EP0112138A1 - Wäschetrockner - Google Patents

Wäschetrockner Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0112138A1
EP0112138A1 EP83307514A EP83307514A EP0112138A1 EP 0112138 A1 EP0112138 A1 EP 0112138A1 EP 83307514 A EP83307514 A EP 83307514A EP 83307514 A EP83307514 A EP 83307514A EP 0112138 A1 EP0112138 A1 EP 0112138A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
equipment
casing
opening
shell
loop
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP83307514A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
John Garfield Davies
Derek John Watts
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
TI Domestic Appliances Ltd
Original Assignee
TI Domestic Appliances Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB838301583A external-priority patent/GB8301583D0/en
Application filed by TI Domestic Appliances Ltd filed Critical TI Domestic Appliances Ltd
Publication of EP0112138A1 publication Critical patent/EP0112138A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F58/00—Domestic laundry dryers
    • D06F58/02—Domestic laundry dryers having dryer drums rotating about a horizontal axis
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F58/00—Domestic laundry dryers
    • D06F58/02—Domestic laundry dryers having dryer drums rotating about a horizontal axis
    • D06F58/04—Details 

Definitions

  • This invention relates to laundry drying equipment.
  • Conventional forms of such equipment include the well known tumbler dryer that comprises a drum for holding articles to be dried and which is mounted in a casing of cube-like form for rotation about a horizontal axis.
  • tumbler dryers there is a considerable waste of space between the drum and the casing.
  • laundry drying equipment comprises a casing having an opening through which articles to be dried are loaded into a space bounded in part by a closed loop, the closed loop being sported for movement around the opening by support means formed in or provided on front and rear support members and which co-operate with the front and rear edges of the loop to support the latter, means including an air heater for supplying heated air to the space, and, means for driving the loop round the opening.
  • the articles to be dried are thus loaded into an enclosure of generally box-like form with a fixed wall - the front wall - in which the loading opening is located, a second fixed wall - the rear wall - opposite to the front wall, and the closed loop located between the fixed walls.
  • the loop may be constrained by the guides to follow a path having a lower side wall that is flat or substantially so and on to which the articles are loaded, an upper side wall and two end walls.
  • the closed loop may be formed from a flexible moulded plastics or elastomeric membrane or a combination of these materials, or it may be of a fabric material in combination with one or both of these materials or it may be a rigid cylinder.
  • the loop may comprise a number of rigid sections hinged together to give the required degree of flexibility.
  • the loop may have transverse vanes to assist in imparting a tumbling action to the articles during a drying operation.
  • the loop is of flexible material, it may be strengthened by cross struts to ensure that it will support without undue flexing the weight of articles loaded on to it.
  • the supporting guides may take the form of tracks, for example flanges moulded upon casing front and back walls.
  • the loop may be carried by rollers which move along the track or are part of the track.
  • the track may be faced with low friction material over which the edges of the loop slide.
  • the facing may be continuous.
  • the edges of the loop may also be faced with low friction material either continuously or in discrete areas.
  • Sealing means may be provided to reduce leakage of air from the space bounded by the loop in cases where air is passed directly to that space, for example via apertures in the back wall of the casing, the air being discharged from the space via a suitable outlet which may be in the loading door.
  • air may be passed into the space via perforations in the surface of the loop.
  • the casing would be sealed, air exiting from the space via a suitable outlet or outlets which may be in the loading door or in the casing.
  • the direction of movement of the loop is reversible at intervals during a drying operation to assist even drying of the articles and to reduce the "balling" of the articles that usually occurs with uni-directional movement.
  • a drying cycle may be provided in which the closed loop is stationary. Such a cycle is used for drying delicate articles which are laid on the flat lower side of the closed loop and are then subjected to gentle drying by passing heated air at a suitable temperature through the space.
  • the laundry drying equipment may comprise a casing having an opening through which articles to be dried are loaded into the equipment, an article supporting conveyor in the form of a flexible endless belt, supporting guides within the casing for supporting the conveyor for movement around the opening in a closed loop of generally rectangular form, means including an air heater for supplying heated air to the space bounded by the conveyor, and means for driving the conveyor along the supporting guides.
