In-door condenser for laundry appliance

Abstract

A front-load laundry appliance including an in-door condensing system with an air-to-air condenser that forms an air cooling loop inside an in-door cavity. The air cooling loop is a tube that extends in a flat spiral to form multiple loops that gradually increase in radius. The in-door condensing system includes an in-door circulation fan and a heat exchanger fan. The in-door circulation is positioned in the in-door cavity and is arranged to pull moist air from inside the laundry compartment into the in-door cavity where it condenses. The heat exchanger fan is also positioned in the in-door cavity and is arranged to pull cooling air from outside the laundry appliance into the air cooling loop. The air cooling loop of the in-door condenser may alternatively receive a cooling air flow from a chiller located inside the laundry appliance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet with a front opening that provides access to a laundry compartment located inside said cabinet;   a front appliance door pivotally mounted with respect to said cabinet such that said front appliance door is configured to swing between a closed position where said front appliance door closes said front opening in said cabinet and an open position where said front appliance door is swung away from said front opening;   said front appliance door includes a door perimeter and a bowl that is mounted to said front appliance door at a location such that at least a portion of said bowl extends into said front opening in said cabinet when said front appliance door is in said closed position;   said bowl defining an in-door cavity within said front appliance door;   an in-door condensing system mounted within said in-door cavity; and   said in-door condensing system including an in-door condenser, arranged as an air-to-air heat exchanger, that includes an air cooling loop that is positioned inside said in-door cavity,   wherein said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser is a tube that extends in a flat spiral to form multiple loops arranged in a condenser loop plane such that said loops have a curvature that gradually increases in radius as said air cooling loop extends out towards said door perimeter.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said in-door condensing system includes an air inlet positioned in said bowl to define an air intake flow path along which moist air flows directly from said laundry compartment into said in-door cavity and an air outlet positioned in said bowl to define a return air flow path along which dry air from inside said in-door cavity flows directly into said laundry compartment. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein said in-door condensing system includes an in-door circulation fan positioned in said in-door cavity to pull moist air from inside said laundry compartment into said door cavity along said air intake flow path and past said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser to facilitate condensation in said door cavity and expel dry air from inside said in-door cavity back into said laundry compartment along said return air flow path. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a partition that extends from said bowl towards said in-door condenser to divide at least part of said in-door cavity into first and second zones,   wherein said air inlet and said air outlet are positioned in different zones of said in-door cavity such that said partition directs airflow inside said in-door cavity past said in-door condenser before exiting through said air outlet.   
     
     
         5 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein said in-door condensing system includes a heat exchanger fan positioned in said in-door cavity to pull cooling air from outside the laundry appliance into said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser through a cooling air intake located in said front appliance door and expel said cooling air out of said air cooling loop through a cooling air exhaust vent located in said front appliance door. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a chiller located inside said cabinet and arranged to supply a cooling air flow to said air cooling loop.   
     
     
         7 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 6 , wherein said chiller is an air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger and wherein said cooling air flow that said chiller supplies to said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser is expelled through a cooling air exhaust vent located in said outer wall of said front appliance door. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a drying air circulation duct mounted inside said cabinet and including a duct inlet and a duct outlet that are arranged in fluid communication with said laundry compartment;   a drying air circulation fan mounted inside said drying air circulation duct that is configured to pull air in through said duct inlet and push air out through said duct outlet to generate a drying air circulation flow path through said drying air circulation duct; and   a heater positioned inside said drying air circulation duct for heating air inside said drying air circulation duct upstream of said duct outlet,   wherein said air intake flow path into said in-door cavity, said return air flow path out of said in-door cavity, and said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser are separate and independent of said drying air circulation flow path.   
     
     
         9 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sump positioned in said cabinet; and   a water return line in said front appliance door that is arranged to collect water that has condensed inside said in-door cavity and carry said water to said sump.   
     
     
         10 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said condenser loop plane is arranged in a substantially vertical orientation. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said front appliance door has an outer door surface and wherein said condenser loop plane is arranged substantially parallel to said outer door surface. 
     
