EP0071312A1

EP0071312A1 - Tumble drier

Info

Publication number: EP0071312A1
Application number: EP82200937A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Philip Philips Domestic Barnish; Peter Philips Domestic Cash; Reginald Philips Domestic Sutcliffe
Original assignee: Philips Electronic and Associated Industries Ltd; Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken NV; Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Current assignee: Whirlpool International BV
Priority date: 1981-07-31
Filing date: 1982-07-22
Publication date: 1983-02-09
Also published as: GB2102548B; DE3270610D1; DE8220838U1; EP0071312B1; GB2102548A

Abstract

A tumble drier comprising a drum for tumbling the articles of a laundry load whilst a stream of air is passed over said articles by means of a fan 5, the drier having a cabinet with an air outlet opening through which the air used is vented via an exhaust duct. The exhaust duct comprises an extensible convoluted hose 8 which is supported in a collar 9 defining the cabinet outlet opening, the full length of the hose 8 being capable of being stored in a longitudinally compressed state within said cabinet, and the collar 9 permitting any required length of hose to be withdrawn from the cabinet through the collar.

Description

The invention relates to a tumble drier comprising a cabinet, a rotatable drum in the cabinet for tumbling the articles of a laundry load whilst a stream of air is passed over said articles, and a fan arranged to draw air into the cabinet, to pass the air through the drum, and then to pass the air out through an opening in a wall of the cabinet via an exhaust duct. The invention more particularly, but not exclusively, relates to such a drier in which said opening is in the rear wall of the cabinet. Driers of the type defined above are well known and are referred to as front-venting, side-venting, or rear-venting according to whether the opening is respectively in the front wall, a side wall, or the rear wall of the cabinet.
Unless a tumble drier is provided with a moisture condenser for trapping water extracted from the articles of a laundry load, the exhaust air discharged from the drier will carry with it the moisture removed from the laundry articles. Some driers allow the resulting moisture-laden air to be discharged directly into a room from the said opening in a wall of the cabinet but, if the drier is used in a small room, this can make the room atmosphere unpleasant and also lead to condensation on cold surfaces of the room. It is preferable if the opening in the wall of the drier is connected by external ducting to a permanent exhaust outlet located in an exterior wall of the building. This facility, however, is frequently provided in a temporary manner by means of a flexible tube, or hose, one end of which is attached to the opening in the cabinet and the other (free) end is passed through, for example, an open window. For many users, this arrangement is reasonably satisfactory and the hose can be quickly positioned whenever it is intended to use the drier. Alternatively, the hose can be semi-permanently attached to an exhaust outlet in an exterior wall of the building concerned.
Most tumble driers are used without having a need for such an external hose and it is therefore not economically viable for manufacturers to provide such a hose with every tumble drier. In order to provide a satisfactory installation, the user of the drier which needs such a hose therefore has to purchase a so-called venting kit comprising a flexible extensible hose having suitable connecting means at one end to enable it to, be connected to the air outlet opening in the wall of the drier.
Such venting kits have several possible disadvantages. Firstly, an end of the hose has to be located accurately with respect to the opening in the cabinet wall and then secured in position by means of clips, screws, or other forms of fixing. Many users of domestic tumble driers would find this a difficult task, since it is well established that many people are unable to use even such a simple manipulative tool as a screwdriver. Secondly, depending upon the arrangement of the equipment in the room concerned relative to a window or other venting point, it is sometimes necessary to store the tumble drier in a different location from that in which it is used. In this case, the presence of a bulky hose attached at one end to the tumble drier increases the storage space required, gives a generally untidy appearance, and raises problems as to how and where to locate the hose for storage. Thirdly, the number of venting kits manufactured is relatively low compared with the number of tumble driers manufactured due to the fact that the kit is not always required. This, together with the fact that the wholesaler and retailer has to provide storage space for the kits and also that the kits have to be appropriately packaged and protected, results in a need to charge a relatively high price for the kit. Fourthly, in cases where the tumble drier is permanently installed, the installer frequently has to cut the hose to the particular length required. This may not be a simple task because the connecting means for connection to the vent wall or window may have to be re-assembled to the cut hose by the installer.
The principle object of the invention is to mitigate or eliminate these disadvantages.
The invention accordingly provides a tumble drier of the type defined in the opening paragraph hereof, characterised in that said exhaust duct comprises an extensible convoluted outlet hose which is supported in a collar defining the cabinet outlet opening, the arrangement being such that the full length of the hose can be stored in a longitudinally compressed state within said cabinet, and such that any required length of the hose can be withdrawn from said cabinet through the collar.
Thus in a tumble drier according to the invention, an extensible hose replaces the conventional rigid exhaust duct and. this hose can, if desired, be extended from the cabinet to perform the function of the venting kit. Since every drier is provided with such a hose, the increased production quantities reduce the effective cost of the hose substantially to a level not significantly greater than that of the rigid exhaust duct that it replaces. Also, of course, the problems of storage space are completely eliminated.
In order to assist the ease with which the hose can be withdrawn from and pushed back into the cabinet, the collar may have a sleeve portion which extends internally of the cabinet from the air outlet opening, the said sleeve-like portion having an axial length which is at least equal to the hose diameter. This facilitates the withdrawal of the hose from the cabinet. Preferably, the end of the collar remote from the opening is flared in order further to ease the withdrawal of the hose. Another purpose of the sleeve portion is to make sure that if a finger is inserted into the necessarily loose fit between the flexible hose and the collar there is no danger of contactive live or moving parts.
In order to prevent a hand or arm from being inserted into the open end of the hose, a barrier may be provided in said end in such a manner as not to obstruct the air flow from the hose to any significant extent.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:-