  • the laundry drying equipment may comprise a casing having an opening through which articles to be dried are loaded into a shell rotatably mounted within the casing by means of support means formed in or provided on front and rear support members and which co-operate with the front and rear edges of the shell to support the latter, means including an air heater for supplying heated air to the interior of the shell, and driving means for rotating the shell.
  • the driving means will normally comprise an electric motor operatively coupled to the closed loop to drive the latter, for example, by being coupled to teeth moulded integrally with the closed loop.
  • the embodiment is of drying equipment suitable for domestic use and comprises a casing including a box-like plinth 1 and front and back walls 2, 3.
  • Front wall 1 has a central opening 4 which is the loading opening.
  • a drop-down door 5 is hinged to the front wall 2 to close the opening 4 when the equipment is in use.
  • the casing is completed by top and side walls of one-piece construction, shown in Fig. 1 at 6.
  • the top and side walls are secured in a suitable manner to the front and back walls 2, 3 and to the plinth 1.
  • Suitable snap fastenings may be used consolidated preferably by a limited number of screws.
  • the walls and base of the casing may be of a suitable plastics material thereby allowing them to be produced by a moulding process.
  • the plastics material may be glass coupled or talc filled polypropylene for example.
  • the opposed facing sides of the front and back walls 2, 3 are formed or provided with supporting guides of which only those in the back wall 2 are shown at 7, which constrain a conveyor 8 to follow a closed loop path with flat sides and rounded corners thereby providing a drying space, the loading opening 4 giving access to the space.
  • the conveyor comprises a flexible endless belt or loop 9 of an open-mesh or apertured material capable of withstanding the effect of hot air supplied to the space during a drying operation.
  • the loop may be of a plastics or elastomeric material of the required flexibility and able to withstand the temperatures involved or of a combination of these materials.
  • the material may be polypropylene for example enabling the loop to be produced very economically. It could also be made from a suitable fabric with edges of a moulded plastics or elastomeric material.
  • teeth 10, 11 are formed adjacent the edges of the loop 9.
  • Spaced strengthening strips may be fixed transversely across the width of the loop on the outside surface thereof whilst to the inner surface vanes (not shown) are secured at spaced intervals.
  • the loop 9 is a relatively close fit around the guides in the walls 2, 3. Rollers 12 set into the guides in the vicinity of the corners facilitate movement of the loop.
  • the bearing faces of the guides may be covered with a layer of a low friction material, for
  • the loop 9 is driven by an electric motor indicated schematically at 13 and located within the casing and whose output shaft carries pinions 14 that meshes with driving pinion 15 in engagement with the teeth 10, 11 at the edges of the loop 9.
  • the output shaft of the motor also drives a fan indicated at 16 that draws air into the casing via an inlet vent 17 in the latter.
  • the fan is of the cross-flow type used in electric fan heaters although other forms of fan may be used.
  • the lower run 19 of the loop 9 is flat and beneath this run and spaced therefrom is a heater element 20 of sheet-like form that is substantially co-extensive with the lower run 19.
  • the element 20 is arranged to provide at least two heat outputs of different values selectable by a user as is described below.
  • the fan 16 is so arranged as to discharge air into the space between the lower run 19 and the heater element 20.
  • the front wall 2 also carries a control switch 22 that controls energisation of the heater element 20 and a timer 23 of any suitable form that is set by a user in accordance with the desired duration of a drying cycle.
  • the front and back walls 2, 3 are shown as flanged and these flanges are used to secure the panels to the plinth 1 and the side and top wall unit 6 to the front and back walls.
  • the joints between the components just mentioned are such that air can escape only from the vents 21 when the equipment is in operation.
  • An air seal (not shown) round the periphery of the door 5 prevents escape of air from the casing via the opening 4..
  • the motor 13 drives the loop 9 round the closed path and this imparts a tumbling action to the article; this action being assisted by the vanes referred to above.
  • Air from the fan 16 heated by heater 20 enters the space through loop 9, passes over and round the articles in that space and leaves via the open mesh and passes to atmosphere via the vents 21. There may also be some radiated heat from heater 20.
  • the drying cycle follows conventional practice and will include, during the final stages, the so-called cold run during which the heater is de-energised and cool air circulates through the conveyor to cool the articles.
  • Other means of controlling the duration of the drying cycle may be used, for example, means responsive to the temperature of air leaving the space.
  • Air within the casing becomes hot and a gentle circulation of air within the casing and through the space is set up thereby drying the article.
  • seals may be fitted to prevent leakage of air past the edges of the loop and these edges may be rounded to improve the sealing.
  • the closed path of the loop follows closely the inside contour of the casing thereby minimising waste space.
