DK2855757T3 - DRYER. - Google Patents

Description

Description [0001 ] The invention relates to a laundry dryer having a housing, a drum which is driven rotatably in the housing for moving the laundry, a device which preferably comprises a burner for producing heat and an electronic unit which is used for control, the housing having a loading/unloading door.

[0002] The laundry dryer in question is among those laundry machines that are routinely used in commercial laundries. Reliability, low maintenance costs and energy savings are the most important factors.

[0003] Using laundry dryers of the type in question, fabrics of various types are intended to be gently and efficiently dried, with reproducible results. Drying programs can be adjusted to very specific requirements.

[0004] A wide range of embodiments of laundry dryers of the type in question, in particular those for commercial use, are known in practice. There is often the drawback that the structure thereof has a large number of indentations. Technical factors often determine the shape of surfaces, and due to the structures required for technical reasons, these surfaces are often difficult to clean. In practice, after just a short period of use this results in an unsightly appearance. In addition, known dryers emit an extremely large amount of heat, particularly in the region of the loading/unloading door. This means that not only is a considerable amount of energy lost, but also an unpleasant working climate is produced around dryers of this type. In addition to this, these dryers emit a considerable amount of noise, which negatively impacts the working environment.

[0005] US 4 015 930 A discloses a laundry dryer having the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0006] The problem addressed by the present invention is to design and develop a laundry dryer of the generic type, in particular for commercial use, such that it can be easily cleaned, in particular on the surface thereof. In addition, it is intended to emit as little heat and noise as possible.

[0007] The above problem is solved by a laundry dryer according to claim 1.

[0008] The invention discloses that the laundry dryer is provided with a special housing, namely with a lining at all sides, such that the housing or lining forms a substantially planar, preferably smooth outer skin, specifically at all sides of the dryer. In other words, the (commercial) dryer is surrounded by an outer skin such that it is extremely easy to clean the laundry dryer from the outside and to keep it acceptably clean in everyday use.

[0009] Particularly advantageously, the lining of the housing extends from the floor region up to the upper edge of the machine. This means that the entirety of the laundry dryer is lined, namely from the lowest point on the floor up to the upper edge of the mechanical parts or at least slightly therebeyond. This feature not only results in a virtually homogeneous outer skin of the laundry dryer, but also meets the requirements for thermal and/or noise-related encapsulation of the heat-emitting and/or noise-emitting regions of the dryer.

[0010] Particularly advantageously, the housing and/or the lining of the housing is produced from noise-absorbent and where applicable thermally insulating material. It is equally conceivable for the lining and/or the housing to be lined at the inner side with noise-absorbent and/or thermally insulating material. This feature can significantly reduce the amount of heat and noise that is emitted to the sides and diagonally downwards.

[0011] Any noise-absorbent material may be used for the inner lining. For example, alufoam panels may thus be used.

[0012] In order to make handling easier when loading and unloading, it is advantageous for a loading door to be provided or formed on the front side of the laundry dryer and for an unloading door to be provided or formed on the rear side. In order to make handling easier and to reduce the space required, the doors may be constructed as sliding doors, which can usually move vertically.

[0013] At least the loading door may be provided with a glass window, namely in order to make it possible to see the laundry falling, which, amongst other things, is responsible for the drying result. Therefore, the aim is, for example, for the laundry to come free from the drum and fall down within the drum “between 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock”, i.e. just before the uppermost position within the drum. With regard to the drum drive, it is stated that a frequency-controlled drum drive is advantageous.

[0014] A glass window is often a drawback for thermal insulation and noise protection. This is advantageously compensated for in that the glass window of the loading door has heatdamping and/or noise-damping glazing, preferably double-glazing. Owing to the double-glazing of the front side door (loading door), thermal radiation and noise emission can be considerably reduced.

