TW201536980A - Forced convection hanging clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A clothes dryer has a cabinet forming a drying chamber and a drying rack slidably mounted to the cabinet and movable between a retracted position where the drying rack is within the drying chamber and an extended position where the drying rack is exteriorly of the cabinet. A removable dividing panel is retained by the drying rack and divides the drying chamber into two horizontal and vertically extending drying chambers. A control system associated with the dryer has selectable modes to operate the divided drying chambers independently or concurrently as a single large drying chamber. A recycle system associated with the dryer permits recycling of heat air to increase drying efficiency.

Description

Forced convection hanging clothes dryer

The present invention relates generally to laundry dryers and, more particularly, to representative embodiments of specially designed forced convection suspension laundry dryers and associated control systems.

Drum type clothes dryers are well known in the art and are commonly used to dry wet laundry by passing heated or unheated air through the drum while continuously rotating the laundry in the drum. Traditionally, all tumble dryers operate on the same principle as rotating the garment in an attempt to expose the garment to a greater surface area for drying the garment by circulating hot air through the drum. This combination of rotation and heating can damage the clothing system as known. The damage system is specifically the result of mechanical friction as the fabric of the garment rolls over. This damage can be further amplified by overdrying the laundry. In recent years, various sensors (such as humidity sensors and temperature sensors) have been utilized to monitor the humidity or dryness of laundry to control the drying cycle while reducing excessive drying. However, these controls are still prone to problems and cannot eliminate the tumbling of the clothes.

In addition, the efficiency of the tumble dryer is relatively low, while a significant percentage of energy is spent on a single load of drying the laundry. A significant percentage of energy is consumed by the drum drive motor and the blower or fan, while a large amount of energy is consumed Heating from the air circulating through the drum. Typically, indoor air is drawn into the dryer and traversed the heating element. The hot air then passes through the drum and is discharged from the dryer. Because of the relatively short contact time between the heating element and the room air and between the hot air and the laundry, an oversized heating element is used to ensure that the air is heated to a sufficiently high temperature to promote drying. In many cases, the air is expelled and the saturation is insufficient, in part because the air is inside the dryer for a short period of time before the air is expelled, so the air is overheated and wastes too much energy.

At the same time, the drum dryer using the gas burner has higher energy efficiency than the drum dryer using the electric heating element, and is far more energy-consuming than the device that can controllably heat and recirculate the air without including the rotating drum.

In addition, the dryer has further disadvantages, including static electricity generated between the clothes and the unattended creping clothes in the drum of the dryer after the drying cycle, even in a very short period of time, commonly referred to as "static bonding". "."

Cabinet-type laundry dryers are also known in the art, and the operating system is similar to a drum-type laundry dryer that circulates or does not heat the air through the garment to promote drying. The main difference between the two dryers is that the cabinet-type clothes dryer does not include a rotating drum, and the clothes are laid flat or suspended. While conventional cabinet dryers overcome the shortcomings of tumbling garments associated with tumble dryers, conventional cabinet dryers are not lacking in disadvantages. More specifically, existing cabinet dryers are subject to uncontrolled mixing of circulating air and indoor air. Further, disadvantages include a method for hanging clothes, and further, as a single cabinet structure in which all the clothes are subjected to the same drying cycle regardless of the different drying requirements that may exist between the clothes.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a forced convection hanging laundry dryer that eliminates one or more of the above disadvantages and other inherent disadvantages that exist in tumble dryers and cabinet dryers.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide a forced convection hanging laundry dryer comprising a drying chamber separated into two or more separate drying chambers, each individually controlling a blower or fan associated therewith Components and heating elements.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide a forced convection hanging laundry dryer including a garment rack that allows airflow therethrough.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a forced convection hanging laundry dryer comprising a positionable laundry rack that allows for proper spacing between adjacent hanging garments or other fabric articles.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide for utilizing a temperature and moisture or humidity sensor to improve drying cycle control in a new control method.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a forced convection suspension laundry dryer having a sequence of control modes and cycles of operating the dryer air circulation and air purge to ensure that the air is sufficiently saturated with moisture prior to air removal to increase drying The energy efficiency of the machine.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a forced convection hanging laundry dryer, including a control system that allows for the staging of the start time of the dryer to achieve the advantage of reduced electricity costs, thereby further reducing the cost of the user and using It is not necessary to be present at the end of the drying cycle.

