CN114622369A

CN114622369A - Airflow bypass control mechanism for leak-free assembly

Info

Publication number: CN114622369A
Application number: CN202111520275.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 阿伦·拉金德兰
Original assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Current assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Priority date: 2020-12-14
Filing date: 2021-12-13
Publication date: 2022-06-14
Also published as: EP4012090A1; US20220186421A1

Abstract

An airflow bypass control mechanism for a leak free combination. A combination washer/dryer has a rotatable drum within a cabinet, the drum having an outer surface, a tub positioned within the cabinet, the drum rotatable within the tub, the tub having an inner surface. During a drying operation, an electromagnetic seal extends between an outer surface of the drum and an inner surface of the tub to minimize bypass of drying air around the drum.

Description

Air flow bypass control mechanism for leak-free combination

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a combination washing/drying machine, and more particularly, to a combination washing/drying machine having an electromagnetic seal, which can maximize a drying rate of tumbling laundry in the machine.

Background

In the combined washing/drying machine, it is difficult to provide a drying cycle that does not require a long process drying time. There are various reasons why the laundry in the drum is dried for an excessively long time. One reason for this is the gap between the drum and the tub. The gap enables the dried or heated air to bypass the drum. Thus, the drying air leaves the machine without supplying its heated air to the laundry inside the drum. Thus, the drying cycle is inefficient and requires a longer drying time or cycle.

It is desirable to provide a combination washer/dryer with an effective drying cycle time, and also to utilize all the generated drying air to convey it into the drum for its intended drying purpose. It is desirable to eliminate air bypass around the drum. Thus, the drying air will be forced into the drum. Thus, as all of the drying air is forced into the drum, this in turn reduces the drying cycle time.

It would be desirable to provide a combination washer/dryer that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art and provides a combination washer/dryer that provides a flow restriction to avoid air bypassing the drum. Therefore, it is desirable to move substantially all of the generated heated air into the drum.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present disclosure, a combination washer/dryer includes a rotatable drum inside a cabinet, the drum having an outer surface. A tub is located inside the cabinet, in which the drum is rotatable, the tub having an inner surface. During a drying operation, an electromagnetic seal extends between an outer surface of the drum and an inner surface of the tub to minimize bypass of the drying air. The electromagnetic seal includes a bellows seal with a magnet inside and an electromagnetic device. The rotatable drum is cylindrical with cylindrical side walls and end walls. The seal is positioned in contact with the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall, the electromagnetic device is in contact with the tub wall, and the bellows seal and the electromagnetic device are positioned in contact with the end wall of the tub.

According to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a combination washer/dryer includes a cabinet with a door to enable access. The controller operates the washing/drying machine. A washing system and a drying system are provided. A rotatable drum is located inside the cabinet, the drum having an outer surface. A tub is located inside the cabinet, and a drum is rotatable within the tub, the tub having an inner surface. During a drying operation, an electromagnetic seal extends between an outer surface of the drum and an inner surface of the tub to minimize bypass of drying air around the drum. The electromagnetic seal includes a bellows seal with a magnet inside and an electromagnetic device. The rotatable drum is cylindrical with cylindrical side walls and end walls. The seal is positioned in contact with the outer surface of the cylindrical sidewall. The electromagnetic device is in contact with the tub wall. The bellows seal and the electromagnetic device are positioned in contact with the end wall of the tub.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a drum and tub combination of a combination washer/dryer includes a drum rotatably positioned within a tub. During a drying operation, the electromagnetic seal extends between the outer surface of the drum and the inner surface of the tub to minimize bypass of drying air around the drum. The electromagnetic seal includes a bellows seal with a magnet inside and an electromagnetic device. The rotatable drum is cylindrical with cylindrical side walls and end walls. The seal is positioned in contact with the outer surface of the cylindrical sidewall. The electromagnetic device is in contact with the tub wall. The bellows seal and the electromagnetic device are positioned in contact with the end wall of the tub.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Drawings

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a combination washing/drying machine according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an activated view of a seal similar to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a view similar to fig. 5 with the seal activated.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Turning to the drawings, a combination washer/dryer is shown and indicated by reference numeral 10. The combination washer/dryer includes a cabinet 14 having a plurality of panels 16, and a front panel 18 including a door 20 to provide access to the combination washer/dryer 10. The controller 22 is located on the front panel 18. The controller 22 controls the operation of the combined washer/dryer machine.

Turning to fig. 2, a cross-section of a washing/drying machine is shown. The combination washer/dryer includes a drum 30 rotatably positioned within a tub 32. The drum is rotated by a motor 34 and a shaft 36. A conventional washing circuit 40 is used to wash the laundry inside the drum 30. The heating circuit 50 provides heat for drying the laundry in the drum.

