Abstract:
Provided is a washing machine having an enhanced drying performance. The washing machine includes: a housing; a tub installed inside the housing, for storing washing water; a drum rotatably installed inside the tub and configured to wash laundry; a drying duct connected to the tub, for generating hot air and feeding the generated hot air to an inside of the drum; a condensation duct connected to the tub and the drying duct, for removing moisture from an air discharged from the tub to guide the moisture-removed air to the drying duct and allowing the hot air to cross the inside of the drum together with the drying duct; and a radiation mechanism disposed at the drying duct, for radiating heat of the drying duct.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit of the Korean Application No. P2004-26914 filed on Apr. 20, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a combined drying and washing machine, and more particularly, to a radiation structure of a washing machine.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Generally, a washing machine is an apparatus to get laundry such as clothes clean by rotating a drum receiving therein detergent, washing water and laundry using a driving force of a motor. In such a washing machine, laundry is less worn and tangle-free. In recent years, a washing machine having drying function has been developed.  
         [0006]     The washing machine includes a tub installed inside a housing, and a drum installed rotatably inside the tub. To dry laundry, the washing machine further includes a drying duct and a condensation duct. The drying duct is connected to the tub and receives therein a heater and a blower fan. Also, the condensation duct feeds hot air to the drum disposed inside the tub via the tub. The fed hot air dries the laundry and is exhausted to the condensation duct via the drum and the tub. The condensation duct removes moisture from the exhausted air and returns the moisture-removed air to the drying duct such that the moisture-removed air is again heated. The air inside the washing machine dries the laundry while it circulates via the tub, the drum, the condensation duct and the drying duct.  
         [0007]     However, in the related art washing machine, the drying duct is connected to a gasket provided at the tub and an entrance of the housing and hot air fed through such a contact portion is discharged through a side portion of the tub. To this end, the related art washing machine having a typical drying function has the following drawbacks.  
         [0008]     First, hot air is discharged from the drum through a side portion of the tub without deeply permeating an inside of the drum. To this end, the laundry received in a deep inside of the drum is not properly dried.  
         [0009]     Secondly, the drying duct is stationary but the gasket is shaken together with the tub. To this end, the gasket may be worn or torn.  
         [0010]     Thirdly, the hot air discharged from the drying duct collides with a door around the gasket to cause a serious flow resistance of air, which is one of reasons that the hot air does not reach the deep inside of the drum.  
         [0011]     Fourthly, the drying duct may be overheated or deformed due to hot air flowing therethrough. Also, an adjacent part, in particular, the tub may be deformed due to the heated drying duct.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a washing machine that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0013]     An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine having an enhanced drying efficiency and performance.  
         [0014]     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.  
         [0015]     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a washing machine including: a housing; a tub installed inside the housing, for storing washing water; a drum rotatably installed inside the tub and configured to wash laundry; a drying duct connected to the tub, for generating hot air and feeding the generated hot air to an inside of the drum; a condensation duct connected to the tub and the drying duct, for removing moisture from an air discharged from the tub to guide the moisture-removed air to the drying duct and allowing the hot air to cross the inside of the drum together with the drying duct; and a radiation mechanism disposed at the drying duct, for radiating heat of the drying duct.  
         [0016]     The drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to allow the hot air to fully and completely cross the inside of the drum in an axial direction thereof and are accurately configured to flow the hot air from a front side of the drum to a rear side of the drum.  
         [0017]     The drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air in a diagonal direction inside the drum. Substantially, the drying duct and the condensation duct are configured to flow the hot air from a front upper side of the drum to a rear lower side of the drum.  
         [0018]     The drying duct is preferably connected to a front upper portion of the tub. Also, the tub comprises an inlet formed at a front upper portion thereof and communicating with the drying duct, and the drum comprises an inlet formed at a front upper portion thereof and communicating with the drying duct.  
         [0019]     The drying duct closely contacts an outer circumference of the tub and comprises an upper cover and a lower cover coupled to each other. The upper cover of the drying duct is made of steel and the lower cover of the drying duct is made of aluminum alloy.  
         [0020]     The condensation duct is connected to a rear portion of the tub and is accurately connected to a rear lower portion of the tub.  
         [0021]     The radiation mechanism is provided at an upper portion of the drying duct. The radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation fin provided in the drying duct or at least one radiation groove formed at the drying duct. Also, the radiation mechanism comprises at least one radiation fin and at least one radiation groove provided in the drying duct. In this case, the radiation mechanism comprises a plurality of radiation fins and a plurality of radiation grooves, and the radiation fins and the radiation grooves are alternatively arranged.  
         [0022]     According to the present invention, the drying performance and efficiency are greatly enhanced.  
         [0023]     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  
       [0024]     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:  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a side sectional view of a washing machine according to the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an upper cover having a radiation mechanism according to the present invention;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an upper cover having a modified radiation mechanism according to the present invention; and  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a perspective of an upper cover having another modified radiation mechanism according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0029]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
         [0030]      FIG. 1  is a side sectional view of a washing machine according to the present invention.  
         [0031]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the washing machine macroscopically includes a housing  10 , a tub  30 , a drum  40 , a drying duct  100 , a radiation mechanism  200 , and a condensation duct  300 .  
         [0032]     The housing  10  has a laundry inlet formed at a front portion thereof. A door  20  is openably and closably installed at the laundry inlet of the housing  10 . The door  20  is provided with a door glass  21  protruded toward an opening of the tub  30 . A gasket  80  is disposed between the laundry inlet and the opening of the tub  30 . The tub  30  is installed to store washing water inside the housing  10 , and the drum  40  is rotatably installed inside the tub  30 . To save the material cost and reduce the weight, the tub  30  may be formed of plastic material. The drum  40  has a plurality of holes  40   a  through which washing water received in the tub  30  is introduced. Also, a power unit connected with the drum  40  is disposed around the tub  30 , and the drum  40  is driven by the power unit.  