The advantages of the present invention are in terms of a separate drying chamber. The empty rooms can be resized so that each one can accommodate normal clothes from a fully loaded washing machine The amount of matter. This is a significant improvement in any type of design that utilizes a single empty chamber, as drying sometimes requires longer than another cleaning cycle and thus hinders the normal process of cleaning and drying several loads. By suspending the laundry using each empty chamber after the cleaning is completed, it is highly probable that the dryer will be able to keep up with any number of cleaning cycles, since one empty chamber should end at the time the other load is completed. Conversely, with multiple empty chambers instead of a very large empty chamber, small drying is easier and more economical than full load, and many of the stylized functions available are available; users can customize the drying cycle To accommodate the use of this type.

In general, in order to achieve these and other advantages, a hanging laundry dryer that provides forced convection in one aspect is provided. The dryer includes a cabinet having an internal internal drying chamber. The drying rack is slidably mounted to the cabinet and movable between a retracted position and an extended position, wherein the retracted position means that the drying rack is disposed in the inner drying chamber, and the extended position refers to the drying rack setting In the interior of the internal drying chamber, the drying rack is configured to detachably receive and maintain the drying chamber partitioning plate in a vertical direction to horizontally divide the drying rack into two separate portions. The drying chamber partitioning plate is detachable and received by the drying rack, and the internal drying chamber is sealed and separated into independent levels when the drying chamber partitioning plate is received by the drying rack and the drying rack is in the retracted position. The first and second drying chambers are configured and vertically extended.

In general, in another aspect, the dryer includes an internal drying chamber, a forced ventilation fan, an ambient air conduit, an ambient air conduit valve, an exhaust conduit, an exhaust conduit valve, a circulating air conduit, and a circulation. An air duct air valve configured to transfer ambient air outside the cabinet to a forced air fan, the ambient air duct air valve spanning the air duct and operable to allow or prevent air flow through the air duct, the exhaust duct Configured to be baked from the inside The dry chamber discharges air to a location external to the cabinet, the exhaust conduit valve is spanned over the exhaust conduit and is operable to allow or prevent air flow through the exhaust conduit valve, the circulating air conduit being configured to communicate within the interior drying chamber The air to the forced ventilation fan, the circulating air conduit valve is spanned over the circulating air conduit and is operable to allow or prevent air flow through the circulating air conduit. The operation of the ambient air conduit valve and the circulating air conduit valve is 100% opposite to each other, which means that during any pre-programmed setting that requires the heating application to be part of the drying process, when one is fully closed and the other is completely turn on.

Therefore, the more important features of the present invention are set forth in the <RTIgt;

The various objects, features and advantages of the invention are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art of the invention. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of various embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description

As such, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the concept of this specification can be readily utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for the purpose of practicing the invention. Therefore, it is important that the scope of the patent application be deemed to include such equivalent architecture without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

For a better understanding of the present invention, the operational advantages thereof and the specific objects obtained by their use should be referred to the accompanying drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention. With narrative content.

