Laundry appliance having a thermal storage mechanism for capturing excess heat from one or more heat sources

Abstract

A laundry appliance includes a blower that directs process air through an airflow path. A rotating drum holds articles to be processed. A heat pump system has a condenser and an evaporator. The evaporator dehumidifies the process air that is delivered from the drum and the condenser heats the process air that is delivered from the evaporator. A phase change material retains heat from the condenser that is directed away from the process air, and the captured heat of the phase change material is utilized during a subsequent laundry cycle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry appliance comprising:
 a blower that directs process air through an airflow path;   a rotating drum that holds articles to be processed;   a heat pump system having a condenser and an evaporator, wherein the evaporator dehumidifies the process air delivered from the drum and wherein the condenser heats the process air delivered from the evaporator; and   a phase change material that retains heat from the condenser that is directed away from the process air to define captured heat, and wherein the captured heat of the phase change material is utilized during a subsequent laundry cycle.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the airflow path includes a single duct that extends between a processing space within the rotating drum and the heat pump system. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a secondary heater that is positioned adjacent to the phase change material, wherein the secondary heater is in thermal communication with the phase change material and the airflow path. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the captured heat is utilized during one of a quick-start function of the subsequent laundry cycle and a quick-dry function of the subsequent laundry cycle. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the airflow path proximate the phase change material includes a primary branch and a secondary branch, wherein the secondary branch is utilized for delivering the captured heat from the phase change material to the airflow path via the secondary branch. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the primary branch is continuously used during operation of the blower. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the phase change material includes at least one of glycol, paraffin wax, and a refrigerant. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a secondary condenser, wherein the phase change material is positioned adjacent to the secondary condenser for receiving heat from the secondary condenser to define the captured heat, and wherein the captured heat is delivered to the airflow path during the subsequent laundry cycle. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the secondary condenser is in thermal communication with the airflow path via a refrigerant. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry appliance of  claim 3 , wherein operation of the condenser and the secondary heater are operated using a controller. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the phase change material is positioned upstream of the condenser. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the phase change material is disposed within a module that is positioned exterior to a structural cabinet that surrounds the rotating drum. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry appliance of  claim 12 , wherein the airflow path extends through a wall of the structural cabinet to move through the module having the phase change material, wherein the module includes the secondary heater. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the phase change material is also in thermal communication with a separate laundry appliance that includes a washing function. 
     
     
         15 . A laundry appliance comprising:
 a blower that directs process air through an airflow path;   a rotating drum that holds articles to be processed;   a heat exchange system having a heating assembly, wherein the heating assembly generates heat that is delivered into the process air delivered from a processing space defined within the rotating drum; and   a phase change material that retains heat from the heating assembly that is directed away from the process air to define captured heat, and wherein the captured heat of the phase change material is utilized during a subsequent laundry cycle.   
     
     
         16 . The laundry appliance of  claim 15 , wherein during the subsequent laundry cycle, the captured heat from the phase change material and heat from the heating assembly cooperate to deliver a combined heat to the process air. 
     
     
         17 . The laundry appliance of  claim 15 , wherein the heating assembly includes an electrically resistive heating element. 
     
     
         18 . The laundry appliance of  claim 15 , wherein the heating assembly includes a condenser. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry appliance of  claim 15 , wherein the heating assembly includes a primary heater in communication with the airflow path that delivers the process air, and wherein the heating assembly also includes a secondary heater that is in communication with the airflow path and the phase change material. 
     
     
         20 . A method for operating a laundry appliance, the method comprising steps of:
 activating a blower that delivers process air through an airflow path;   activating at least one heater that is in thermal communication with the airflow path wherein heat from the at least one heater is delivered into the airflow path;   capturing excess thermal energy from the at least one heater within a phase change material to define captured heat;   storing the captured heat for a period of time;   activating a subsequent laundry cycle; and   delivering process air into thermal communication with the phase change material to transfer the captured heat from the phase change material to the process air for increasing a temperature of the process air.