GB2121523A

GB2121523A - A drier for drying washing

Info

Publication number: GB2121523A
Application number: GB08311990A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hans Brandherm; Hans Fey
Original assignee: Miele und Cie KG
Current assignee: Miele und Cie KG
Priority date: 1982-05-04
Filing date: 1983-05-03
Publication date: 1983-12-21
Also published as: FR2526454A1; DE3216592A1; IT1161244B; GB8311990D0; GB2121523B; DE3216592C2; IT8320907A0; FR2526454B1

Abstract

A drier (1) is provided which has a condensing apparatus (2) and a discharge pump mechanism (3), which latter ensures, during the drying operation, that the condensate or condensation product produced is conveyed either into a storage container (4) or is externally discharged. The discharge pump mechanism (3) includes a cover plate (14), the upper surface of which is provided with all of the electrical and water-conducting connections, securing means for the pump unit (16) and a float switch. In addition, a tubular strut (26) for receiving an elongate motor shaft, a strut (34) which forms the pressure channel for the pump, and the pump housing (28) are all integrally moulded on the underside of the cover plate. The pump housing (28) is sealed by a cover member (32), preferably by means of snap connecting members (36). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A drierfordrying washing The present invention relates to a drier for drying washing which has a condensing apparatus and a discharge pump mechanism, which mechanism is used for conveying the condensation liquid produced during the drying operation eitherto a storage container orfor pumping such liquid externally of the machine.

In a known drier, the condensation product or condensate is pump-away by a discharge pump mechanism which mechanism is secured to a pump housing ofthe condenser by means of a plate. The discharge pump mechanism includes a motor which is mounted on a rectangular metal flange and is screw-connected thereto. On the surface ofthe metal flange facing the motor, a hollow conduit connection is embedded or integrally cast in the metal flange beneath the motor and disposed centrally relative to the drive shaftofthe motor, such hollow conduit connection serving to accommodate a hollow strut forming part ofthe pump housing, which strut is made of plastics material. An impeller wheel is disposed inside the pump housing and is covered by a cover member having an inlet aperture formed therein.A conduit connection is provided at the outlet of the pump housing, and one end of a hose is pushed over such conduit connection.

After assembly, the motor, which has already been mounted on the metal flange, and the pump associated therewith, are mounted on a cover plate made of plastics material and are screw-connected thereto. A suitable recess is formed in the cover plate to permit the pump to passtherethrnugh. The cover plate is provided with conduit connections which protrude beyond both erds of the cover plate. A hose is secured to one of the pipe connections, and the condensation producticondensate is supplied to a removable containerthrough such hose. The other conduit connection is provided for the connection of a discharge hose, th rough which the condensation prod uct/con- densate may be conveyed externally ofthe machine.

The cover plate additionally includes a profiled bearing blockforaccommodating a float switch actuable by means of a float which is capable of being influenced by the condensate or condensation product.

The rectangular metal flange which supports the motor and the pump in such known machine involves considerable skill and material to produce. In addition, the securement of the pump housing strut, which is a cylindrical hollow body, by means of a plug connection is of critical importance because a hose, secured to the outlet connection of the pump housing and to the conduit connection of the cover plate, always exerts a bending moment upon the pump housing strut, and such bending moment has an adverse effect when the apparatus is used for a relatively long period oftime.

The present invention seeks to provide a drier including a idscharge pump mechanism, which drier also includes a condensing apparatus in which the discharge pump mechanism is formed as an integral unit in orderto reduce the number of component parts required, to make the mechanism more stable and to facilitate the servicing thereof.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for drying washing comprising a condensing apparatus, utilised for producing a condensate or condensation product during the drying operation and a discharge pump mechanism for conveying the condensate or condensation product to a storage container or for discharging the condensate or condensation product from the machine wherein discharge pump mechanism is provided with a cover plate made of a sprayable or castable material, the upper surface of the cover plate being provided with bearing blocks integrallyformed therewith, the bearing blocks acting as mountingsfora pump motor and - for a float switch, the upper surface of the cover plate also having conduit connections moulded thereon, the underside of the cover plate having a substantially U-shaped construction, the arms ofthe U extending downwardly from the cover plate and being moulded orformed as hollow struts, the lower ends ofthe struts extending into a common pump housing, one strut receiving a shaft of a drive motor and the other strut being a pressure channel for the pump and opening into at least one ofthe protruding conduit connections formed on the upper surface of the cover plate.