Figure 1 is a part plan view partly in section of the base area of a tumble drier showing the outlet hose in a compressed condition, and
Figure 2 is a similar view showing the outlet hose in an extended condition.

The drier comprises a base portion 1 which supports a front cabinet wall 2 and a rear cabinet wall 3. The front cabinet wall 2 carries a door (not shown) through which access may be obtained to a rotatable drum (not shown) in which articles of a laundry load are tumbled during the drying operation. The inner surface of the front cabinet wall 2 supports a so-called banjo housing 4 which surrounds an open end of the drum and is coupled to a centrifugal fan 5 having a casing 6 provided with an outlet tube 7. One end of a flexible convoluted extensible hose 8 is secured to outlet tube 7. Figure 1 shows a collar 9 which defines an opening in the rear wall 3 of the cabinet and which supports the other end of hose 8. This other end of the hose is provided with a flanged end-member 11 and with one or more cross struts 12 which prevent the ingress of the hand without significantly obstructing the air flow through the hose. The flanged end-member 11 is provided with means (not shown) for attaching it to the rear wall 3 in the position shown in Figure 1. Such means may be a readily releasable fixing arrangement such as a clip, bayonet, or snap-in fitting.
Figure 2 shows the hose extended from the drier and supported by collar 9 intermediate its ends. Collar 9 is provided with a sleeve portion 13 having a length greater than the diameter of the hose in order to help prevent any jamming of the hose in the sleeve. To assist the feeding of the hose through the sleeved collar, the end of sleeve 13 remote from the rear wall 3 of the cabinet is provided with a flare 14.
In operation of the embodiment shown in the drawings, the fan 5 draws air into the cabinet, through the drum (not shown) and into the banjo housing 4 which serves to collect air from the periphery of an opening in the drum. The fan then forces this air from the cabinet via the exhaust hose 8. Instead of drawing air through the drum, the fan may alternatively be arranged to blow air through the drum. In nearly all tumble driers, the air is of course heated before being passed through the drum, but this is not relevant to the invention.
Whilst the embodiment shown in the drawing is provided with an opening in the rear wall of the cabinet, such an opening may alternatively be provided in either side wall, or even in the front wall.

Claims

1. A tumble drier comprising a cabinet, a rotatable drum in the cabinet for tumbling the articles of a laundry load whilst a stream of air is passed over said articles, and a fan arranged to draw air into the cabinet, to pass the air through the drum, and then to pass the air out through an opening in a wall of the cabinet via an exhaust duct, characterised in that said exhaust duct comprises an extensible convoluted outlet hose which is supported in a collar defining the cabinet outlet opening, the arrangement being such that the full length of the hose can be stored in a longitudinally compressed state within said cabinet, and such that any required length of the hose can be withdrawn from said cabinet through the collar.

2. A drier as claimed in Claim 1 in which said opening is in the rear wall of the cabinet.

3. A drier as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which amid collar has a. sleeve portion which extends internally of the cabinet from the air outlet opening, the said sleeve-like portion having an axial length which is at least equal to the hose diameter.

4. A drier as claimed in any previous Claim in which the end of the collar remote from said opening is flared.