[0015] Since two openings/doors are provided in the laundry dryer, namely a loading door on the front side and an unloading door on the rear side, it is also advantageous for suitable measures to be provided for unloading. Therefore, it is particularly advantageous if, for rear-side unloading, the upper portion of the machine comprising the drum can be tilted backwards about a horizontal tilting axis, in particular along a peripheral housing joint, below the drum. As part of an embodiment of this type, the upper housing portion can tilt horizontally backwards towards the unloading door together with the drum located therein such that the dried laundry can be tipped out of the drum properly. The upper portion of the machine may be tilted pneumatically. In principle, it may also be tilted hydraulically, but the use of hydraulic oil in the laundry sector is generally considered problematic.

[0016] Another feature can promote unloading the machine, namely by an air flow being produced inside the machine or the drum, which air flow is directed towards the unloading door. Owing to this feature, the dried laundry can be properly blown out of the drum.

[0017] In order to transport the dried laundry away in a simple manner, an unloading belt is provided immediately below the unloading door onto which the laundry is unloaded and transported away.

[0018] As mentioned previously, it is particularly significant for the invention that the housing or lining of the housing considerably reduces noise emission and heat emission. With regard to heat, this means that considerable temperatures occur inside the machine, which build up in comparison with conventional dryers. This can damage the electronic control unit/electronic unit. This is remedied by the essential components of the electronic unit being arranged outside the housing or lining in a separate control box which is fixed to the housing with spacing therefrom, in the manner of a rucksack. In other words, a separate control box arranged at a considerable distance from the outer skin of the laundry dryer, for example via lateral perforated plates, is provided outside the housing or the outer skin formed by the lining, on the rear side. According to the invention, the control box is arranged substantially in front of the unloading door with spacing from the housing suitable for unloading, such that the laundry can be unloaded in the region between the lining of the housing and the control box when the unloading door is open. The control box itself may comprise at least one, preferably two, doors that can be opened from the rear side and also controls, none of which is visible from the front side of the laundry dryer. Additional controls of the laundry dryer are preferably arranged on the side, for example in the form of buttons and/or a display, in particular designed as a touch panel. It is also conceivable to provide remote control via RF signals, Bluetooth, infrared, etc. Remote control can also be provided by a digital assistance device or a similar handheld device. This may be advantageous in particular for selecting a specific program or generating specific program steps.

[0019] There are various options for designing and developing the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous manner. To do this, reference can be made to the claims that are dependent on claim 1 and also to the following explanation of a preferred embodiment of the invention on the basis of the drawings. In conjunction with the explanation of the preferred embodiment of the invention on the basis of the drawings, preferred embodiments and developments of the teaching are also explained in general. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of a laundry dryer according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a schematic oblique view of the object from Fig. 1 from the right,

Fig. 3 is a schematic oblique view of the object from Fig. 1 from the left,

Fig. 4 is a schematic rear view of the object from Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the object from Fig. 1 from the left,

Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of the object from Fig. 1 from the right, and Fig. 7 is a schematic plan view of the object from Fig. 1.

[0020] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a commercial laundry dryer according to the invention for use in commercial laundries. The laundry dryer comprises a housing 1 and a drum 2 which is driven rotatably in the housing 1 for moving the laundry (not shown in the drawings). A burner (not shown in the drawings either) is used to produce heat. An electronic unit 3 which is used to control the laundry dryer is also provided.

[0021 ] The laundry dryer may comprise a single loading/unloading door for loading and unloading. In the embodiment of a laundry dryer according to the invention as shown in the drawings, a loading door 4 is provided on the front side and an unloading door 5 is provided on the rear side, namely for separate loading and unloading.

[0022] The housing 1 is provided with a lining 6 in such a manner that it forms a substantially planar, preferably smooth outer skin at all sides, as can be seen from the drawings in their entirety. Owing to this feature, the laundry dryer can be cleaned from the outside in an optimal manner, while all the mechanical elements are largely encapsulated within the housing 1 or the lining 6.

[0023] The drawings also show that the lining 6 of the housing 1 extends from the floor region 7 up to the upper edge of the machine. The machine or dryer is thus completely surrounded by the lining 6, the lining 6 of the housing 1 being produced from noise-absorbent and thermally insulating material. More specifically, the lining 6 is lined at the inner side with noise-absorbent and thermally insulating material, such that any emission to the sides from the upper edge diagonally downwards is considerably reduced. This feature has a positive impact on the immediate working environment of the laundry dryer.