     
         12 . A laundry appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet;   an appliance door pivotally mounted to said cabinet, said appliance door having outer and inner walls that cooperate to form an in-door cavity;   a drum rotatably supported within said cabinet, said drum including a laundry compartment;   an in-door condenser, arranged as an air-to-air heat exchanger, that includes an air cooling loop that is positioned inside said in-door cavity;   an in-door circulation fan, positioned in said in-door cavity, that is arranged to pull moist air from inside said laundry compartment into said in-door cavity and past said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser to facilitate condensation in said in-door cavity and remove moisture from said laundry compartment; and   a heat exchanger fan, positioned in said in-door cavity, that is arranged to pull cooling air from outside the laundry appliance into said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser through an air intake located in said outer wall of said appliance door.   
     
     
         13 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein said inner wall of said appliance door includes an air inlet that defines an air intake flow path along which moist air flows directly from said laundry compartment into said in-door cavity and an air outlet that defines a return air flow path along which dry air from inside said in-door cavity flows directly into said laundry compartment. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a partition that extends from said inner wall of said appliance door towards said in-door condenser to divide at least part of said in-door cavity into first and second zones,   wherein said air inlet and said air outlet are positioned in different zones of said in-door cavity such that said partition directs airflow inside said in-door cavity past said in-door condenser before exiting through said air outlet.   
     
     
         15 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 14 , wherein said heat exchanger circulation fan is mounted to and supported by said partition. 
     
     
         16 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a cooling air intake located in said outer wall of said front appliance door that is open to ambient air outside of said cabinet;   a cooling air intake duct located in said front appliance door that is arranged in fluid communication with and that extends between said cooling air intake and said in-door condenser;   a cooling air exhaust vent located in said outer wall of said front appliance door that is open to ambient air outside of said cabinet; and   a cooling air exhaust duct located in said front appliance door that is arranged in fluid communication with and that extends between said in-door condenser and said cooling air exhaust vent,   wherein said in-door circulation fan is arranged in fluid communication with at least one of said cooling air intake duct, said cooling air exhaust duct, and said in-door condenser for drawing said ambient air in through said cooling air intake duct.   
     
     
         17 . A laundry appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet;   an appliance door pivotally mounted to said cabinet for movement between an open position and a closed position, said appliance door having outer and inner walls that cooperate to form an in-door cavity;   a drum rotatably supported within said cabinet, said drum including a laundry compartment;   an in-door condenser, arranged as an air-to-air heat exchanger, that includes an air cooling loop that is positioned inside said in-door cavity and that receives a cooling air flow from said cabinet, that facilitates condensation in said in-door cavity and removes moisture from said laundry compartment; and   a chiller located inside said cabinet and arranged to cool off air in said cooling air flow, upstream of said in-door cooling loop.   
     
     
         18 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 17 , wherein said chiller is an air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 18 , further comprising:
 an outside air inlet located in said cabinet that is open to ambient air outside of said cabinet;   an outside air duct located in said cabinet that is arranged in fluid communication with and that extends between said outside air inlet and an inlet side of said chiller;   a compressor located in said cabinet that is connected to said chiller by refrigerant lines that circulate refrigerant between said compressor and said chiller;   a cool air duct located in said cabinet that is arranged in fluid communication with an outlet side of said chiller;   a heat exchanger fan located in said cabinet that is arranged in fluid communication with at least one of said outside air duct, said cool air duct, and said chiller for drawing said ambient air in through said outside air duct;   a cooling air intake located in said inner wall of said front appliance door that is arranged in fluid communication with said cool air duct in said cabinet when said appliance door is in said closed position;   a cooling air intake duct located in said front appliance door that is arranged in fluid communication with and that extends between said cooling air intake and said in-door condenser;   a cooling air exhaust vent located in said outer wall of said front appliance door that is open to said ambient air outside of said cabinet; and   a cooling air exhaust duct that is arranged in fluid communication with and that extends between said in-door condenser and said cooling air exhaust vent.   
     
     
         20 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 17 , further comprising:
 an air inlet positioned in said inner wall of said appliance door to define an air intake flow path along which moist air flows directly from said laundry compartment into said in-door cavity;   an air outlet positioned in said inner wall of said appliance door to define a return air flow path along which dry air from inside said in-door cavity flows directly into said laundry compartment; and   an in-door circulation fan positioned in said in-door cavity to pull moist air from inside said laundry compartment into said door cavity along said air intake flow path and past said air cooling loop of said in-door condenser to facilitate condensation in said door cavity and expel dry air from inside said in-door cavity back into said laundry compartment along said return air flow path.