  • the closed path will not be geometrically rectangular but will have gently rounded ends as shown to reduce frictional resistance to movement of the loop.
  • the ends of the loop need not be vertical but could be inclined.
  • the lower run of the loop need not be exactly flat but may follow a gently curved path. The lower run enables a user to dry flat articles which require this type of drying.
  • the fan and/or heater may be so arranged as to direct air through the heater prior to the air entering the space.
  • a single vent in the back panel may be adapted to receive a discharge duct to enable air to be discharged to the atmosphere external to the room in which the equipment is located.
  • the vents 21 are omitted and instead, the door 5 has an air exit fitted with a removable lint filter.
  • the back panel, or a part thereof, may be used to form the air duct.
  • the front and back panels may be structural components within a separate casing and not parts of the latter as is the case of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.
  • the drive belt passes round part of the loop in driving engagement therewith and is driven by a pulley on the output shaft of the motor. In this case, the teeth 10, 11 are omitted.
  • the second embodiment shown in Fig. 2 is also of drying equipment suitable for domestic use and comprises a casing (not shown) and front and back walls 25, 26.
  • the walls 25, 26 may constitute the front and back walls of the casing or they may be internal structures within an outer casing.
  • the walls 25, 26 may be of a moulded plastics material for example glass-coupled or talc-filled polypropylene.
  • Both walls 25, 26 are formed with integral flanges 27, 28 respectively which form circular tracks on which the front and rear edges of a conveyor in the form of a cylindrical shell 29 are supported in such manner that the shell is rotatable about its horizontal axis.
  • the flanges 27, 28 may be coated or surfaced with an anti-friction material and air seals may be provided to reduce air leakage from the interior of the shell.
  • the front wall 25 has an opening 30 aligned but not necessarily co-extensive with the forward end of the shell 29.
  • a closure 31 mounted upon the wall 25 or on a front panel member'of the casing is provided to close the opening 30 when the dryer is in use as will be described below. Sealing means (not shown) between the closure 31 and the panel 25 prevent unwanted escape of air.
  • the rear wall 26 also has an opening 32 aligned but not co-extensive with the rear end of the shell 29. Opening 32 is covered by a removable lint filter 33 supported upon a filter cover 34 that, whilst not preventing the free flow of air through the filter 8 prevents damage to the filter by articles moving around inside the shell 29 as the latter is rotated.
  • the shell 29 is of rigid, cylindrical, open-ended form and may be of metal or of a suitable plastics material with perforations 35 in its wall and internally extending vanes 36 which may be integral with the shell or may be separate components secured on the internal face of the shell.
  • the vanes 36 operate in the well-known manner to impart a tumbling action to articles in the shell as the latter is rotated.
  • the output shaft of the motor is coupled to the shell for example by a belt in engagement with the periphery of the shell adjacent one end thereof or by means of a pinion on the shaft that is in engagement with circumferential spaced teeth on the outside surface of the shell.
  • the motor also drives an impeller which draws air from the atmosphere via an inlet aperture in the casing and pumps it over an electric heating element (not shown) and into the interior of the shell via the perforations 35.
  • a user opens the closure 31 and loads articles to be dried into the shell 29 after which the closure 31 is shut and the motor energised to rotate the shell and drive the impeller.
  • the heater is energised and heated air passes into the shell and the articles are tumbled in the stream of heated air by the rotation of the shell and the action of the vanes 36.
  • the air leaves the shell by the open rear end thereof and the aperture 32, the filter 33 removing fluff and other entrained matter before the air is discharged to atmosphere.
  • air flow is indicated by the arrows.
  • the user opens the closure (rotation of the shell having ceased) and removes the articles.
  • the equipment will operate on any of the well-known drying cycles for tumbler dryers and the duration of the cycle may be time-controlled by a timer set by the user or by the value of some other variable, for example, the temperature of air leaving the shell.
  • air leaving the shell exits to atmosphere via an aperture, which may be louvred, in the closure 31 as indicated at 37 in the drawing.
  • the rear wall 26 will not have the aperture 32 or it will be blanked off.
  • the closure 31 will also incorporate a removable filter for filtering air before discharge to atmosphere.
  • a discharge duct may be used to convey air leaving via the aperture 32 or the corresponding aperture in the closure 31 directly to "outside" so that the air is not discharged into the room in which the equipment is located.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Drying Of Solid Materials (AREA)
EP83307514A 1982-12-13 1983-12-09 Wäschetrockner Withdrawn EP0112138A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8235437 1982-12-13
GB8235437 1982-12-13
GB8301583 1983-01-20
GB838301583A GB8301583D0 (en) 1983-01-20 1983-01-20 Laundry drying equipment