10‧‧‧Dryer

12‧‧‧ cabinet

14‧‧‧drying room

16‧‧‧drying rack

18‧‧‧Drawer track

20‧‧‧Drawer track

21‧‧‧ side panels

22‧‧‧ Cabinet door panel

23‧‧‧ side panels

24‧‧‧ openings

26‧‧‧handle

28‧‧‧ventilation holes

29‧‧‧ partition board

30‧‧‧Frame members/vents

32‧‧‧Frame members/vents

34‧‧‧ventilation holes

36‧‧‧Parts board

38‧‧‧Parts board

40‧‧‧Parts board

42‧‧‧Parts board

44‧‧‧Additional parts access board

46‧‧‧Additional parts access board

48‧‧‧ catheter assembly

50‧‧‧ catheter connection

52‧‧‧Frame components

54‧‧‧Back board

56‧‧‧ side panels

58‧‧‧ side panels

60‧‧‧ side panels

62‧‧‧ side panels

64‧‧‧Top plate / forced ventilation fan

66‧‧‧Top plate/forced ventilation fan

68‧‧‧Top plate/forced ventilation fan

70‧‧‧Compulsory ventilation fan

72‧‧‧Air duct

74‧‧‧Air duct

76‧‧‧Air duct

78‧‧‧Air duct

80‧‧‧Inflatable room

82‧‧‧Inflatable room

84‧‧‧floor

86‧‧‧Air duct

88‧‧‧Air duct

90‧‧‧Air duct

92‧‧‧Air duct

100‧‧‧Air inlet

102‧‧‧Air inlet

104‧‧‧Air inlet

106‧‧‧Air inlet

108‧‧‧Air inlet

110‧‧‧Air inlet

112‧‧‧Air inlet

114‧‧‧Air inlet

116‧‧‧Air valve

118‧‧‧Air valve

120‧‧‧ valve motor

120A‧‧‧ valve motor

120B‧‧‧ valve motor

120C‧‧‧ valve motor

120D‧‧‧ gas valve motor

122‧‧‧Inflatable room

124‧‧‧Inflatable room

126‧‧‧ partition wall

128‧‧‧Air valve

130‧‧‧Air valve

132‧‧‧Motor

134‧‧‧ motor

136‧‧‧Draining catheter

138‧‧‧Draining catheter

140‧‧‧suspension components

142‧‧‧suspension parts

144‧‧‧ hangers

146‧‧ ‧ prominence

148‧‧‧ top surface

150‧‧‧Air passage

152‧‧‧ hook

154‧‧‧ hanging horizontal components

156‧‧‧U-shaped frame

158‧‧ ‧ spring clip

200‧‧‧Control system

202‧‧‧Microprocessor

206‧‧‧Control keypad

208‧‧‧Digital display

209‧‧‧ suspended

210‧‧‧Start

212‧‧‧Drying chamber selector

214‧‧‧Enter or choose

216‧‧‧Manual mode

218‧‧‧ Temperature selection

219‧‧‧Drying mode selection

220‧‧‧Digital keypad

222‧‧‧ Temperature Sensor

224‧‧‧Humidity Sensor

226‧‧‧First drying room temperature sensor

228‧‧‧First drying room humidity sensor

234‧‧‧Second drying room temperature sensor

236‧‧‧Second drying room humidity sensor

242‧‧‧ heating element

244‧‧‧ heating element

246‧‧‧ heating element

248‧‧‧ heating element

300‧‧‧Steps

302‧‧‧Steps

304‧‧‧Steps

306‧‧‧Steps

308‧‧‧Steps

310‧‧‧Steps

312‧‧ steps

314‧‧‧Steps

316‧‧‧Steps

318‧‧‧Steps

The following figures are illustrated by way of example and are included to provide a further understanding of the invention of the invention. The details of the embodiments of the present invention are not intended to be exhaustive, and the details of the embodiments of the present invention may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The same component symbols do not necessarily indicate the same structure. Rather, the same element symbols may be used to indicate similar features that have similar features. In the drawing:

1 is a schematic front perspective view of a forced convection hanging laundry dryer constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention, and illustrating the details with a drying rack in an extended position; A schematic front perspective view of a forced laundry convection laundry dryer constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 3 is a forced convection constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention. A schematic rear perspective view of a hanging laundry dryer; FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded rear perspective view of a forced convection hanging laundry dryer constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention; A schematic rear perspective view of a forced convection hanging laundry dryer constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention, and illustrating the bottom plenum of the panel removed for purposes of clarity; FIG. Is a schematic cross-sectional view of a forced convection hanging laundry dryer constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention and illustrated Circulating air duct configuration.