[0024] It can also be seen from the drawings in their entirety that the loading door 4 is provided on the front side and the unloading door 5 is provided on the rear side, the doors being constructed as vertically sliding doors. This makes it possible to open and close the laundry dryer in a simple and compact manner.

[0025] In order to see the laundry falling, the loading door has heat-damping/noise-damping glazing, this particularly advantageously being designed as double-glazing.

[0026] Fig. 1 particularly clearly shows the viewing window 9 integrated in the front side surface, which forms the outer skin on the front side together with the housing 1 or lining 6.

[0027] Fig. 2 clearly shows that the lining 6 or the outer skin formed by the lining 6 extends from the floor region 7 to the upper edge 8 of the machine or even therebeyond, such that the entirety of the laundry dryer is lined or surrounded by an outer skin. A control panel 10 comprising a screen is provided on the right-hand side, in the side wall of the lining 6.

[0028] Fig. 2 and 3 show that a separate control box 11 is arranged on the rear side of the housing 1 or lining 6, specifically with spacing from the housing 1. The spacing is produced by lateral metal sheets/perforated plates 12.

[0029] Fig. 5 and 6 show the laundry dryer from both sides, and the spaced-apart control box 11 having the electronic control unit positioned therein can be seen in these figures. The laundry is output in the region between the control box 11 and the housing 1 or lining 6 itself via the unloading door 5, which can only be seen in the plan view according to Fig. 7 on the rear side of the housing 1.

[0030] The drawings also show a peripheral housing joint 13, along which the upper portion 14 of the housing 1 together with the drum 2 located therein can be tilted backwards about a tilting axis 15, in order to facilitate the unloading process towards the rear, in the region between the control box 11 and the lining 6.

[0031] For further advantageous embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, to avoid repetition reference is made to the general part of the description and to the accompanying claims.

[0032] Lastly, it is expressly noted that the embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention as described above is merely used to explain the claimed teaching, but this is not limited to the embodiments.

List of reference signs [0033] 1 housing 2 drum 3 electronic unit/electronic control unit 4 loading door 5 unloading door 6 lining (of the housing) 7 floor region 8 upper edge 9 viewing window 10 control panel, controls 11 control box 12 lateral metal sheet/perforated plate 13 peripheral housing joint 14 upper portion of the housing 15 tilting axis

Claims (8)

A tumble dryer with a housing (1), a drum (2) pivotally driven in the housing (1) to move the laundry, a device preferably comprising a burner, for generating heat and an electronics serving for the control, wherein the housing (1) comprises a filling / emptying door (4, 5), wherein the housing (1) is provided with a cladding so that on all sides a substantially planar exterior cladding is formed, and wherein there is provided a filling door (4) on the front and a discharge door (5) on the rear, characterized in that the essential components of the electronics are arranged outside the housing (1) in a separate control cabinet (11) having operating elements (10) and which is secured to the housing (1) at a distance therefrom, and that the control cabinet (11) is located at a suitable distance for emptying from the housing (1), substantially in front of the discharge door (5). Dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that the covering of the housing (1) extends from the bottom area (7) up to the upper edge (8) of the machine. Dryer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the housing (1) and / or the covering (6) of the housing (1) is made of sound-absorbing and optionally heat-insulating material and / or is lined with sound-absorbing and / or heat-insulating material on inside. Dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the doors (4, 5) are designed as sliding doors. Dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least the filling door (4) comprises a glass window having a heat and / or sound insulating pane, preferably a double pane. Dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the upper part of the machine comprising the drum (2) for emptying at the rear can be tilted rearwardly about a horizontal tilt axis (15) along a circumferential joint (13). ) of the housing, preferably by means of pneumatics. Dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the emptying of the machine is favored by an air flow provided inside the machine. Dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that an emptying belt is provided on which the machine empties directly.