GB2097105A - Tumble drier - Google Patents

Abstract

Door (5) incorporates first and second walls (6, 7) having a transverse partition (14) extending therebetween, and a foil (20) is sealingly secured to said partition (14) to define an air passage between the first wall and the foil (20). Air 4 passes from the drum through perforations 10 into the air passage, from which it passes to duct 18, either to be exhausted or to be recirculated. Fluff from the drum is trapped in air filter 13. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tumbler dryer The invention relates to a tumbler dryer.

Atumbler dryer has previously been proposed of the type in which a drying air current is adapted to be conveyed through a perforated clothes deflector located in the loading aperture of a drying drum into a double-walled lining of a door for closing off the front of the cabinet. The drying air is then returned from the double-walled lining to the interior of the dryer by way of at least one outlet aperture located in the lower area of the door and directed towards the dryer through an inlet aperture located in the machine housing and in alignment with the outlet aperture and both of which apertures have airtight sealing means.The cabinet door comprises an outer wall of enamelled sheet steel and an inner wall adjacent the machine, said inner wall, together with the clothes deflector, being formed of synthetic plastics material and having a peripheral flange extending almost as far as the inside of the outer wall of the door in order to define an air passage in the door. In the area of the air passage thus defined, the inside of the outer wall of the door is lined with a foil of synthetic plastics material between which and the flange a sealing element is located.

It is a disadvantage however of this previously proposed type of tumbler dryer that, due to warping or twisting of the loading door, such as may result from damage in transit or careless treatment by the customer, the channel sealing element between the flange and the plastics foil on the inside of the outer wall of the door may no longer be an air-tight fit. This allows moisture-laden air from the drying air current to escape from the air passage in the door area into the adjacent hollow space in the remaining door area so that condensation forms on the enamelled metal surfaces of the inside of the outer wall of the door which attacks the protective layer and eventually causes the door to rust through from within.The condensation can then emerge at an unsuitable position in the junction between the outer wall of the door and the inner wall and may collect on the floor where the tumbler dryer is located, causing the user unnecessary cleaning.

This disadvantage can also occur when the outer wall ofthe door, which for aesthetic reasons is not reinforced or beaded, has acquired an undesirable surface tension during production in the factory, whereby the outer wall of the door under certain influences springs in or out, resulting in a difference of a few millimetres relative to the desired normal position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tumbler dryer in which the aforesaid disadvantages are obviated or mitigated by forming an air duct in the double-walled loading door which is made airtight when closed by employing simple and inexpensive means.

According to the present invention, there is provided a tumbler dryer for the drying of clothes or the like comprising a cabinet, a drum in said cabinet and within which clothes can be located to be dried by a current of air; and a door adapted to close, said cabinet, said door incorporating first and second walls having a transverse partition extending therebetween and a foil sealingly secured to said partition so as to define an air passage between said first wall and said foil whereby a current of air can pass into said passage from the drum for transmission therethrough to an outlet from the door.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tumbler dryer in which a drying air current is adapted to be conveyed through a perforated clothes deflector located in the loading aperture of a drying drum into a double-walled lining of a door for closing off the front of the cabinet and sealing off the loading aperture from the outside, and said current is adapted to be returned to the interior of the dryer by way of at least one outlet aperture located in the lower area of the door and directed towards the dryer through an inlet aperture located in the machine housing and in alignment with the outlet aperture, both apertures having airtight sealing means; the cabinet door comprising an outer wall of enamelled sheet steel and an inner wall adjacent the machine, said inner wall, together with the clothes deflector, being formed of synthetic plastics material and having a peripheral flange extending almost as far as the inside of the outer wall of the door in order to define an air passage in the door; and in which, in the area of the air passage thus defined, the inside of the outer wall of the door is provided with a foil of synthetic plastics material between which and the flange a sealing element is located; the tumbler dryer being characterised in that the air passage defined by the flange is sealed off by means of a foil sealingly secured to the flange.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows a tumbler dryer, partly in vertical section, as seen from the side, in which only those parts are illustrated which are necessary for understanding of the invention.

The tumbler dryer in the drawing, which may be of the circulatory-air or exhaust-air type, is provided with a drying drum 2 which is mounted so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis within the drying cabinet 1 and in which moist articles of washing 3 are dried by placing them in contact with a demoisturised and reheated drying current of air 4 as the drum 2 rotates. The front of the tumbler dryer has a loading door 5 which extends over the width of the cabinet and downwards as far as a recessed plinth.

