operation and functions of the cabinet dryer equipped with the foldable shelves in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described.  
         [0089]     First, laundry is laid on the foldable shelves  300 , or is hung on the hanger bar  221  in the body  210  of the cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0090]     Thereafter, electric power is supplied to the hot air supplier  130 , thereby causing hot air to be supplied to the second air supply duct  122  of the hot air supply duct.  
         [0091]     Subsequently, the valve  125  is controlled to guide the hot air flowing through the second air supply duct  122  into the hot air introduction duct  241  of the cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0092]     In this case, a part of the hot air flowing through the hot air introduction duct  241  is introduced into the body  210  of the cabinet dryer  200  through the hot air outlets  241   a , and the remaining part of the hot air is introduced into the fixing pipes  330  of the foldable shelves  300 .  
         [0093]     The hot air introduced into the body  210  dries the laundry disposed in the body  210 . The hot air introduced into each fixing pipe  330  is discharged through the associated hot air outlets  331 , thereby drying the laundry laid on the associated foldable shelf  300 .  
         [0094]     Meanwhile, where the amount of laundry to be dried while being hung on the hangers is larger than the amount of laundry to be dried while being laid on the shelves  300 , the shelves  300  are used in a folded state, as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0095]     That is, when the second base member  312  of each shelf  300  is hinged about the hinge members  320  such that the second base member  312  folded on the first base member  311 , an additional hanger space corresponding to the space for the second base member  312  is secured to allow an increased number of hangers to be hung on the hanger bar  221 , and thus, to allow an increased amount of laundry to be dried in a hung state.  
         [0096]     The air which has become humid after being used to dry the laundry is then introduced into the third air supply duct  123  via the air discharge duct  242  connected to one side of the body  210  of the cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0097]     The humid air introduced into the third air supply duct  123  passes through the condenser  140 , so that the air is dried while being condensed to remove moisture therefrom. The dried air is then heated to a high temperature while passing through the drying heater  131 . The resultant hot air is then re-supplied to the body  210  of the cabinet dryer  200 .  
         [0098]     Thus, the laundry is dried as the above-described air flow is repeated for a predetermined time.  
         [0099]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.