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0112138A1 true EP0112138A1 (de) 1984-06-27

Family

ID=26284671

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP83307514A Withdrawn EP0112138A1 (de) 1982-12-13 1983-12-09 Wäschetrockner

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0112138A1 (de)
GB (1) GB2133128B (de)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006120644A1 (en) * 2005-05-12 2006-11-16 Arcelik Anonim Sirketi A dryer
WO2011040761A2 (en) 2009-09-29 2011-04-07 Lg Electronics Inc. Dryer
WO2011105829A3 (en) * 2010-02-24 2011-10-20 Lg Electronics Inc. Laundry treatment machine
KR20120058091A (ko) * 2010-11-29 2012-06-07 엘지전자 주식회사 세탁물 처리기기
CN103154351A (zh) * 2010-08-09 2013-06-12 Lg电子株式会社 衣物处理装置
CN104428460A (zh) * 2012-02-16 2015-03-18 Lg电子株式会社 衣物处理设备
US9758919B2 (en) 2010-08-09 2017-09-12 Lg Electronics Inc. Apparatus for treating laundry

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2240386A (en) * 1990-01-26 1991-07-31 Lucas Ind Plc Drying washed articles
IT9045755A1 (it) * 1990-09-25 1992-03-26 Zanussi Elettrodomestici Asciugabiancheria con accessori integrati

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB852034A (en) * 1958-02-24 1960-10-19 Easy Washing Machine Company L Improvements in or relating to clothes drier drums
US3102796A (en) * 1960-12-01 1963-09-03 Gen Electric Laundry machine
US3321846A (en) * 1965-01-04 1967-05-30 Whirlpool Co Stationary drum clothes dryer
US3584393A (en) * 1969-10-31 1971-06-15 Gen Motors Corp Split drum dryer
US3932947A (en) * 1974-12-09 1976-01-20 The Schlegel Manufacturing Company Bearing and seal for tumbler belt clothes dryer
US4007546A (en) * 1975-08-06 1977-02-15 Whirlpool Corporation Clothes dryer with flexible drum
DE2917635A1 (de) * 1978-06-27 1980-01-10 Textima Veb K Trommeltrockner