The loading door 5 comprises an outer wall 6 of enamelled sheet metal and an inner profiled wall 7 of synthetic plastics material facing towards the machine, into which inner wall is fitted a clothes deflector 9 prqjecting into open end 8 of the drum and substantially closing it but leaving a narrow gap.

Said inner wall 7 and deflector 9 are preferably of integral construction. The deflector 9 is provided The drawing originally filed was informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

with perforations 10 for passage of the current of drying air 4 from the interior of the drum 2. In order to ensure that the air current 4 does not escape bet ween the loading door 5 and the cabinet 1, a ring gasket 12 is provided between the inner wall 7 and its contacting surface 11 on the front of the cabinet.

Inside the clothes deflector 9 a removable filter 13, which can be slid out in upward direction, is provided in order to trap washing fluff carried along by the drying air current. The inner wall 7 is provided in direction towards the outer wall 6 of the door, with a transverse partition in the form of a peripheral flange 14 extending close to the inside of said outer wall 6 for the purpose of forming a defining an air passage 15 within the door 5. Said air passage 15 terminates in at least one outlet aperture 16 directed towards the machine at the lower part of the door, which aperture is connected to an inlet aperture 17 in the machine housing by means of an air-tight annular gasket 19 and leads to a duct system 18 (only partly illustrated).The innerwall 7 with its clothes deflector 9 and peripheral flange 14 is preferably produced by a plastic injection moulding process. The inner wall 7 is connected to an offset marginal area of the outer wall 6 of the door by fastening means which are not illustrated.

The air passage 15, which is formed within the door 5 by the peripheral flange 14 and is open towards the inside of the outer wall 6 of the door, is limited or bounded according to the invention by a foil 20 which is welded, sealed, or otherwise caused to adhere to the flange 14. The foil 20 may be of synthetic plastics material and connected to the flange 14 by an ultrasonic welding process. Preferably, however, the foil 20 is of plastics-coated aluminium, the plastics coating being applied by a heat sealing process. In this embodiment the foil 20 can very easily be attached to the flange 14 by heatsealing. In order to ensure that their common weld or sealing connection is not adversely affected by the heat stresses occurring during the drying operation in the inner wall 7 and foil 20, said foil 20 is preferably provided with expansion corrugations or ribs 21. The foil 20 is preferably located so as to be slightly spaced from the inside of the outer wall 6 of the door.

Claims (9)

1. A tumbler dryer for the drying of clothes or the like comprising a cabinet, a drum in said cabinet and within which clothes can be located to be dried by a current of air; and a door adapted to close said cabinet, said door incorporating first and second walls having a transverse partition extending therebetween, and a foil sealingly secured to said partition so as to define an air passage between said first wall and said foil whereby a current of air can pass into said passage from the drum for transmission therethrough to an outlet from the door.

2. Atumbler dryer in which a drying air current is adapted to be conveyed through a perforated clothes deflector located in the loading aperture of a drying drum into a double-walled lining of a door for closing off the front of the cabinet and sealing off the loading aperture from the outside, and said current is adapted to be returned to the interior of the dryer by way of at least one outlet aperture located in the lower area of the door and directed towards the dryer through an inlet aperture located in the machine housing and in alignment with the outlet aperture, both apertures having air-tight sealing means; the cabinet door comprising an outer wall of enamelled sheet steel and an inner wall adjacent the machine, said inner wall, together with the clothes deflector, being formed of synthetic plastics material, and having a peripheral flange extending almost as far as the inside of the outer wall of the door in order to define an air passage in the door; and in which, in the area of the air passage thus defined, the inside of the outer wall of the door is provided with a foil of synthetic plastics material between and the flange a sealing element is located; the tumbler dryer being characterised in that the air passage defined by the flange is sealed off by means of a foil sealingly secured to the flange.

3. A tumbler dryer according to claim 1 or 2, in which said foil is of synthetic plastics material.

4. A tumbler dryer according to claim 1 or 2, in which said foil is of aluminium coated with a synthetic plastics material.

5. A tumbler dryer according to claim 3, in which the synthetic plastics coating is applied by heatsealing.

6. Atumbler dryer according to any of claims 1 to 5, in which said foil is provided with expansion corrugations.

7. A tumbler dryer according to any of claims 1 to 6, in which said foil is mounted a slight distance apart from the inside of the second or outer wall of the door.

8. A tumbler dryer according to any preceding claim in which said foil is sealingly secured to the partition orflange by heat-sealing or welding.

9. A tumbler dyer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.