Figure 7 is a schematic enlarged perspective view of a configuration of a forced ventilation fan, a circulating air conduit, and an ambient air conduit including an associated circulating air conduit valve and an ambient air conduit valve; Figure 8 is at least one in accordance with the present invention. A schematic top perspective view of a forced convection hanging laundry dryer constructed in accordance with the principles of the embodiments, and illustrating the top plenum of the panel removed for purposes of clarity; FIG. 9 is a forced convection garment of the present invention A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a suspension assembly for a dryer; FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of a crossbar of an embodiment of a suspension assembly; and FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a spring clip of an embodiment of the suspension assembly Schematic perspective view; Fig. 12 is a flow chart of a control system constructed in accordance with the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention and a forced convection hanging laundry dryer; and Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating forced convection Schematic flow diagram of various control techniques used with hanging laundry dryers and associated control systems.

Turning first to Figures 1 through 3, a laundry drying apparatus representatively embodying the principles of the present invention is generally designated as the component symbol 10. The dryer 10 includes a vertical elongated cabinet 12 having an internal drying chamber 14 that receives laundry or other items for drying by the dryer. A drawer having a drying rack 16 is slidably mounted to the cabinet 12 by left and right drawer rails 18 and 20, and Sliding between the retracted position and the extended position, wherein the retracted position means that the drying rack is disposed in the drying chamber 14 of the cabinet (Fig. 2), and the extended position means that the drying rack is disposed outside the cabinet (the first 1 picture). The extended position allows the user to use the drying rack to hang the items to be dried and to position or remove all of the suspension devices. The drying rack 16 is comprised of an open frame that is interconnected by vertically oriented frame members and horizontally oriented frame members. The drying rack 16 includes a bottom plate 84 and side plates 21 and 23. As will be discussed further, the bottom plate 84 is perforated in a desired hole pattern to allow air flow through the bottom plate during the drying operation.

The cabinet door panel 22 is attached to the drying rack 16 and seals the opening 24 of the cabinet 12 as the drying rack slides completely into the drying chamber 14 of the cabinet. The cabinet door panel 22 is provided with a handlebar 26 for gripping by a user during sliding of the drying rack 16.

As will be discussed in further detail below, the divider panel 29 is detachable and received and retained by the opposing vertical side frame members 30 and 32 of the dryer frame 16. The partition plate 29 vertically separates the drying rack 16 into a forward and rearward laundry receiving area. When the partition plate 29 further receives the drying rack 16 in the drying chamber, the vertical dividing drying chamber 14 is two corresponding drying chambers.

Although not shown, a suitable air seal is positioned around the perimeter of the divider to provide the necessary sealing contact between the relevant components. It is intended that the air seal is a soft material seal attached to the dryer frame 16 at the center portion and will move in and out as the dryer frame moves in and out. The soft sealing member is relatively fixed to the inner wall and will overlap the movable sealing member and affect the tension or break the sealing fit of the soft sealing member when the drawer is placed in the closed position. In this way, there will be a slight air transfer between the drying chambers.

Furthermore, as will be discussed further below, the cabinet 12 includes an adjacent bottom The side of the end is fitted with indoor air suction vents 28, 30, 32, 34. While only the vents 28 and 30 are shown here, the vents 32 and 34 are correspondingly disposed on opposite sides as shown in FIG. Component passage plates 36 and 38 may also be provided to allow access to the lower inner portion of the cabinet through the sides to service the dryer. Although not shown here, similar component passage plates 40 and 42 may be correspondingly disposed on opposite sides. Additional component access panels 44 and 46 may be provided on top of the cabinet 12 to provide similar access to service the dryer. The cabinet 12 further includes a rear exhaust duct assembly 48 that is vented from the dryer 10 through the rear exhaust duct assembly 48. The conduit assembly 48 includes a conduit connection 50 for connection to a conduit of a standard dryer to vent air (e.g., outside of a building) at a desired location. The control keypad 206 is further illustrated to interface and control various functions and operations of the dryer 10.

