HEAT PUMP DISHWASHER

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dishwasher comprising a body; a heat pump that is disposed inside the body, that provides the heating of the water to be used in the washing step and that has a first heat exchanger drawing heat from the ambient air, a second heat exchanger transferring the heat received from the first heat exchanger to the wash water and a compressor fluidly connected to the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, realizing the refrigerant cycle by compressing and directing the refrigerant leaving the first heat exchanger to the second heat exchanger, and a drip tray that is disposed immediately under the first heat exchanger, wherein the water condensing on the first heat exchanger is collected.

Claims

1. A dishwasher comprising a body; a heat pump that is disposed inside the body, that provides the heating of the water to be used in the washing step and that has a first heat exchanger drawing heat from the ambient air, a second heat exchanger transferring the heat received from the first heat exchanger to the wash water and a compressor fluidly connected to the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, realizing the refrigerant cycle by compressing and directing the refrigerant leaving the first heat exchanger to the second heat exchanger, and a drip tray that is disposed immediately under the first heat exchanger, wherein the water condensing on the first heat exchanger is collected, characterized by a duct wherein the refrigerant is circulated, that extends between the compressor, the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; a valve that is disposed on the duct and that enables the refrigerant to be directed to the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger and a control unit that, by directing the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor by means of the valve to the first heat exchanger, enables the first heat exchanger to become a heat source and thus providing the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray.

2. A dishwasher as in claim 1, characterized by the control unit that enables the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor after the washing step to be directed to the first heat exchanger.

3. A dishwasher as in claim 2, characterized by the control unit that enables the water used in the washing step to be circulated over the second heat exchanger after the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor after the washing step is directed to the first heat exchanger.

4. A dishwasher as in claim 1, characterized by the control unit that enables the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor after the rinsing step to be directed to the first heat exchanger .

5. A dishwasher as in claim 4, characterized by the control unit that enables the water used in the rinsing step to be circulated over the second heat exchanger after the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor after the rinsing step is directed to the first heat exchanger.

6. A dishwasher as in claim 1 characterized by the control unit that enables the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor during the drying step to be directed to the first heat exchanger.

7. A dishwasher as in claim 6, characterized by the control unit that enables the water vapor generated during the drying step to be passed over the second heat exchanger.

8. A dishwasher as in claim 1, characterized by the drip tray wherein the water condensing on the second heat exchanger in the drying step is collected.

9. A dishwasher as in claim 1, characterized by a fan that is disposed in the vicinity of the drip tray and that enables the ambient air to be blown towards the drip tray.

10. A dishwasher as in claim 9, characterized by the fan that enables the hot air around the compressor to be directed towards the drip tray.

11. A dishwasher as in claim 1, characterized by the four-way valve.

Description

[0019] The dishwasher realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0020] FIG. 1—is the schematic view of a dishwasher.

[0021] FIG. 2—is the schematic view of the heat pump, the drip tray and the fan related to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 3—is the schematic view of the heat pump and the drip tray related to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

[0024] 1. Dishwasher

[0025] 2. Body

[0026] 3. Heat pump

[0027] 4. First heat exchanger

[0028] 5. Second heat exchanger

[0029] 6. Compressor

[0030] 7. Drip tray

[0031] 8. Control unit

[0032] 9. Fan

[0033] 10. Valve

[0034] 11. Duct

[0035] The dishwasher (1) comprises a body (2); a heat pump (3) that is disposed inside the body (2), that provides the heating of the water to be used in the washing step and that has a first heat exchanger (4) drawing heat from the ambient air, a second heat exchanger (5) transferring the heat received from the first heat exchanger (4) to the wash water and a compressor (6) fluidly connected to the first heat exchanger (4) and the second heat exchanger (5), realizing the refrigerant cycle by compressing and directing the refrigerant leaving the first heat exchanger (4) to the second heat exchanger (5), and a drip tray (7) that is disposed immediately under the first heat exchanger (4), wherein the water condensing on the first heat exchanger (4) is collected.

[0036] In the dishwasher (1), the refrigerant is compressed in the compressor (6) to be sent to the second heat exchanger (5), then leaves the second heat exchanger (5) to be transferred to the first heat exchanger (4) and returns from there to the compressor (6). The refrigerant cooling down on the second heat exchanger (5) passes over the first heat exchanger at a low temperature, thus enabling the heat transfer from the environment to the first heat exchanger (4) the surface of which is cooled down. The first heat exchanger (4) transfers the heat received from the environment to the refrigerant. The heat drawn from the environment by the first heat exchanger (4) is transferred to the second heat exchanger (5) by means of refrigerant. The second heat exchanger (5) transfer the heat drawn thereby to the wash water, thus enabling the heating of the wash water and this process is carried out by passing the water to be used in the washing step to be passed over the second heat exchanger (5) the surface of which heats up. At the same time, the ambient air condenses and leaves its moisture on the first heat exchanger (4) the surface of which is cool. The condensing water flows down to be collected in the drip tray (7) disposed immediately under the first heat exchanger (4).

