JPH07194893A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure the air quantity of an exhaust fan and improve clothes drying efficiency without considering a counterplan such as material change when a fan belt is elongated by a secular change. CONSTITUTION:The driving force of a driving motor 51 is transmitted to an exhaust fan through a fan belt (round belt) 55 laid between a rotating pulley 42c and a driving pulley 54. Thus, the exhaust fan is rotated at high speed. When the total operating time reaches a predetermined standard time, a lever clutch 71 is operated, and its lever 71a pushes down a locking plate 62a to extend a tension coil spring 62 in the arrowed direction A. A pulley 61 is energized in the same direction by the elongation of the tension coil spring 62, the elongation of the fan belt 55 is consequently absorbed, and its tension is kept constant.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clothes dryer for drying clothes in a rotating drum with warm air, and more particularly, the rotating force of a drive motor is transmitted to an exhaust fan via a fan belt to generate the clothes. The present invention relates to a clothes dryer in which the generated steam is discharged from the inside of a rotating drum by an exhaust fan.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of clothes dryer, a drive motor for a rotary drum is also used as a drive source for an exhaust fan, and the rotational force of the drive motor is exhausted via a fan belt and two pulleys. It is transmitted to the fan.

By the way, in this conventional clothes dryer, the rotating drum is slowly rotated in order to efficiently dry the clothes contained in the rotating drum, while exhaust is carried out in order to efficiently discharge the water vapor generated from the clothes. Rotate the fan at high speed. Therefore, as the belt for transmitting the rotational force of the drive motor to the rotary drum and the exhaust fan, the drum belt is a flat belt, whereas the fan belt is a resin round belt.

[0004]

However, in the conventional clothes dryer, since the resin-made round belt is used as the fan belt, the round belt is apt to stretch due to aging due to long-term use, and the durability of the equipment is reduced. There was a problem with sex. That is, due to the expansion of the fan belt, the transmission of the driving force to the exhaust fan becomes insufficient, the air volume of the exhaust fan decreases, the exhaust efficiency decreases, and as a result, the clothes drying efficiency decreases, and the overheat prevention device is It was easier to work with. In addition, the fan belt may come off the pulleys of the exhaust fan and the drive motor, and the operation may be disabled.

The change over time of the fan belt greatly differs depending on the frequency of use. Therefore, if the usage frequency is high and the operation time is long, the operation failure may occur as described above in a short period. In addition, as a means to make the fan belt durable, change the material to a durable one,
Although measures such as changing the thickness of the belt can be considered, these measures have a problem that the cost becomes high. Therefore, in the present situation, when there is a complaint from the user, a new belt is exchanged or a regular belt exchange is carried out. Under such circumstances, there is a demand for a method of improving the durability of the device regardless of the change of the material of the fan belt and the correspondence of the belt thickness.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to cope with a change in material and the like.
Even if the fan belt stretches due to secular change, the air volume of the exhaust fan can be secured, the drying efficiency of the clothes can be prevented from decreasing, and the overheat prevention device can be prevented from operating easily. To provide a dryer.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
The clothes stored in the rotary drum are dried by warm air, and the rotational force of the drive motor is transmitted to the exhaust fan via a fan belt stretched between the drive motor and the exhaust fan, A clothes dryer that discharges water vapor generated from clothes from the inside of the rotating drum by an exhaust fan, and applies tension to the fan belt, and fan belt tension applying means for absorbing the expansion of the fan belt, And a control means for actuating the fan belt tension applying means when the total operation time after the start of operation reaches a predetermined reference time.

In this clothes dryer, the driving force generated by the drive motor is transmitted to the exhaust fan via the fan belt stretched between the drive motor and the fan belt, and the exhaust fan is rotated. Then, when the total operating time of this clothes dryer reaches the reference time, the fan belt tension applying means is activated, and as a result, tension corresponding to the elongation is applied to the fan belt.