Turning now to Figure 4, a schematic exploded view of a representative embodiment of dryer 10 is illustrated. The cabinet 12 of the dryer 10 includes a frame assembly 52 that includes interconnected vertical and horizontal frame assemblies that are configured to attach and support the various components that form the dryer. As shown herein, the cabinet 12 includes an outer rear panel 54, outer side panels 56 and 58, inner side panels 60 and 62, an outer roof panel 64, an inner roof panel 66, a partitioning top panel 68, and a door panel 22 (forming the cabinet front panel). The outer panel is suitably thermally insulated from the central divider to increase drying and energy efficiency of the dryer 10 and to reduce heat transfer between the drying chambers. As will be discussed further below, the side panels 56 and 60 are attached to the frame 52 and supported by the frame 52 while being horizontally spaced to form first and second right side circulation conduits therebetween. Similarly, side panels 58 and 62 are attached to frame 52 and supported by frame 52, horizontally spaced to form first and second left side circulating air therebetween catheter. It should be understood that when cabinet 12 is illustrated as including frame assembly 52 and various individual panels are attached to the frame to form a cabinet, various other configurations of the cabinet may be employed without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present invention. Thus, as illustrated herein, the cabinet 12 is representative and exemplary in construction.

Referring now to Figure 5, the top plates 64, 66, 68 and the backing plate 54 are removed and the side panels 56, 58, 60 and 62 are partially removed for illustrative purposes to illustrate the dryer 10. Intake plenums 80 and 82 are disposed at the bottom end of cabinet 12 and are separated by vertical dividing walls 84. The partition wall 84 is positioned to correspond to the movable partitioning plate 29 (not shown) and is identical to the movable partitioning plate 29 (not shown) when the drying rack 16 is fully slid inwardly into the drying chamber 14. Vertical plane. Obviously, the dividing wall 84 remains stationary without moving in or out of the drawer assembly. The air plenum 80 covers the forced ventilation fans 64 and 66 and the corresponding air ducts 72 and 74. The air plenum 82 covers the forced ventilation fans 68 and 70 and the corresponding air ducts 76 and 78. The ventilation fans 64, 66, 68, 70 can be variable speed fans having fan speed settings for low, medium and high speed operation. The drying rack 16 in the extended position is further illustrated. When the drying rack slides into the cabinet 12, the bottom plate 84 of the drying rack 16 forms the roof of the air plenums 80 and 82. It can further be seen here that the bottom plate 84 is ribbed to prevent items that may fall to the bottom plate from completely blocking the air holes extending through the bottom plate. The rib itself will be apparent due to the way it undulates from the horizontal plane. The ribs of the bottom plate are also perforated with a strategic size and placed in a hole to allow a uniform and stable flow pattern of air from each fan into the chamber. Since the two fans always run on each of the selected automatic programs, the air flow will always be uniform. The holes will also be placed in a wave shape, allowing air to enter the chamber from various angles and ensuring that there are no dead zones.

As further explained herein, and as briefly discussed above, the first and second right-hand circulating air ducts 86 and 88 are formed by horizontally spaced outer side panels 56 and inner side panels 60. The circulating air ducts 86 and 88 extend vertically to one side of the cabinet 12, which side of the cabinet 12 is between the vertical frame members forming the respective sides of the cabinet frame 52. Similarly, the first and second left side air ducts 90 and 92 are formed by horizontally spaced outer side panels 58 and inner side panels 62. The circulating air ducts 90 and 92 extend vertically to one side of the cabinet 12, which side of the cabinet 12 is between the vertical frame members forming the respective sides of the cabinet frame 52. This configuration is further illustrated in Figure 6. As discussed above, the inner side panels 60 and 62 are vertically shorter than the outer wall to allow air to flow at the top and into the circulating air conduits 86, 88, 90, and 92.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the air duct 72 includes an indoor air inlet 100 that aligns with the indoor air inlet 100 and records the indoor air opening 28 to receive ambient air, and the circulating air inlet 102 aligns and records the circulating air duct 90, To receive circulating air. The air duct 72 delivers ambient air and circulating air to the forced ventilation fan 72. Likewise, the air duct 74 includes an indoor air inlet 104 that aligns with the indoor air inlet 104 and records the indoor air opening 30 to receive ambient air. The circulating air inlet 106 aligns and records the circulating air duct 92 to receive the circulating air. . The air duct 74 delivers ambient air and circulating air to the forced ventilation fan 74. Similarly, the air duct 74 includes an indoor air inlet 108 that is aligned with the indoor air inlet 108 and that records the indoor air opening 32 to receive ambient air. The circulating air inlet 110 aligns and records the circulating air duct 86 to receive the circulating air. . Air duct 76 delivers ambient air and circulating air to forced air Fan 76. Likewise, the air duct 80 includes an indoor air inlet 112 that aligns with the indoor air inlet 112 and records the indoor air opening 34 to receive ambient air. The circulating air inlet 114 aligns and records the circulating air duct 88 to receive the circulating air. . The air duct 80 delivers ambient air and circulating air to the forced ventilation fan 78.