Preferably, the strutforming the discharge or pressure channel has a substantially elliptical crosssection.

The particular advantages of the drier according to the present invention appearto reside in the fact that, because ofthe provision of such a cover plate, only the motor,the motor switch, the pump wheel or impeller and the cover of the pump housing have to be mounted or assembled. This can be accomplished in a minimal number of operations. This, in turn, brings about a considerable saving in terms of labour and material costs.

Afurther advantage ofthe present invention appears to reside in the fact that a compact and stable unit is provided, which requires little assembly work, is economical and easy to service because all of the detachable connections to the cover plate are located on the upper surface thereof. One embodiment of the present invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompany drawings in which:~ Fig. 1 is a schematic, side elevational view of a device for drying washing in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a detail of the drier shown in Fig. 1 and shows a condenser housing; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the condenser housing shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a suction device forming part of the drier shown in Fig. 1 and used for drawing-offthecondensate or condensation product; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the suction device shown in Fig.4; Fig. 6 shows an underneath plan view of a suction pump forming part of the suction device shown in Figs. 4 and 5 but having the cover membertherefor removed; and Fig. 7 shows an underneath plan view of the cover memberforthesuction pump shown in Fig. 6.

In Fig. there is shown an air-cooled drying device provided with a condensing apparatus generally referenced 2. In the lower portion ofthe drier 1 a discharge pump mechanism 3 is provided which is connected to the condensing apparatus 2. The liquid collected bythe mechanism 3 is conveyed either to a storage container 4 disposed above the mechanism 3 orto an externally disposed outletthrough a dis charge conduit 5 as desired.

As can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3 a trough 6 is provided within the housing of the condensing apparatus2which collectsthedripping condensate or condensation product. An opening 7 is formed in the trough 6 which extends laterally outwardly to a pump housing 8. The housing 8 is provided with a pump chamber 9 and a float chamber 10, the latter being in communication with the pump chamber 9 through an aperture. The pump housing 8 carries two camshaped projection member 11, 12 forthe securement thereto ofthe discharge pump mechanism 3 illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 4 and 5.

From Figs. 4 and 5, it can be seen thatthe discharge pump mechanism 3 is provided with a cover plate 14 made of castable or sprayable plastics material. The cover plate 14is provided with an encircling reinforcement rib 13 and having, on its upper surface, two opposed bearing blocks 15 for the screw-attachment thereto of a pump motor 16. Additionally, the cover plate 14 is provided with a continuous conduit connection 17 which protrudes into the lower space or region ofthe chamber and, if desired, may form part of a return pipe (not shown) extending from a receiving chamberforthe condensate. A profiled bearing block 18, shown in Fig. 5, is also disposed on the cover plate 14which block 18 accommodates a float switch 19 whose function will be explained in more detail hereinafter.A hollow, protruding projection member 20 is also visible on the narrow, right-hand side (as shown) of the cover plate 14which guides the float spindle 21 of a cylindrical float 22. Finally, a first protruding conduit connection 23, whose aperture is normally sealed, and a second protruding conduit connection 24 having a smaller internal and external diameterthan the conduit connection 23 are disposed through the cover plate. The function of conduit connection 24 will also be described in greater detail hereinafter.

On the lower surface ofthe cover plate 14, a tubular strut 26 is provided which extends downwardly and centrally to the shaft 25 ofthe motor 16. The strut is provided with two apertures 27,27' disposed one above the other so as to permit the interior of the strut 26to be drained. The strut 26 extends into a pump housing 28, seen in Fig.4which housing accommodates a pump wheel or impeller30 mounted on the motor shaft 25. The inlet to the pump wheel or impeller30 is shown in Fig. 7 and is in the form of a circular aperture 31 formed in the cover 32 of the pump housing centrallyofthe motorshaft 25.The pipe connections 23 and 24, to which reference has already been made, extend into a tangentially disposed outlet 33, best seen in Fig. 6, ofthe pump in the form of channels which have a U-shaped construction within a strut 34 which forms an extension portion of the pump housing 28 and which are integral components of the cover plate 14, that is to say, they form a single part which is integrally moulded with the cover plate 14. The pump housing 28 and its outlet 33 are covered by the cover mem ber 32 which is detachably connected to the pump housing 28 by means of snap-fitting connections 36 and which extend beyond the openings in the channels 23 and 24.In such a case, when the cover member 32 is assembled with the pump housing 28, an edge 29 ofthe pump housing 28 engages over the cover mem ber 32 preferably in the manner of a labyrinth seal.

