MXPA98005011A - Clothing dryer with reduced ru drum - Google Patents

Abstract

A hes dryer having noise isolation characteristics that requires minimal alteration of the existing dryer drum construction is described as adding relatively little additional cost over and above the cost of materials. The hes dryer has a rotating dryer drum with steel belts or belts secured around the periphery of the outer surface cylindrical wall of the dryer drum to absorb the noise produced by the articles rotating inside the dryer drum during operation. An adhesive material is laminated to the band that secures the band to the outer wall of the dryer drum. Baffle mounting screws are used that pass through the dryer drum to secure the ends and intermediate portions of the band to the dry drum

Description

CLOTHING DRYER WITH REDUCED DRUM NOISE TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a clothes dryer having improved noise isolation characteristics. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of one or more bands surrounding the outer surface of the dryer drum to improve the insulation characteristics of the dryer. noise BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Household laundry drying machines typically comprise a rotating steel dryer drum where clothes spin as hot air flows through the dryer drum drying the laundry As the laundry items spin in the dryer drum, the items fall into the dryer drum. contact with the drum wall Heavier items, metal buttons and loose coins have a tendency to hit the dryer drum and create noise It needs to reduce noise created by clothes and other items that spin inside the dryer drum To compensate or reduce the noise created by articles spinning in the dryer drum, the use of a plastic drum has been suggested by Japanese Patent Application 7,080,193, published on March 28, 1995 to Sanyo Electric Also Japanese Patent Application 7,275,582, published October 24, 1995 in the name of Nippon Kentetsu Co, and Japanese Patent Application 8,000,898, published in January 9, 1996 in the name of Hitachi Ltd, both teach the use of a sheet of plastic foam or plastic added to be inside the peripheral wall of the dryer drum to reduce noise The problem with these dryers is that the plastic chosen It will be subjected to high temperatures during drying and it can be difficult to assemble inside the drum thus greatly increasing the cost of the dryer to the consumer In another attempt to reduce the noise created by the items spinning in a clothes dryer, the Japanese Patent Application 2,023,999, published on January 28, 1990, teaches the use of a rotating drier drum comprising a multilayer metal plate with a plastic resin material placed between the metal plates. Although this solution does not involve the use of a sheet of plastic placed inside the wall of the dryer drum, the use of a laminated dryer drum comprising two plates of ac However, they have to be secured together with a resin material between the dryer drums, it would be a drum structure difficult to manufacture increasing the cost to the consumer of clothes dryers. Therefore, a clothes dryer having improved noise isolation characteristics is needed. which requires minimal alteration of the existing dryer drum construction thus adding relatively little additional cost to the clothes dryer BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to the use of steel belts or belts that can be readily secured around the outer periphery of the cylindrical wall of the dryer drum to absorb the noise created by the articles rotating in the dryer drum during operation. uses a laminated adhesive material to the belt or band that adheres the band to the outer wall of the dryer drum when applying pressure. The present invention also uses baffle mounting screws that pass through the dryer drum to secure the ends and intermediate portions of the drum. The dripping drum band The present invention has the advantage that it is relatively easy to assemble and the belt effectively cushions articles that hit the wall of the dryer drum. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a laundry dryer comprising a Cabinet that has a front wall with access opening to clothes in the same mo and a door mounted to the cabinet to close the front access opening The clothes dryer includes a drum rotary mounted inside the cabinet and adapted to receive the articles of clothing to be dried through the front access opening. The drum has a side wall of substantially cylindrical shape. The side wall has an internal surface and an external surface. The clothes dryer includes at least one band secured in contact relation and surrounding the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall of the drum to dampen the noise produced by the articles rotating inside the drum during the drying operation. The clothes dryer may further include an adhesive material placed between the outer surface of the drum and the band to secure the band to the drum and prevent the band from slipping around the drum. The adhesive material preferably comprises a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive material laminated to the band which secures the band to the outer surface of the drum when placed in contact with the outer surface of the drum. The adhesive material laminated to the band is covered with a protective wrap that comes off before assembling the band to the outer surface of the dryer drum. The band is preferably a belt having two ends that are secured in an overlapping manner to form the band. Preferably, an insurance means comprises a screw that passes through aligned openings in the ends of the band and the drum to secure the band to the drum. Preferably, additional securing means passing through the drum are spaced around the periphery of the drum to provide additional positive securing of the band to the drum. The band