The "reference time" is set to a time at which it is expected that the drying efficiency will decrease due to the elongation by previously obtaining the relationship between the total operating time and the elongation of the fan belt.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the clothes dryer according to the first aspect, the fan belt tension applying means for the clothes dryer according to the first aspect is arranged between the drive motor and the exhaust fan, and the fan is provided in a guide groove thereof. A pulley on which a belt is hung, an elastic member having one end attached to the pulley and the other end being a displaceable free end, and acting on the other end of the elastic member under the control of the control means. Then, the driving means for displacing the pulley in the direction in which a predetermined tension is generated on the fan belt and the driving means are rotatably supported and movably on the same plane with respect to the direction displaced by the driving means. And a supporting member.

In this clothes dryer, when the total operating time reaches the reference time, the drive means is driven by the control of the control means, and a tensile force or a compressive force acts on the other end of the elastic member. The pulley is displaced, and as a result, a predetermined tension is applied to the fan belt, and the expansion of the fan belt is absorbed.

In the clothes dryer according to the second aspect of the present invention, after the fan belt tension applying means is actuated and the tension is applied, the pulley is always operated by the elastic member such as the coil spring.
The tension of the fan belt is kept constant because the fan belt is urged in such a direction as to generate a certain tension, and even if the fan belt further extends, the fan belt is displaced according to the amount of the extension.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clothes dryer according to the first or second aspect, wherein when the total operating time after starting the operation reaches a predetermined limit time,
The fan belt is further configured to notify that it is time to replace the fan belt, and the user or the like can know the time to replace the fan belt without disassembling the inside of the device. Here, the "limit time" is set according to the endurance limit of the fan belt.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the clothes dryer according to the first or second aspect, wherein when the total operating time after starting the operation reaches a predetermined limit time,
The configuration further includes a stopping unit that stops the operation of the drive motor.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway rear view of the clothes dryer 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the clothes dryer 10 shown in FIG.

The clothes dryer 10 of the present embodiment includes a rotating body device 20 having a rotating drum 23 for rotating the clothes M in a housing 21, and a clothes M in the rotating drum 23 of the rotating body device 20. On the other hand, a warm air supply device 30 for blowing the warm air through the warm air outlet 33a, and the steam generated from the clothes M by the warm air blown by the warm air supply device 30 is sucked together with the blown warm air. And an exhaust device 40 for discharging the clothes to the outside of the clothes dryer 10,
The rotating body device 20 and the exhaust device 40 are respectively provided with a drive device 50.

The rotating drum 23 of the rotating body device 20 has a clothing storage space 23a for storing the clothing M therein. A clothing outlet 21a is provided on the front side of the housing 21 so as to face the clothing storage space 23a. The housing 21 is provided with a door 22 that can be opened and closed so as to cover the clothes outlet 21a, and is opened and closed when the clothes M are taken in and out of the clothes storage space 23a. On the front side of the rotary drum 23, a rotary support portion 23b formed by bending the end surface of the rotary drum 23 is provided. The inner peripheral surface of the rotation supporting portion 23b is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotation supporting portion 21b formed on the inner wall surface on the front surface side of the housing 21 along the clothing outlet 21a, whereby the front surface of the rotating drum 23. The side is rotatably supported. On the other hand, a rotation support portion 23c is provided at the opening on the back side of the rotary drum 23. The inner peripheral surface of the rotary support portion 23c is in contact with a rotary support portion 41a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the exhaust chamber 41, which will be described later, so that the back side of the rotary drum 23 is rotatably supported.

On the front surface of the housing 21, there is provided an operation panel 24 for instructing various reference values such as warm air temperature and the start of operation. Further, a sensor 25 is arranged near the warm air outlet 33a of the rotation support portion 21b of the housing 21, and the sensor 25 allows the clothes storage space 2 to be stored.
The degree of drying of the clothes M stored in 3a is detected. As the sensor 25, an electrode sensor or a clothing temperature sensor that detects the degree of drying of the clothing M by utilizing the change in resistance value is used. The detection signal of the sensor 25 is sent to the microcomputer 26, and the microcomputer 26 controls the operation of the clothes dryer 10.

The warm air supply device 30 is arranged at a lower position on the front side of the rotary drum 23. This warm air supply device 3
No. 0 is provided with a gas burner 32 for generating hot air in the hot air supply chamber 31. Gas is supplied to the gas burner 32 through a gas passage 33.
An electromagnetic valve 34 is provided at an appropriate place in the gas passage 33, and the gas passage 33 is opened and closed according to an instruction from the microcomputer 26.