Turning now to Figure 7, a forced through fan 66, conduit 74, indoor air valve 116 and recirculating air valve 118 (partially removing the inner side panel 60 for purposes of clarity) are schematically illustrated. However, it should be understood that although the following description refers specifically to the forced ventilation fan 66, the conduit 74, the ambient air valve 116, and the circulating air valve 118, as shown, the structure and arrangement of the remaining three fan assemblies are the same, and thus No discussion is required. Indoor air plenum 116 connects indoor air inlet 112 to indoor air opening 34 and is operable to control air flow from the ambient air opening into the fresh air inlet conduit. A circulating air valve 118 connects the circulating air conduit 88 to the circulating air inlet 114 and is operable to control the flow of circulating air from the circulating air conduit into the conduit 74. An important aspect of embodiments of the present invention is that the ambient air valve 116 and the circulating air valve 118 operate simultaneously and in opposite directions in the open and closed positions. As the indoor air plenum 116 opens to allow fresh air to be supplied to the fan, the recirculating air plenum 118 closes to stop circulating air back to the forced ventilation fan. As shown here, a single gas valve motor 120A is operatively coupled to both the circulating air valve 118 and the ambient air valve 116. Motor 120A operates to simultaneously affect the opening and closing of circulating air valve 118 and indoor air valve 116. It should be understood that motor 120A can take various forms and configurations to operate the air valve. In addition, it is also possible to use two separate motors for each gas valve, respectively, instead of a single motor structure. For this purpose, The main scope of this aspect is the position of the alternating reversal, which is not relevant to the motor that affects the control during the various stages of the stylized operation of the gas valve.

Referring to Figure 8, the dryer 10 further includes exhaust air plenums 122 and 124 disposed at the top end of the cabinet 12 (to remove the outer top plate 64 for purposes of clarity). The air plenums 122 and 124 are separated by a vertical dividing wall 126. The partition wall 126 is positioned to correspond to the movable partitioning plate 29 (not shown) and is identical to the movable partitioning plate 29 (not shown) when the drying rack 16 is fully slid inwardly into the drying chamber 14. Vertical plane. The top plate 66 is slightly below each of the air plenums 122 and 124 and is perforated to allow air flow from the drying chamber into the plenums 122 and 124. The top plate 66 can be perforated in a desired pattern and size depending on the particular and desired air flow pattern. The top plate 68 horizontally separates the plenums 122 and 124, and the top plate 64 forms the top of each plenum and is not illustrated here. A vent air valve 128 connects the upper and lower chambers of the plenum 122 and is operable to control the flow of air from the lower chamber to the upper chamber. Motor 132 is operatively coupled to exhaust gas valve 128 and operates to open and close the gas valve. Likewise, the exhaust air valve 130 connects the upper and lower chambers of the plenum 124 and is operable to control the flow of air from the lower chamber to the upper chamber. Motor 134 is operatively coupled to exhaust air valve 130 and operates to open and close the gas valve. Valves 128 and 132 are independently operated in accordance with the desired dryer control.