         [0033]     Meanwhile, a drying duct  100  is installed inside the housing  10  and is connected with the tub  30 . The drying duct  100  is provided therein with a blower fan  62  and a heater  61  to thereby feed hot air to the drum  40  through the tub  30 . The condensation duct  300  is connected with the drying duct  100  and the tub  30 , respectively. The condensation duct  300  is provided with a water feeder  310  for feeding cooling water so as to condense moisture contained in the air and remove the moisture. Accordingly, the hot air is discharged to the condensation duct  300  from the drum  40  through the tub  30 , is converted into dry air, and is then guided to the drying duct  100  for reheating.  
         [0034]     In more detail, the drying duct  100  is connected to a front upper portion of the tub  30 . The tub  30  has an inlet  31  communicating with the drying duct  100  and the drum  40  has an inlet  41  communicating with the drying duct  100  through the inlet  31  of the tub  30 . Also, the condensation duct  300  is connected to a rear lower portion of the tub  30 , and a discharge hole  32  is also formed at a rear lower portion of the tub  30  so as to communicate with the condensation duct  300 . Due to the positions of the connection portions between the drying duct  100  and the tub  30  and between the condensation duct  300  and the tub  30 , the hot air flows from the inside of the drum  40  to the front of the drum  40  and the back of the drum  40  as indicated by arrow. In accuracy, the hot air flows from the front upper portion of the drum  40  to the rear lower portion of the drum  40 . In other words, the hot air flows in a diagonal direction of an inside of the drum  40 . Resultantly, the drying duct  100  and the condensation duct  300  are configured to allow the hot air to fully and completely cross the inner space of the drum  40  in the axial direction of the drum  40  due to their proper installation positions. Accordingly, the hot air is uniformly distributed into the whole inner space of the drum  40 , so that drying efficiency and performance are greatly enhanced.  
         [0035]     Also, the drying duct  100  includes an upper cover  110  and a lower cover coupled with each other. In addition, the drying duct  100  closely contacts the outer circumferential surface of the tub  30  so as to reduce an overall height of the washing machine. In accuracy, the lower cover  120  of the drying duct  100  closely contacts the upper outer circumferential surface of the tub  30  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The upper cover  110  of the drying duct  100  is made of steel. Meanwhile, in order to prevent the tub  30  made of plastic material from being deformed due to the heat transferred from the lower cover  120 , the lower cover  120  is preferably made of aluminum alloy having better heat conductivity, corrosion-resistant property and heat-resistant property. Thus, the lower cover  120  is manufactured by a die-casting. Accordingly, by manufacturing only the lower cover  120  of aluminum alloy, the tub  30  can be prevented from being deformed and at the same time the manufacturing costs of the drying duct  100  can be saved.  
         [0036]     The radiation mechanism  200  is disposed at the upper side of the drying duct  100  to radiate the heat of the drying duct  100 .  
         [0037]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the radiation mechanism  200  includes at least one radiation fin, preferably, a plurality of radiation fins  210 . The radiation fins  210  are arranged at a predetermined interval to be normal to a length direction of the drying duct  100 . Of course, the radiation fins  210  may be arranged in the length direction of the drying duct  100 . These fins  210  as applied in a combined drum type drying and washing machine increases a radiation area for radiating heat of the drying duct  100  in the course of drying cycle. In more detail, when the drying duct  100  is heated by a drying operation, some of heat is transferred to the lower cover  120  and is radiated and the others of the heat are transferred to the upper cover  110  and are radiated from the upper cover  110 . At this time, the upper cover  110  having the increased radiation area due to the radiation fins  210  can radiate a large amount of heat. As a consequence, a very small amount of heat is transferred to the lower cover  120  and the tub, thereby preventing the tub  30  from being deformed. Alternatively, the radiation fin  210  may be attached on the upper cover  110  as an independent member or be formed integrally with the upper cover  110 .  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the radiation mechanism  200  includes at least one, preferably, a plurality of radiation grooves  220  formed at the upper cover  110 . The radiation grooves  220  increase the radiation area of the upper cover  110  like the radiation fins  210 . Due to the increase of the radiation area, the radiation efficiency in the drying cycle of the combined drum type drying and washing machine is enhanced. Accordingly, a very small amount of heat is transferred to the tub  30 , thereby preventing the tub  30  from being deformed.  
         [0039]     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the radiation mechanism  200  may include at least one radiation fin  210  and at least one radiation groove  220 , preferably, a plurality of radiation fins  210  and a plurality of radiation grooves  220 . In the latter case, the radiation fins  210  are first formed at a predetermined interval and the radiation grooves  220  are formed between the radiation fins  210 . In other words, the radiation fins  210  and the radiation grooves  220  are alternatively arranged, which is very advantageous for the radiation. Thus, the combination of the radiation fins  210  and the radiation grooves  220  increases the radiation area, so that more efficient radiation is performed.  
         [0040]     As described above, the washing machine according to the present invention has the following advantages.  
         [0041]     First, since the air fed to an inside of the drum permeates to a deep place of the drum to uniformly dry all laundries, drying efficiency and performance are enhanced.  
         [0042]     Secondly, since the drying duct is connected to the tub unlike in the typical washing machine, wearing and tearing of the gasket are solved.  
         [0043]     Thirdly, the radiation mechanism provided in the upper cover of the drying duct effectively discharges a large amount of heat from the drying duct. To this end, a very small amount of heat is transferred to the tub, thereby preventing the tub from being deformed.  
         [0044]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. 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.