The exhaust device 40 is provided with an exhaust fan 42 in the exhaust chamber 41, and by the high speed rotation of the exhaust fan 42, the hot air containing the steam in the clothing storage space 23a is sucked into the exhaust chamber 41. There is. The exhaust fan 42 includes a rotating shaft 42a rotatably supported on the wall surface of the exhaust chamber 41.
And a rotary blade 42b attached to the rotary shaft 42a. A filter 43 is disposed on the front surface of the exhaust chamber 41 (that is, the surface in contact with the clothing storage space 23a) so as to face the exhaust fan 42. A rotary pulley 42c for transmitting a driving force to the exhaust fan 42 is attached to an end of the rotary shaft 42a that penetrates the exhaust chamber 41.

One end of an exhaust pipe 44 is connected to the exhaust chamber 41. The other end of the exhaust pipe 44 is connected to the housing 21.
Exhaust port 4 that penetrates through the housing and is opened to the outside of the housing 21
4a, and the hot air containing water vapor sucked into the exhaust chamber 41 by the exhaust fan 42 is supplied to the exhaust port 44a.
It is designed to be discharged to the outside via.

The drive device 50 has a drive motor 51 arranged at a lower position on the back side of the rotary drum 23. A drive pulley 52 is attached to one end of an output shaft 51a of the drive motor 51. A drum belt 53 is stretched between the drive pulley 52 and the body of the rotary drum 23, and the driving force of the drive motor 51 is transmitted to the rotary drum 23. On the other hand, a drive pulley 54 is attached to the other end of the output shaft 51a of the drive motor 51. A fan belt 55 is stretched between the drive pulley 54 and a rotary pulley 42c attached to the rotary shaft 42a of the exhaust fan 42. The fan belt 55 causes the drive force of the drive motor 51 to flow. It is designed to be transmitted to.

Here, the rotary pulley 42c and the drive pulley 5
2. The mutual relationship between the diameters of the drive pulley 54 and the rotary drum 23 is such that the rotary drum 23 rotates at a relatively low speed (for example, 50 rpm), while the exhaust fan 42 rotates at a high speed (for example, 50 rpm). The rotation speed is set to 2000 rotations. Therefore, for example, a flat belt is used as the drum belt 53, and a resin round belt is used as the fan belt 55.

The clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment further applies a tension to the fan belt 55 to absorb the expansion of the fan belt 55, and a total operation after the operation is started. And a control device 70 for operating the fan belt tensioning device 60 when the time reaches a predetermined reference time.

The fan belt tension applying device 60 is arranged between the drive motor 51 and the exhaust fan 42, and has a pulley 61 with a fan belt 55 hung in its guide groove, and one end thereof is attached to the pulley 61. An elastic member whose other end is a displaceable free end, such as a tension coil spring 62
The drive means, which acts on the other end of the tension coil spring 62 according to the control of the drive means, displaces the pulley 61 in a direction in which a predetermined tension is generated on the fan belt 55, for example, the lever clutch 71 and the pulley 61. It is configured by a support plate 63 as a support member that freely supports and is movably supported on the same plane with respect to the direction displaced by the lever clutch 71 (direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1).

The pulley 61 has a structure in which a rotary shaft 61b penetrates through a central position of a side surface of a pulley main body 61a having a guide groove formed on its peripheral surface. The pulley body 61a is provided with the exhaust fan 42.
The rotary pulley 42c and the drive motor 5 attached to the
It is arranged at a position where it forms the same plane with the drive pulley 54 attached to No. 1.

One end (hook) of the tension coil spring 62 is attached to one end of the rotary shaft 61b. An engagement piece 62a is attached to the free end of the tension coil spring 62. The tension coil spring 62 is appropriately expanded by pressing the engagement piece 62a by the lever clutch 71.

One side of the support plate 63 is fixed to the housing 21, and a guide hole 63a is formed at the center position thereof. The rotation shaft 61b of the pulley 61 is inserted into the guide hole 63a.
Has penetrated. The guide hole 63a is formed vertically long along the biasing direction of the tension coil spring 62 so that the pulley 61 can be displaced according to the biasing force of the tension coil spring 62 when the fan belt 55 extends. A locking member 61c is attached to the other end of the support shaft 61b penetrating the guide hole 63a. The locking member 61c and the support plate 63 cooperate with each other to hold the rotary shaft 61b so that it is always perpendicular to the support plate 63, that is, the pulley main body 61a is held between the rotary pulley 42c and the drive pulley 54. It is designed to be held in the same plane formed by.

