ES2300934T3 - CLOTHING DRIER EQUIPPED WITH ADDITIVE DISPENSING MEDIA. - Google Patents

Abstract

Clothes drying machine comprising a drum rotating about its own axis, a plurality of clothes lifting ribs that arranged radially along the inner surface of the cylindrical sidewall of said drum and comprise respective means adapted to receive or contain solid or liquid substances that are filled in prior to starting a drying cycle. These containing means are comprised of respective reservoirs provided with respective filling orifices that are accessible from the outside of the drum, and are further provided with respective calibrated perforations adapted to enable the substances contained in the respective reservoirs to be let out and dispersed into the drum, or removable rib portions adapted to fixedly hold individually interchangeable treatment plates that are placed each time within said rib portions.

Description

Clothes dryer equipped with dispensing means of additives

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The present invention relates to a type improved clothes dryer, preferably of the intended type for use in the domestic sphere, equipped with more effective means to disperse liquid or solid substances in the garments that are They are drying on the machine drum.

It is a widely known fact that during a drying process that takes place in a clothes dryer type mentioned above, it is often desirable to introduce certain substances in the rotating drum to produce a series of different effects on the clothes that are drying, than in In general, they can be summarized as follows:

- water: the introduction of small quantities of water, whose vaporization is caused simply and quickly inside the drum, it allows to wet excessively dry clothes to prepare it for ironing; In addition, if water is not introduced into its liquid state, but in the form of an aerosol or spray finely dispersed, as described for example in the European Patent Application No. 04 100490.4 and in EP 1 431 443, you get the effect that the clothes that are loaded in the drum is practically subjected to a "refreshing" action, which it is neither a washing process nor a drying process, but a process that closely approximates a light ironing treatment, with the advantage that such a treatment is performed in a fully automatic way, without the user wasting time and that the clothes treated in this way are ready for use, is say, it can be taken immediately after;

- perfumes: the desire to perfume the clothes during the drying process, and not only during the drying process, actually, so that it will not be treated additionally in this case.

There are a variety of ways in which they can obtain these effects. Some of the most typical among these methods are described for example in patent publications U.S. 3,180,037 and 2002/0069465. These methods are based in the common fact that the substances to be added to the Drying drum or are injected into the drum by means of appropriate injectors operated by pumping devices respective, or made available with the help of media atomization, for example of the type that generates ultrasound, which They generate an aerosol effect directly inside the drum.

Such embodiments are generally very effective to achieve the required purpose. But nevertheless,  they also involve quite complicated constructions, due to the presence of some operating parts, such as pumps, atomizers, ultrasonic generators, vaporizers, and the like so that ultimately they become excessively expensive in view of adding a function that is not really essential in use of a clothes dryer.

For document US A 3701202 and EP 0 351 671 A1 a dryer drum is known comprising a container elongate detachably attached to the drum; said container It has a lid that can be removed to fill the container with conditioning substances and a series of outlet openings in your upper part. However, such substances are only liquid, and therefore they cannot be used to distribute substances solid.

From US 6,779,740 B1 a known dryer drum, comprising a solid product dispenser coupled to the lifting projections; however, said dispensers must be connected to respective lifting projections by a magnet Said circumstance makes said dispenser of product has a more delicate and more expensive construction.

Therefore, it would be desirable and is actually a main object of the present invention to provide a dryer of clothing that is adapted to allow clothing to cycle of treatment that includes the addition of various substances type, both in the liquid state and in the gaseous state, in the drum which contains the clothes to be dried, in which said characteristic does not imply a significant complication in the dryer construction and, above all, does not imply an increase significant cost; in addition, the addition of such feature will not harm other aspects of performance or machine functions, and can also be used and put into operation in a completely simple and reliable way in which the user respects.

According to the present invention, these objectives, along with other additional ones that will be described later, they get in a clothes dryer that incorporates the features listed in the appended claims. Anyway, the characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be understood more easily from the description given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the drawings Attachments, in which:

- Figure 1 is a sectional view cross section of the drum of a technical clothes dryer anterior, seen in an orthogonal direction to its axis drum;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view exterior of a part of a drum lifter protrusion of a drum dryer according to the present invention;

- Figure 2/1 is the same view of a part of the clothing lift protrusion as shown in Figure 2, but in a different operating state;

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- Figures 2A and 2B are a sectional view schematic transverse along the X axis of the drum clothing lift protrusion shown in figure 2 and a view in schematic cross section of the same projection seen along of an orthogonal section line to said "X" axis of the drum, respectively;

- Figure 3 is a perspective view exterior of a second embodiment of a clothing lift protrusion of a dryer drum according to the present invention;

- Figures 3A and 3B are two views in exploded perspective of two mounting states of the respective projections shown in figure 3;

- Figure 4 is a view of the lifting boss of clothing shown in Figure 3, installed on the drum;

- Figure 5 is a view of the projection of the Figure 4, as shown with a separate inventive device of the same.

In a clothes dryer according to one embodiment generally known from the prior art a 1 rotating drum containing the clothes to be dried, to which a duct (not shown) for air circulation is associated drying

Inside the drum 1 are arranged a plurality of protrusions 2 clothing elevators, whose purpose is known widely in the art.

According to the present invention, the substances that should be diffused in the drum during a drying process introduce appropriate containers in advance that are provided within said projections, also providing appropriate channels to allow such substances to diffuse from said container means inside the internal volume of the drum during the drying and / or treatment process.

With reference to figures 2, 2A and 2B, and assuming the case that the substances mentioned above they are in a liquid state, the projection 2 is provided inside an internal reservoir 3, which can be accessed from the outside through a filling hole 4 that can be closed to through widely known means 5 such as a plug of thread, a pressure plug or the like.