The heating circuit 50 includes a heater 52 with a conduit 54, the conduit 54 delivering heated air into the tub 32. The drum 30 includes holes 33 in the end plates to enable heated air to enter the drum 30. Furthermore, the drum 30 comprises holes 35 in the cylindrical wall. As shown in fig. 2, heated air exits the drum 40 through a gap G, an outlet 38 on the tub 32 allows the air to exit, and a duct or conduit 56 connects the outlet 38 to an exhaust duct 60 via a blower 58. Thus, the used air is discharged from the combination washer/dryer 10. The exhaust duct 60 is connected to a duct in the building for discharge to the ambient environment.

A gap 70 is formed between the drum and the tub 32, and the gap 70 serves to recover water, etc. between the drum 30 and the tub 32. The drum has a cylindrical side wall 72 and an end plate 74. Likewise, the barrel 32 has a cylindrical wall 76 and an end wall 78. The outer surfaces of the side walls 72 and end walls 74 face the inner surface of the tub 32.

The sealing member 80 is connected between the drum 30 and the tub 32. As shown, the seal may be connected to the drum 30 or the tub 32. The seal 80 is located between the end surfaces 74, 78 of the drum 30 and the tub 32 or between the cylindrical side surfaces 72, 76 of the drum 30 and the tub 32.

Turning to fig. 3 and 4, seal 80 includes bellows seal 82 and solenoid 84. Bellows seal 82 includes a fixed portion 86, a bellows portion 88, and a positioning portion 90. The positioning portion 90 includes a magnet 92 retained within the positioning portion 90. The solenoid 84 is activated, which in turn pulls the magnet 92 toward the solenoid 84. When this occurs, as shown in fig. 4, the bellows portion 88 closes the gap between the drum 30 and the tub 32.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the seal 80 includes a securing portion 94 that secures it to the end face 78 of the barrel 32. Here, the solenoid 84 is activated, which pushes the magnet 92 away from the solenoid 84. When this occurs, the bellows portion 88 is caused to expand to close the gap between the drum 30 and the tub 32, as shown in fig. 6. Thus, as the electromagnetic device is activated during the drying cycle, the gap narrows. Therefore, the drying air is forced into the drum 30 and does not bypass the drum 30. Therefore, the drying of the laundry in the drum 30 is more efficient and the drying time period is reduced.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but are interchangeable where applicable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described, and likewise can vary in many respects. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A combination washer/dryer comprising:

a rotatable drum within the cabinet, the drum having an outer surface;

a tub positioned within the cabinet, the drum being rotatable in the tub, the tub having an inner surface; and

an electromagnetic seal extending between an outer surface of the drum and an inner surface of the tub during a drying operation to minimize bypass of drying air.

2. The combination washer/dryer of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic seal includes a bellows seal with a magnet therein and an electromagnetic device.

3. A combination washer/dryer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rotatable drum is cylindrical with a cylindrical side wall and an end wall.

4. A combination washer/dryer according to claim 3, wherein the seal is positioned in contact with an outer surface of the cylindrical sidewall.

5. A combination washer/dryer according to claim 4, wherein the electromagnetic device is positioned in contact with a wall of the tub.

6. The combination washer/dryer of claim 2, wherein the bellows seal and the electromagnetic device are positioned in contact with an end wall of the tub.

7. A combination washer/dryer comprising:

a cabinet;

a door to enable access to the cabinet;

a controller for operating the washing/drying machine;

a washing system;

a drying system;

a rotatable drum positioned within the cabinet, the drum having an outer surface;

an electromagnetic seal extending between an outer surface of the drum and an inner surface of the tub during a drying operation to minimize bypass of drying air around the drum.

8. The combination washer/dryer of claim 7, wherein the electromagnetic seal includes a bellows seal with a magnet therein and an electromagnetic device.

9. The combination washer/dryer of claim 8, wherein the rotatable drum is cylindrical with cylindrical side walls and end walls.

10. The combination washer/dryer of claim 9, wherein the seal is positioned in contact with an outer surface of the cylindrical sidewall.

11. The combination washer/dryer of claim 10, wherein the electromagnetic device is positioned in contact with a wall of the tub.

12. The combination washer/dryer of claim 8, wherein the bellows seal and the electromagnetic device are positioned in contact with the end walls of the drum and the tub.

13. A drum and tub combination of a washing/drying machine comprising:

a drum;

a tub, wherein the drum is positioned inside the tub; and

14. The drum and tub combination of claim 13, wherein the electromagnetic seal comprises a bellows seal with a magnet inside and an electromagnetic device.

15. The drum and tub combination of claim 14, wherein the rotatable drum is cylindrical with a cylindrical side wall and an end wall.

16. The drum and tub combination of claim 15, wherein the seal is positioned in contact with an outer surface of the cylindrical sidewall.

17. The drum and tub combination of claim 16, wherein the electromagnetic device is positioned in contact with a wall of the tub.

18. The drum and tub combination of claim 14, wherein the bellows seal and the electromagnetic device are positioned in contact with an end wall of the tub.