[0037] The dishwasher (1) of the present invention comprises a duct (11) wherein the refrigerant is circulated, that extends between the compressor (6), the first heat exchanger (4) and the second heat exchanger (5); a valve (10) that is disposed on the duct (4) and that enables the refrigerant to be directed to the first heat exchanger (4) or the second heat exchanger (5) and a control unit (8) that, by directing the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) by means of the valve to the first heat exchanger (4), enables the first heat exchanger (4) to become a heat source and thus providing the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7). The control unit (8) enables the direction of the refrigerant cycle to be changed by means of the valve (10) in order to evaporate the water collected in the drip tray (7). In this case, the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) is delivered to the first heat exchanger (4) and the refrigerant, that is at high temperature due to compression, causes the first heat exchanger (4) with its surface being cold, that draws heat from the environment during the heating of the wash water, to heat up, thus enabling the first heat exchanger (4) to give off heat to the environment. The heat dissipated by the first heat exchanger (4) causes the water collected in the drip tray (7) disposed immediately thereunder to be evaporated. By using the heat pump (3) that consumes less power in comparison to electric heaters for the heating of the drip tray (7), savings are provided.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (8) provides the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7) by changing the flow direction of the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) after the washing step and directing the refrigerant to the first heat exchanger (4). By means of this embodiment, the heat pump (3) is enabled to efficiently heat the water used in the washing process and then the first heat exchanger (4) becomes a heat source, providing the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7).

[0039] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (8) provides the circulation of the water used in the washing step over the second heat exchanger (5) after the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) following the washing step is directed to the first heat exchanger (4). By changing the flow direction of the refrigerant, the second heat exchanger (5) starts to draw heat from the environment. In this embodiment, by circulating the water, that is used in the washing process and that is still hot, over the second heat exchanger (5) by using a circulation pump (not shown in the figures), the heat of the water used in the washing process is transferred to the first heat exchanger (4) with the circulation of the refrigerant. Thus, by using the heat of the dirty water used in the washing process for the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7), savings in energy are provided.

[0040] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (8) provides the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7) by changing the flow direction of the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) after the rinsing step and directing the refrigerant to the first heat exchanger (4).

[0041] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (8) provides the circulation of the water used in the rinsing step over the second heat exchanger (5) after the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) following the rinsing step is directed to the first heat exchanger (4). The heat of the water, that is used in the drying process and that is still hot, is transferred to the second heat exchanger (5) and the transferred heat is transferred to the first heat exchanger (4) by means of the refrigerant. The first heat exchanger (4), the surface of which heats up with the heat received from the water used in the rinsing process, provides the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7). Moreover, by supplying the required heat from the used water, the load on the compressor (6) is reduced, thus increasing the lifespan of the compressor (6).

[0042] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (8) provides the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7) by changing the flow direction of the compressed refrigerant leaving the compressor (6) during the drying step and directing the refrigerant to the first heat exchanger (4).

[0043] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (8) enables the water vapor generated in the drying step is enabled to be passed over the second heat exchanger (5). The dishes heated up after the drying step cause the water thereon to be evaporated. The control unit (8) provides the circulation of the water vapor provided by the dishes over the second heat exchanger (5), thus the thermal energy generated during the drying step is transferred to the first heat exchanger (4), providing the evaporation of the water collected in the drip tray (7).

[0044] In another embodiment of the present invention, the water condensing on the second heat exchanger (5) during the drying step is collected in the drip tray (7). With the control unit (8) changing the flow direction of the refrigerant by means of the valve (10), the surface of the second heat exchanger (5) cools down and the water vapor generated during the drying step condenses on the surface of the second heat exchanger (5). The drip tray (7) enables also the collection of the water condensing on the second heat exchanger (5). By means of this embodiment, during the evaporation of the water condensing on the first heat exchanger (4) while the wash water is being heated, the water condensing on the second heat exchanger (5) is also enabled to be evaporated.

[0045] In another embodiment of the present invention, the dishwasher (1) comprises a fan (9) that is disposed in the vicinity of the drip tray (7) and that enables the ambient air to be blown towards the drip tray (7). By means of this embodiment, by reducing the vapor pressure over the drip tray (7), the evaporation of the water in the drip tray (7) is accelerated.

[0046] In another embodiment of the present invention, the fan (9) enables the hot air in the vicinity of the compressor (6) to be directed towards the drip tray (7). With the control unit (8) changing the flow direction of the refrigerant, in addition to the heat provided by the first heat exchanger (4) for the evaporation of the water in the drip tray (7), the fan (9) blowing the air in the vicinity of the compressor (6) heating up due to the operation of the compressor (6) provides heat for the evaporation process.

[0047] In another embodiment of the present invention, the valve (10) is a four-way valve (10) that is fluidly connected to the heat pump (3) and that enables the flow direction of the refrigerant to be changed by being controlled by the control unit (8). The four-way valve (10) comprises two inlet and two outlet ports. In the normal cycle, in other words, in the step of heating the water to be used in the washing step, the first inlet port of the four-way valve (10) provides fluid transmission to the first outlet port while the second inlet port to the second outlet port. When the flow direction of the refrigerant is to be changed, the control unit (8) controls the four-way valve (10) and provides that the first inlet port delivers fluid to the second outlet port and the second inlet port to the first outlet port, thus changing the flow direction of the refrigerant.

[0048] In the dishwasher (1) of the present invention, with the control unit (8) changing the flow direction of the refrigerant over the heat pump (3), the water condensing on the first heat exchanger (4) and then collected in the drip tray (7) is enabled to be evaporated. By using the heat pump (3) instead of an electric heater during the process of discharging by evaporation, a significant saving in energy consumption is provided. Additionally, an environmentally-friendly dishwasher (1) is realized by directing the waste water, that is generated after the washing step and that cannot be used in normal operation conditions, and the heat of the water vapor, that is generated during the drying step, so as to be used in the evaporation process by means of the second heat exchanger (5).