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB852034A (en) * 1958-02-24 1960-10-19 Easy Washing Machine Company L Improvements in or relating to clothes drier drums
US3102796A (en) * 1960-12-01 1963-09-03 Gen Electric Laundry machine
US3321846A (en) * 1965-01-04 1967-05-30 Whirlpool Co Stationary drum clothes dryer
US3584393A (en) * 1969-10-31 1971-06-15 Gen Motors Corp Split drum dryer
US3932947A (en) * 1974-12-09 1976-01-20 The Schlegel Manufacturing Company Bearing and seal for tumbler belt clothes dryer
US4007546A (en) * 1975-08-06 1977-02-15 Whirlpool Corporation Clothes dryer with flexible drum
DE2917635A1 (de) * 1978-06-27 1980-01-10 Textima Veb K Trommeltrockner

Cited By (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006120644A1 (en) * 2005-05-12 2006-11-16 Arcelik Anonim Sirketi A dryer
CN102639778B (zh) * 2009-09-29 2015-02-25 Lg电子株式会社 烘干机
WO2011040762A2 (en) 2009-09-29 2011-04-07 Lg Electronics Inc. Dryer
EP2483466A4 (de) * 2009-09-29 2015-07-15 Lg Electronics Inc Trockner
CN102639780A (zh) * 2009-09-29 2012-08-15 Lg电子株式会社 烘干机
EP2483468A4 (de) * 2009-09-29 2015-07-15 Lg Electronics Inc Trockner
CN102639778A (zh) * 2009-09-29 2012-08-15 Lg电子株式会社 烘干机
CN102639779A (zh) * 2009-09-29 2012-08-15 Lg电子株式会社 烘干机
EP2483467A4 (de) * 2009-09-29 2015-07-15 Lg Electronics Inc Trockner
WO2011040764A2 (en) 2009-09-29 2011-04-07 Lg Electronics Inc. Dryer
WO2011040761A2 (en) 2009-09-29 2011-04-07 Lg Electronics Inc. Dryer
CN102639780B (zh) * 2009-09-29 2015-02-11 Lg电子株式会社 烘干机
US8857226B2 (en) 2010-02-24 2014-10-14 Lg Electronics Inc. Laundry treatment machine
WO2011105829A3 (en) * 2010-02-24 2011-10-20 Lg Electronics Inc. Laundry treatment machine
CN103154351A (zh) * 2010-08-09 2013-06-12 Lg电子株式会社 衣物处理装置
CN103154351B (zh) * 2010-08-09 2016-01-20 Lg电子株式会社 衣物处理装置
US9809917B2 (en) 2010-08-09 2017-11-07 Lg Electronics Inc. Apparatus for treating laundry
US9096965B2 (en) 2010-08-09 2015-08-04 Lg Electronics Inc. Apparatus for treating laundry having a ring shaped circular guide
US9758919B2 (en) 2010-08-09 2017-09-12 Lg Electronics Inc. Apparatus for treating laundry
KR20120058091A (ko) * 2010-11-29 2012-06-07 엘지전자 주식회사 세탁물 처리기기
US9382656B2 (en) 2012-02-16 2016-07-05 Lg Electronics Inc. Laundry treating apparatus
US9428856B2 (en) 2012-02-16 2016-08-30 Lg Electronics Inc. Laundry treating apparatus
US9540757B2 (en) 2012-02-16 2017-01-10 Lg Electronics Inc. Laundry treating apparatus
CN104428460B (zh) * 2012-02-16 2017-06-20 Lg 电子株式会社 衣物处理设备
EP2815017A4 (de) * 2012-02-16 2015-08-05 Lg Electronics Inc Wäschebehandlungsvorrichtung
CN104428460A (zh) * 2012-02-16 2015-03-18 Lg电子株式会社 衣物处理设备

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2133128A (en) 1984-07-18
GB2133128B (en) 1986-04-03
GB8332963D0 (en) 1984-01-18

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PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

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AK Designated contracting states

Designated state(s): DE FR IT NL

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19841219

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 19851219

RIN1 Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected)

Inventor name: WATTS, DEREK JOHN

Inventor name: DAVIES, JOHN GARFIELD