is preferably a galvanized steel plate or belt and preferably covers at least 2/3 of the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall of the dryer drum BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete understanding of the nature of the present invention can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying diagram drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clothes dryer of the present invention including the noise damping band, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the band or strap of the present invention, Figure 3 is a view of the dryer drum of the present invention showing the bands around the dryer drum, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the extreme connection of the band to the dryer drum; Figure 5 is a plan view of the washer bracket used to secure the ends of the bands in Figure 4; and, Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 showing an alternative embodiment to secure the ends of the bands DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MODALITIES Referring to Figure 1, a domestic laundry dryer 10 is illustrated to show some of the basic details of the construction. The dryer can be heated by gas or electricity for the purpose of this invention, no difference will be experienced in the application of this invention to the dryer for dryers heated by any of the above methods. The dryer 10 is provided with a suitable cabinet or housing 12 for mounting the control panel 14, rotating drum 16, motor 18 and blower 20. The cabinet 12 has a front wall 25 provided with a door 21 to give the user access to the drum 16 through the access opening 23 The drum 16 is mounted in the cabinet 12 for rotation about its central axis and the motor 18 is arranged to drive the drum by means of a tape 22. The drum is also located in a path of air, so that the dry-heated air is forced through the drum to extract moisture from the clothes that spin in it. The drum is provided with a series of baffles, one of which is shown at 24 in Figure 1. The baffle is a substantially hollow molded plastic device that may be made of vinyl, or polypropylene, NORYL, trademark of General Electric Company, or some other high impact plastic material which will not lose its strength at drying temperatures and which has an elastic nature The baffle is slightly curved so as to cause the laundry to turn towards the center of the drum 16 during a drying operation. baffle 24 is mounted by bolts or screws to the inner surface 26 of the cylindrical drum side wall 28 as described below In order to provide space within the cabinet 12 or the drive belt 22, suitable struts or poles 30 are formed in approximately the midpoint of the length of the cylindrical side wall 28 of the drum 16 These struts are shown on the external surface 32 of the side wall ci lindrica 28 of the drum and define a slot 31 that receives the tape In accordance with the present invention, a band or belt 34 surrounds the outer surface 32 of the cylindrical side wall 28 of the drum 16 to dampen the noise associated with the articles that collide on the internal surface 26 of the drum 16 Since the cylindrical side wall 32 of the drum 16 is divided into two wall portions by the posts 30, two strips 34 are employed With reference to figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings , the preferred embodiment for the bands 34 is described The construction of the web 34 is best seen in Figure 2 The web 34 comprises an elongated metal strip 40 having a pressure-sensitive adhesive material 38 laminated on one side thereof A backing of paper 36 is on the adhesive 38 and is released from the adhesive 38 during the assembly of the band 34 to the outer surface 32 of the drum 16 The metal 40 of the band 30 is a galvanized steel having a thickness of approximately 0.03810 cm. The ends 41 of the band 34 include openings 42 and intermediate openings 44. These openings are used to positively secure the belt to the outer frame 32 of the drum 16. In Figures 3 and 4, the assembly of noise damping panels or strips 32 is shown. For assembly, the paper 36 is peeled off from the adhesive layer 38 of the band 34, and the band 34 is placed around the outer surface 32 of the cylindrical wall. 28 of the drum 16. The ends 41 are placed with their openings 42 aligned over the opening 43 in the drum 16 This is shown in Figure 3, where the right band 34 has its ends 41 shown in the process of being overlapped The band left 34 is shown assembled to the outer surface 32 of the drum 16 For the left band 34, the openings 42 of the band 34 are aligned over the opening 43 of the drum 16 and the locking screw 46 cooperates with the washer bracket 48 to maintain the ends 41 of the band 34 in place A plan view of the washer 48 is shown in Figure 5 In Figure 4, the screw 46 also passes through the cylinder retainer assembly 52 of the baffle 24 The screw 46 is maintained po r their threads in the cylinder 52 and as the screw 46 is tightened, the screw 46 pulls the washer 48 downwards and deforms the washer 48 against the ends 41 of the band 34 In figure 3 the screws 46 and opening 43 represent the three mounting screws used to maintain the baffle 24 on the internal surface 26 of the drum 16 Since the three baffles are evenly spaced on the inner wall of the drum, additional mounting screws 46 and washer brackets 48 can be used in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 4 when passing through the intermediate openings 44 in the band 34. Referring to Figure 6, an alternative embodiment for the insurance means used in the present invention maintains the ends of the bands 34 in place against the drum 16 includes a bracket 54 having two receiving slots in the shape of the letter U where the ends 41 of the band 34 are inserted and similarly secured to which is described for figure 4

Claims (9)