When the microcomputer 26 instructs the lever clutch 71 to be actuated (for example, on or off), the lever clutch 71 is moved from the steady position (horizontal position in FIG. 1) to the actuated position (inclined position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1).
It is designed to be displaced. The lever 71a is arranged so as to face the engagement piece 62a and presses the engagement piece 62a of the tension coil spring 62 downward according to the displacement thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 70 of this embodiment and its surroundings. That is, the above-mentioned sensor 25 and timer 27 are connected to the input section of the microcomputer 26. On the other hand, at the output of the microcomputer 26, a solenoid valve drive circuit 82 for driving the solenoid valve 34 described above, and a lamp drive circuit 83 for driving a notification lamp 81 provided at an appropriate location such as the front surface of the housing 21. A motor drive circuit 84 for driving the drive motor 51 and a clutch drive circuit 85 for driving the lever clutch 71 are connected to each other.

The microcomputer 26 measures the total operating time (cumulative operating time) after the first operation is started by the output of the timer 27, and when the total operating time reaches the reference time, the fan belt tension applying device 60. Is designed to operate. The "reference time" is obtained by previously obtaining the relationship between the total operating time and the expansion of the fan belt,
It is set to a time when drying efficiency is expected to decrease due to elongation. When the total operating time after the start of operation reaches a predetermined limit time, the microcomputer 26 drives the notification lamp 81 to notify that the fan belt 55 is the replacement time. ing. The “limit time” is set according to the endurance limit of the fan belt 55.

Next, the operation of the clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment will be described.

In the clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment, the lever 71 of the lever clutch 71 is provided before the first operation is started.
a is held at a steady position (the lever 71a is in a horizontal state here) as shown in FIG. Therefore, the fan belt tension applying device 60 is not operated, and the urging force of the tension coil spring 62 does not act on the fan belt 55 stretched between the rotary pulley 42c and the drive pulley 54. Further, the microcomputer 26 is set with a constant cumulative operating time (reference time) in which the drying efficiency is expected to decrease due to the expansion of the fan belt 55.

When the initial start is instructed by the operation panel 24, the clothes dryer 10 is operated by the microcomputer 26.
By controlling each part, the operation is started.

That is, the drive motor 51 starts driving, and the driving force thereof is the drive pulley 52 and the drum belt 5.
3 is transmitted to the rotary drum 23, and as a result, the rotary drum 23 rotates at a low speed. At the same time, the driving force of the drive motor 51 is transmitted to the exhaust fan 42 via the drive pulley 52, the fan belt 55 and the rotary pulley 42c,
As a result, the exhaust fan 42 rotates at high speed.

On the other hand, the solenoid valve 34 is opened, gas is supplied to the gas burner 32 through the gas passage 33, and at the same time, the gas is ignited. As a result, the air is heated, and the warm air is blown into the clothing storage space 23a of the rotating rotary drum 23 through the warm air outlet 33a to dry the stored clothing M. Here, since the rotating drum 23 is rotating at a low speed, the clothes M are lifted to a predetermined height, then fall, and are uniformly contacted with the warm air.

The warm air supplied to the clothes storage space 23a and the steam generated from the clothes M are sucked into the exhaust chamber 41 as the exhaust fan 42 rotates at a high speed, and then the clothes dryer 10 via the exhaust pipe 44. Is discharged to the outside. Then, when the predetermined time has passed and it is determined from the detection value of the sensor 25 that the clothes M have dried, the operation of each unit is stopped and the first operation ends. At this time, the microcomputer 26
Records the run time of the first run. The clothes M dried by such an operation are then taken out by opening the door 22.

While repeating the above-described operation, the clothes dryer 10 causes the microcomputer 26 to measure the operation time for each operation and integrate the accumulated operation time. Then, when the accumulated operating time reaches the set reference time, the microcomputer 26 causes the clutch drive circuit 8
An operation signal is output to 5.