As previously stated, the pipe connection 23 is normally sealed. In the normal embodiment, a hosepipe 37, shown in Fig. 1, is mounted on the pipe connection 24 and communicates with the storage container 4 which receives the condensate or condensation product. The pipe connection 23 is utilised for the attachment of a conduit or hose which extends from the machine. By interchanging the connecting hoses, the discharge pump arrangement may be selectively used to pump liquid either externally ofthe machine or into the storage container.

The construction of the discharge pump mechanism 3, which is schematically illustrated in Fig. 1 and which is used for discharging the condensation liquid extracted from the wet washing will now be described.

The float switch 19 is provided with a switch lever 38 which co-operates with the float spindle 21. When the float 22 is raised, thefloat spindle 21 is raised bythe condensate or condensation product entering the pump chamber9 orthefloat chamber 10, and the float switch 19 is activated bythe switch lever 38. The pump motor 16 thereby receives an electric current, and the discharge pump mechanisms 3 then conveys the condensate or condensation product from the pump chamber 9 to the storage container 4.

As can be further seen from Fig. 5, the cover plate 14 is provided with two projection members 41,42 which are provided with through-bores and which are used to screw-connectthe pump to the housing of the discharge pump mechanism 3. This latter housing is moulded onto the condensing apparatus 2.The diameter of the pipe connection 24 (Fig. 5) is smaller than that of the pipe connection 23, so thatthe rate of flow is shut-off, thereby preventing the possibility of spraying during discharge into the storage container 4.

Finally, it should be noted thatthe electrical connections 43 shown in Fig. Sforthe pump motor 16 and the connections44forthefloatswitch are disposed on the upper side of the cover plate 14, so that, in the case of malfunction of the machine, both the electrical connections and the motor and/or hose connections are easily accessible.

Claims

1. Adevicefordrying washing comprising a condensing apparatus, utilised for producing a condensate or condensation product during the drying operation and a discharge pump mechanism for conveying the condensate or condensation product to a storage container or for discharging the condensate or condensation productfromthe machine wherein discharge pump mechanism is provided with a cover plate made of a sprayable orcastable material, the upper surface of the cover plate being provided with bearing blocks integrallyformed therewith, the bear ing blocks acting as mountings for a pump motor and for a float switch, the upper surface of the cover plate also having conduit connections moulded thereon, the underside ofthe cover plate having a substantially U-shaped construction, the arms of the U extending downwardly from the cover plate and being moulded orformedas hollow struts, the lower ends of the struts extending into a common pump housing, one strut receiving a shaft of a drive motor and the other strut being a pressure channel for the pump and opening into at least one ofthe protruding conduit connections formed on the upper surface of the cover plate.

2. Adrieras claimed in claim 1, in which the hollow strutforming the pressure channel for the pump is provided with two discharge channels which open into the protruding conduit connections formed on the upper surface of the cover plate, the conduit connections having different internal and external diameters.

3. A drier as claimed in claim 1 or2, in which the strut receiving the motor shaft is tubular and has at least one aperture formed in its external surface.

4. A drier as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the strut forming the discharge or pressure channel has a substantially elliptical cross-section.

5. A drier as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the cover member covering the pump housing is secured to the pump housing by means of detachable snap-fitting connecting members, the cover member and pump housing being so shaped that, when the cover member is in position, an edge on the pump housing engages over the cover member in the manner of a labyrinth seal.

6. A drier as claimed in claim 5, in which the cover member extends beyond the inlet openings in the pressure channels.

7. A drier as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cover plate has a conduit connection for the connection of a hose-pipe thereto, which conduit connection extends to the receiver chamber of the storage container and a further conduit connection provided with a removable closure member.

8. A drier as claimed in claim 1, in which all of the detachable electrical and mechanical connections of the discharge pump mechanism are disposed on the upper surface ofthe cover plate.

9. A drier as claimed in claim 1 constructed and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.