Machine for washing and drying laundry

Abstract

A front-loading laundry washing and drying machine. The machine has a cabinet with a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls and an upper wall. The cabinet also houses an oscillating assembly that comprises a treatment tub, which has a substantially horizontal longitudinal axis. The machine also has a drying circuit made up of a heat pump inside the cabinet. The heat pump includes an evaporator device, a condenser device, a compressor, and a fan for forcing a flow of air through the evaporator device and the condenser device. The evaporator device and the condenser device are housed inside the cabinet above the treatment tub. The evaporator device and the condenser device each have a heat exchanger with a body configured for being traversed by the forced flow of air. The heat exchanger of the evaporator device and the condenser device is set inside the cabinet in a lateral area (S) that is located between a first side wall of the cabinet and a median vertical plane of the treatment tub that contains the corresponding longitudinal axis. The heat exchanger of the at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device are set in the aforesaid lateral area according to a plane of lie on an incline with respect to a horizontal plane.

1 . A front-loading laundry machine, comprising:
 a cabinet having a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls, and an upper wall, the cabinet housing an oscillating assembly that comprises a treatment tub having a substantially horizontal longitudinal axis;   a drying circuit comprising a heat pump inside the cabinet, the heat pump including an evaporator device, a condenser device, a compressor, and a fan for forcing a flow of air through the evaporator device and the condenser device,   wherein at least the evaporator device and the condenser device are housed inside the cabinet above the treatment tub, the evaporator device and the condenser device each including a heat exchanger having a body configured for being traversed by the forced flow of air, the body of each heat exchanger having an inlet end and an outlet end opposite to one another, for the forced flow of air, and a first lateral end and a second lateral end opposite to one another and set transversely with respect to the inlet end and outlet ends;   wherein the heat exchanger of at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device is set inside the cabinet in a lateral area that is comprised between a first side wall of the cabinet and a median vertical plane of the treatment tub that contains the corresponding longitudinal axis, with the first lateral end of the heat exchanger that is closer to the aforesaid median vertical plane and the second lateral end that is closer to the aforesaid first side wall   and wherein the heat exchanger of the at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device is set in the aforesaid lateral area according to a plane of lie on an inclined with respect to a horizontal plane.   
     
     
         2 . The machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the body of the heat exchanger of the at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device is set in the aforesaid lateral area with the first lateral end that is at a greater height than the second lateral end. 
     
     
         3 . The machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the body of the heat exchanger of the at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device is set in the aforesaid lateral area with the inlet end and the outlet end at different heights. 
     
     
         4 . The machine according to any one of  claim 3 , wherein also the fan is set in the aforesaid lateral area, above the treatment tub. 
     
     
         5 . The machine according to any one of  claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger of the evaporator device and the heat exchanger of the condenser device are both housed in the aforesaid lateral area:
 according to one and the same plane of lie and on an inclined with respect to the horizontal; or   each according to a respective plane of lie and on an inclined with respect to the horizontal.   
     
     
         6 . The machine according to any one of  claim 5 , wherein the body of the heat exchanger of the evaporator device and the body of the heat exchanger of the condenser device are set in the aforesaid lateral area according to respective opposed planes of lie. 
     
     
         7 . The machine according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 one of the heat exchanger of the evaporator device and the heat exchanger of the condenser device is housed in the aforesaid lateral area, according to the aforesaid inclined plane of lie; and   the other one of the heat exchanger of the evaporator device and the heat exchanger of the condenser device is set inside the cabinet at a rear-upper area of the treatment tub, according to a respective inclined plane of lie, with the inlet end and the outlet end at different heights.   
     
     
         8 . The machine according to any one of  claim 7 , further comprising a hollow casing body the heat exchangers of the evaporator device and of the condenser device. 
     
     
         9 . The machine according to  claim 8 , wherein the casing body extends longitudinally in the aforesaid lateral area. 
     
     
         10 . The machine according to  claim 8 , wherein the casing body has a first portion that extends longitudinally in the aforesaid lateral area and a second portion, generally transverse to the first portion, which extends longitudinally in the aforesaid rear-upper area. 
     
     
         11 . The machine according to  claim 8 , wherein the casing body defines a housing for an impeller of the fan. 
     
     
         12 . The machine according to  claim 11 , wherein the casing body has, in a first end region, a mouth generally facing a front opening of the treatment tub. 
     
     
         13 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein the casing body defines the housing for the impeller of the fan in a second end region thereof, opposite to the corresponding first end region. 
     
     
         14 . The machine according to  claim 13 , wherein the casing body defines the aforesaid housing for the impeller of the fan in a position generally intermediate to the heat exchanger of the evaporator device and the heat exchanger of the condenser device. 
     
     
         15 . The machine according to  claim 8 , wherein the casing body moreover defines a support for the compressor, the latter being preferably supported behind a rear wall of the treatment tub. 
     
     
         16 . A laundry machine, comprising:
 a cabinet defining an interior;   a treatment tub located within the interior and rotatable about an axis of rotation;   a drying circuit comprising a heat pump including an evaporator device, a condenser device, a compressor, and a fan forcing a flow of air through the evaporator device and the condenser device;   at least the evaporator device and the condenser device are located inside the cabinet above the treatment tub, the evaporator device and the condenser device each including a heat exchanger having a body configured for being traversed by the forced flow of air, the body of each heat exchanger having a first lateral end and a second lateral end opposite to one another;   the heat exchanger of at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device is located inside the cabinet in a lateral area that is comprised between a first side wall of the cabinet and a median vertical plane of the treatment tub that contains the corresponding rotational axis, with the first lateral end of the heat exchanger that is closer to the aforesaid median vertical plane and the second lateral end that is closer to the aforesaid first side wall; and   wherein the heat exchanger of the at least one of the evaporator device and the condenser device is set in the aforesaid lateral area according to a plane of lie on an incline with respect to a horizontal plane.