1 - . 1 - A clothes dryer comprising: a cabinet having a front wall with an access opening for clothing therein and a door mounted to the cabinet for closing the front access opening; a rotating drum mounted within the cabinet and adapted to receive articles of clothing to be dried through said front access opening, said drum having a side wall in substantially cylindrical form, and said side wall having an internal surface and an outer surface, and, at least one band secured in contact relation and surrounding the outer surface of the side wall in a cylindrical shape to dampen the noise produced by the articles rotating inside said drum during the drying operation. - The clothes dryer according to claim 1, further including an adhesive material placed between the outer surface of the drum and the band to secure the band to the drum and prevent the band from slipping around the drum 3 - The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive material comprises a layer of laminated pressure sensitive adhesive material. or to the band securing the band to the outer surface of the drum when it is placed in contact with the outer surface of the drum 4 - The clothes dryer according to claim 3, wherein the adhesive material laminated to the band is covered with a Protective wrap that comes off before assembling the strip to the outer surface of the dryer drum 5 - The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein the strip has two ends that are adjacent to each other and the dryer that further includes a corbel mounted to the drum between the two adjacent ends of the band, the bracket including two receiving grooves each receiving respectively one of the two adjacent ends of said band to secure the ends of said band in place with respect to said drum 6 - The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein the band has two ends and the clothes dryer which also includes means of secure for the two ends of the band to the drum, said secure means including at least one screw passing through aligned openings in the ends of the band and the drum to secure the band to the drum 7 - The clothes dryer according to claim 6, wherein the two ends of the band overlap and a screw passes through the aligned openings of the two aligned strips with an opening that passes through the drum 8 - The clothes dryer in accordance with claim 7, wherein a deformable washer bracket is held in place by the screw against one of the band ends 9. - The clothes dryer in accordance with the claim 6, which further includes at least one baffle mounted to the internal surface of said drum, said baffle being at least partially secured to said drum by said at least one screw. 10. The clothes dryer according to claim 9, further including locking screws that pass through the drum spaced around the periphery of the drum to provide additional positive securing of the band to the drum. 11.- The clothes dryer in accordance with the claim 1, wherein the strip is a steel plate 12. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the strip overlaps at least 2/3 of the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall of the dryer 13 - The clothes dryer in accordance with the claim 1, wherein the web has inwardly separating edges from the ends of the cylindrical side wall 14 - A clothes dryer comprising a cabinet having a front wall with a clothing access opening therein and a door mounted thereon to the cabinet to close the front access opening, a rotating drum mounted within the cabinet and adapted to receive articles of clothing to be dried through said front access opening, said drum having a side wall in substantially cylindrical form, and said side wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, said drum including a reinforcing strut which surrounds the outer surface of the drum and which defines at least one belt impulse receiving groove and which divides the outer surface of the drum into two halves; and, two bands secured in contacting relationship and surrounding a respective half of the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall of said drum to absorb the noise produced by the articles rotating inside said drum during the drying operation. - The clothes dryer in accordance with the claim 14, which further includes an adhesive material placed between the outer surface of the drum and each of the bands to secure the bands to the drum and prevent the bands from slipping around the drum 16.- The clothes dryer according to the claim 14, wherein the adhesive material comprises a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive material laminated to each of the bands that secures the bands to the outer surface of the drum when placed in contact with the outer surface of the drum 17 - The clothes dryer in accordance with the claim 15, wherein the adhesive material laminated to the webs is covered with a protective wrap that peels off before assembling the webs to the outer surface of the dryer drum 18 - The clothes dryer according to claim 15, wherein each of the bands have two ends that are adjacent to each other and the dryer that further includes a bracket mounted to the drum between the two adjacent ends of the band, the bracket including two receiving grooves each receiving respectively one of the two adjacent ends of said barrel. band to secure the ends of said band in place with respect to said drum 19 - The laundry dryer according to claim 15, wherein each of the bands has two ends and the clothes dryer that also includes insurance means for the two ends of the drum band, said securing means including at least one screw passing through aligned openings in the drum. The ends of the band and the drum to secure the band to the drum 20 - The clothes dryer according to claim 19, wherein the two ends of each of the bands overlap and a screw passes through aligned openings of the clothes. the two bands aligned with an opening that passes through the drum 21 - The clothes dryer according to claim 19, wherein a deformable washer bracket is held in place by the screw against one of the band ends 2

2 - The clothes dryer according to claim 19, further including at least one baffle mounted to the inner surface of said drum, said baffle being at least partially secured to said drum by said at least one screw. 2

3 - The laundry dryer according to claim 22, further including locking screws that pass through the drum spaced around the periphery of the drum to provide additional positive securing of the band to the drum 2

4 - The clothes dryer in compliance with claim 14, wherein the band is a steel plate. 2

5 - The laundry dryer according to claim 14, wherein the web overlaps at least 2/3 of the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall of the dryer 2

6 - The laundry dryer according to claim 14, where the band has edges that are turned inward from the ends of the cylindrical side wall