When the operation signal is output to the clutch drive circuit 85, the lever clutch 71 displaces the lever 71a from the steady position to the operation position (the state where the lever 71a is lowered) as shown in FIG. Depending on this displacement, the lever 71
The a pushes the locking plate 62a of the tension coil spring 62 to extend the tension coil spring 62. As a result, the fan belt 55 stretched between the rotary pulley 42c and the drive pulley 54 is elastically biased in the arrow A direction by the tension coil spring 62 via the pulley 61. At this time, the pulley 61 is guided by the guide hole 6 depending on the amount of expansion of the fan belt 55.
It is displaced in the direction of arrow A along 3a. Therefore, the expansion of the fan belt 55 is absorbed, and as a result, the fan belt 55
A certain amount of tension is generated.

After that, when a start instruction is given from the operation panel 24, the driving force of the drive motor 51 is the fan belt 55 in which a constant tension is generated by the tension coil spring 62.
Is transmitted to the exhaust fan 42. At this time, pulley 6
1 elastically biases the fan belt 55 by the biasing force of the tension coil spring 62, and rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow with the rotation of the fan belt 55 around the rotary shaft 61b as the drive motor 51 is driven. . In addition, the fan belt 55 is constantly pulled by the tension coil spring 62.
Is elastically urged in the direction of arrow A via. Therefore, when the fan belt 55 further extends, depending on the amount of extension,
The pulley 61 is displaced in the arrow A direction along the guide hole 63a. As a result, even if the fan belt 55 further extends, the extension is absorbed by the tension coil spring 62, and as a result, the tension of the fan belt 55 is kept constant.

Then, when the operation is further performed and the accumulated operation time reaches the preset limit time, the microcomputer 26 outputs a notification signal to the lamp drive circuit 84. As a result, the notification lamp 81 lights up or blinks to notify that it is time to replace the belt.

As described above, in the clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment, the driving force of the drive motor 51 is reliably transmitted to the exhaust fan 42 for a long period of time without changing the material of the fan belt 55. Exhaust fan 4
The air volume of 2 can be secured. Therefore, the clothes drying efficiency of the clothes dryer 10 is improved, the operation of the overheat preventing device is reduced, and as a result, the durability of the clothes dryer 10 is improved. Further, in the present embodiment, the lighting of the notification lamp 81 or the like allows the user or the like to know the replacement time of the fan belt 55 without disassembling the inside of the device.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway rear view of the clothes dryer 100 according to the second embodiment. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the clothes dryer 100 of this embodiment, the pulley 61 of the fan belt tension applying device 60 is connected to the fan belt 5
5, and the compression coil spring 64 is used as an elastic member while being arranged outside of No. 5 and in the vicinity of the rotary pulley 42c. That is, the pulley 61 includes the rotary pulley 42.
In the vicinity of c, the guide groove is the fan belt 55.
Is disposed so as to contact the outer peripheral surface of the. Further, one end of the compression coil spring 64 is attached to the rotating shaft 61b of the pulley 61, and the other end thereof is provided with a locking plate 64a. When the locking plate 64a is pressed by the lever 71a of the lever clutch 71, the compression coil spring 6
4 is appropriately compressed. Therefore, the lever 71a of the lever clutch 71 is displaced from the steady position (the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6) to the operating position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6), so that the compression coil spring 64 It is arranged at a position where the locking plate 64a can be pressed.

In the clothes dryer 100 of this embodiment, when the accumulated operating time reaches the set reference time, the lever clutch 71 is actuated and the fan belt 55 passes through the pulley 61, as in the first embodiment. By the compression coil spring 64
Is elastically urged in the direction indicated by arrow B. As a result, the pulley 61 moves according to the amount of expansion of the fan belt 55.
It is displaced in the arrow B direction along the guide hole 63a. Therefore,
The expansion of the fan belt 55 is absorbed by the compression coil spring 64, so that the tension of the fan belt 55 is kept constant. As a result, the driving force of the drive motor 51 can be reliably transmitted to the exhaust fan 42, the air volume of the exhaust fan 42 can be secured, and thus the clothes drying efficiency is improved, and the operation of the overheat prevention device is reduced. Dryer 1
00 has improved durability.