In this particular embodiment, the deposit mentioned above is represented in the form of a cavity elongated prismatic that is contained entirely in the outgoing; in order to allow the substances contained in said deposit be transferred from it for dissemination outside of the walls of the same projection, that is to say inside the drum, the projection is provided with 16 calibrated perforations of proper way that they are arranged and have such a size to ensure that both said filling hole 4 and said perforations 16 immediately flow into the interior of the drum.

In an improved embodiment, said reservoir 3 internal is provided as a solidarity construction with the respective outgoing.

At this point, the way the inventive device described above is completely obvious: in fact, before starting a drying cycle, everything that a user has to do is reach the ledge that contains the tank you want to fill, remove the corresponding cap 5 to open the filling hole, introduce the liquid substance into the reservoir and replace the cap to close the hole fill.

As the cycle of progress then progresses drying started, the liquid substance introduced in this way into the appropriate deposit can be automatically ejected from it gradual way for its diffusion among the clothes that are drying in the drum, because the drum keeps spinning continuously during the same process and, as a result, every time the projection reaches its upper position, the projection itself practically turns down, allowing expulsion immediate and spontaneous of it from a small amount of the liquid substance contained therein, to achieve the effect wanted.

At this point you can also see another advantage of the present invention; in case, in fact, in said deposits only water is introduced into the projections of the drum, once this water is expelled from the tank and enters the inside the drum, its evaporation is practically caused immediate due to the high temperature of the drying air circulating at through the drum, thereby obtaining the same conditions such as those described in the cited European patent application previously No. 04 100490.4, or in EP 1 431 443, in which substances to be added to the drum or are atomize (spray) or are injected through pumping means appropriate and associated injectors. However, it can be appreciated easily that this same effect is achieved in a much more way simple and economical with a provision according to this invention.

On the other hand, since the substances that are going to Desirably added to the drum during drying also they may be in a gaseous state, as may be the case for example when using certain types of perfumes, preparations antipolillas or similar, the use of a deposit of the type described previously it would obviously be very impractical in what It concerns both filling and operating mode.

Therefore, in view of overcoming this disadvantage, the following improved embodiment of the present is provided invention: with reference to figures 3, 3A, 3B, 4 and 5 use is made of a properly prepared solid element that is impregnated, or treated in any other way, with the substance desired selected for diffusion in the drum during drying process.

In this context, they are well known in the art for example small plastic plates that, either during or after injection molding, they are impregnated with substances of different type, for example perfumes based on different essences perfumes, insecticides, protective agents and the like.

Obviously other types can also be used of substances, such as solid perfumes or similar, as again well known in the art and used for example normally to deodorize the interior of vehicles, bathrooms, barely ventilated spaces, and the like.

To allow the introduction and placement of these small plates, irons or rods for use, the protrusion 2 is formed by two distinct and complementary parts. The First part 22 consists of a projection of a usual type, known, in the form of a prism, but in which it is provided of so that a separate, aligned second part 23 can be removed with a contiguous length of the inner edge 24 that is directed to the axis of the drum This second part 23 is made so that it can selectively withdraw from said first part 22 and, conversely, can be mounted in an appropriate and corresponding housing 28 provided in said first part 22. Thus, when the second part is mounted on the first part of the projection, this The latter adopts the usual form of a complete projection as it is Know of the prior art.

To apply said small plate 25, it will only do it is therefore necessary to remove said second part 23 from the projection, applying said small plate 25 thereto, preferably in its inside, as shown in figure 5 and reassemble said second part in the appropriate housing 28 in the first part 22

Thus, after completing the procedure previous, the outgoing itself returns to take the form and configuration of a conventional clothing lifting projection, such as shown in figure 4, and the drying cycle and / or can be started treatment.

In addition, said second part 23 should be obviously equipped with appropriate openings 26 that allow the inside the receptacle that houses the plate 25 communicate with the inside the drum, to ensure that perfumes, fragrances or other emissions spontaneously leaving said plate 25 may spread freely and immediately inside the drum to impregnate the clothes contained in said drum to dry.

The substances, with which said plate 25 is embedded, therefore tend to sublimate and / or evaporate, due to also to the effect of the high temperature that prevails within the drum, thus creating an atmosphere inside the drum that ultimately instance affects the clothes that are drying, impregnating it with this way.

Regarding the application of said plates or rods in said second projection part 23, as well as to fix in place and release said second part 23 of projection in and from said respective first part 22, you can simply make use of the usual means since they are well known as such in the art, preferably of pressurized elements 27 elastics of the type shown in Figures 3A and 3B.

Claims (4)

1. Clothes dryer comprising a drum (1) essentially cylindrical that can rotate around its own axis (X) and that contains - the clothes to be dried, being ready a plurality of clothing lifting protrusions radially at along the inner surface of the cylindrical side wall of said drum, - internally comprising at least one of said protruding clothing elevators means respective containers adapted to house or contain liquid or solid substances that are introduced before starting a drying cycle, characterized in that said container means are constituted by second portions (23) of projection adapted to securely hold respective treatment plates (25) that can be exchanged individually in respective first projection portions (22). 2. Clothes dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that said second projection parts (23) are in the form of a part of a clothing lifting projection and are adapted to be mounted, through appropriate fixing means, in a housing ( 28) corresponding provided in the body of the respective clothing elevator (22), so that the latter becomes substantially uniform in its cross-section with respect to a plane extending orthogonally to the axis of the drum. 3. Clothes dryer according to claim 2, characterized in that said fixing means are constituted by pressurized elements that can be elastically separated. 4. Clothes dryer according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said second projection parts (23) are provided with a plurality of passage openings (26) that allow the interior volume of said parts to communicate with the inside of said drum.