Further, when the operation is further performed and the accumulated operation time reaches the preset limit time, the notification lamp 81
Lights up or blinks to notify that it is time to replace the belt.

In the clothes dryer 100 of this embodiment,
Further, since the pulley 61 is arranged in the vicinity of the rotary pulley 42c and the compression coil spring 64 is used as an elastic member, the pulley 61 is pressed inward from the outer peripheral surface side of the fan belt 55. The winding angle of the belt 55 with respect to the rotary pulley 42c, that is, the contact area between the two can be increased. Therefore, in addition to the above effects, the driving force of the drive motor 51 can be more reliably transmitted to the rotary pulley 42c, and the rotary pulley 42 of the fan belt 55 can be transmitted.
It can be surely prevented from falling off from c.

In both the first and second embodiments, when the fan belt 55 reaches the endurance limit, the notification lamp 81 notifies the fan belt 55 to replace it. Outputs a stop signal from the motor drive circuit 84 to the drive motor 51.
Alternatively, the electromagnetic valve 34 may be closed to stop the gas supply to stop the operation of the clothes dryer 10 as a whole. With such a configuration, in addition to the above effects, safety is further improved.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the first embodiment, the fan belt tension applying device 60
Although the tension coil spring 62 is used as the elastic member constituting the above, another elastic member having a function equivalent to that, for example, a rubber member may be used.

In the above embodiment, the resin belt is used as the fan belt 55. However, the present invention is not limited to the fan belt, and a fan belt made of a material which may be elongated due to aging may be used. It can be applied to all clothes dryers used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the lever clutch 71 is used as the driving means of the fan belt tension applying device 60, but other electromagnetic solenoids can also be used.

[0053]

As described above, according to the clothes dryer of the present invention, the fan belt tension applying means for applying tension to the fan belt and absorbing the expansion of the fan belt is provided, and the fan belt tension is also increased. Since the additional means is activated when the total operating time after starting the operation reaches the predetermined reference time, the tension of the fan belt is kept constant even if the fan belt extends due to aging. As a result, it is possible to prevent the rotation speed of the fan belt from decreasing and to secure the air volume of the exhaust fan. Therefore, the clothes drying efficiency can be improved and the operation of the overheat prevention device can be reduced without changing the material of the fan belt, and the clothes dryer with improved durability can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway rear view showing the configuration of a clothes dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration of the clothes dryer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of the clothes dryer shown in FIG. 1 and its peripherals.

FIG. 4 is a partial rear view for explaining the operation of the clothes dryer shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partial rear view for explaining the operation of the clothes dryer shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway rear view showing the configuration of the clothes dryer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 clothes dryer 26 microcomputer 42 exhaust fan 51 drive motor 55 fan belt 60 fan belt tension applying means 61 pulley 62 tension coil spring (elastic member) 62a locking plate 63 support plate 63a guide hole 64 compression coil spring (elastic member) 64a Locking plate 71 Lever clutch 71a Lever

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An exhaust fan, wherein clothes stored in a rotary drum are dried with warm air, and the rotational force of a drive motor is passed through a fan belt stretched between the drive motor and an exhaust fan. In a clothes dryer in which water vapor generated from clothes is discharged from the inside of the rotating drum by the exhaust fan, tension is applied to the fan belt to absorb expansion of the fan belt. A clothes dryer, comprising: a tension applying means; and a control means for activating the fan belt tension applying means when a total operating time after starting operation reaches a predetermined reference time. 2. A fan belt tension applying means is disposed between the drive motor and the exhaust fan, and a pulley in which the fan belt is hooked in a guide groove thereof, and one end of the pulley is attached to the pulley. Along with the elastic member whose other end is a displaceable free end, it acts on the other end of the elastic member according to the control of the control means, and moves the pulley in a direction in which a predetermined tension is generated on the fan belt. The driving means for displacing, and a supporting member for rotatably supporting the pulley so as to be movable on the same plane with respect to a direction displaced by the driving means. Clothes dryer. 3. An informing means for informing that the fan belt is to be replaced when the total operating time after starting the operation reaches a predetermined limit time. The clothes dryer according to claim 1. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising stop means for stopping the operation of the drive motor when the total operating time after starting the operation reaches a predetermined limit time. 2. The clothes dryer according to 2.