The exhaust conduit 136 of the exhaust conduit assembly 48 is coupled to the upper chamber of the plenum 122 to receive exhaust air, and the exhaust conduit 138 of the exhaust conduit assembly is coupled to the upper chamber of the plenum 124 for receiving exhaust air. Each of the exhaust conduits 136 and 138 can be configured with a one-way air valve that is operable to only allow air flow from the plenum to the respective conduit. Referring to Figure 4, the exhaust conduits 136 and 138 form a row In one portion of the outlet conduit assembly 48, the exhaust conduit assembly 48 connects the dryer 10 to an external exhaust conduit at a desired location (e.g., at a location external to the building) to vent exhaust air.

Turning to Figures 9 through 11, in another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, an article suspension assembly 140 is provided for allowing the item to be dried to be suspended and suspended in the dryer during the drying operation. Suspension assembly 140 includes a specially designed suspension component 142 and a specially designed hanger 144. The suspension member 142 is an elongated rod attached to the frame of the drying rack 16 and supported by the frame of the drying rack 16 at the opposite end, so that the hanging member spans the width of the drying rack (see Figure 1 for the best). ). Suspension member 142 is slidably positioned across the drying rack 16 or removed as desired. The suspension member 142 provides a stable horizontal support so that the item to be dried can be folded in a manner very similar to the way the towel bar hangs the towel. A plurality of protrusions or bumps 146 of the suspension member 142 are spaced apart along the top surface 148. The projections 146 are used to allow the article material draped over the suspension member to exit the top surface 148 to enhance air flow across the surface of the suspension member across the surface of the material to promote faster drying. The suspension component 142 can further include a plurality of spaced apart and vertically extending air passages 150 that allow air flow through the suspension components to further facilitate drying. Air passages 150 may correspond to each protrusion 146.

The hanger 144 includes a conventional hook 152 that extends upwardly from a conventional shirt suspension cross member 154 that hangs downwardly from a cross member of a trousers, pants, skirt, etc., and a plurality of spring clips 158 Hanging down from the U-shaped frame 156 and supported by the open frame tool 160 for attaching smaller items to the suspension assembly 140. The U-shaped frame 156 can be snapped in or out of the hanger 144 to allow for easy installation and unloading of items on the frame. Hook 152 adjustable The size is such that the hook 152 can also be placed directly to hang from any conventional closet bar. This means that many projects are easy to handle in a single process, and the pole can be placed directly into different closets by each strategic hanging project without having to reprocess or remove the project. Because all hangers 144 and suspension bars 142 can be removed, as well as the central removable area 29, large household items (such as mats or pillows) can be easily inserted and removed for gentle drying, which is not in tumble dryers. possible.

Referring to Figure 12, the dryer 10 further includes a control system 200 that includes a microprocessor 202 that is pre-programmed to provide the dryer with a variety of subsequently described modes of operation and control sequences to provide bake The dryer has the flexibility and efficiency that it is expected to enhance operation. The control system 200 also includes a user inputting the touch input pad 206, and the user input touch input pad 206 can be conveniently installed at a suitable position outside the dryer cabinet 12. The input board 206 can be coupled to the control system 200 via a telescoping data line to allow the input board 206 to be removably mounted outside of the dryer cabinet 12 for interaction by an operator for retrieval.

In a representative pictorial form, the input pad 206 has been placed on a surface with a digital display (LCD or the like) 208, which may or may not be a touch pad. Digital display 208 is operative to display various status indicators and control options for operation of dryer 10. In the example, the digital display 208 is a touchpad, and various control input buttons can also be displayed to allow the operator to operate and control the dryer 10 through the interface. In the form of a further representative illustration, the input pad 206 includes various function specific inputs that can be pressed by the operator (eg, pause 209, start 210, dryer compartment selector 212, input or selection 214, manual mode 216, temperature selection). 218, drying mode selection and Numeric keypad 220). Of course, it should be understood that additional or fewer control selection buttons may be included on the input pad 206 as desired.

To facilitate the desired mode of operation and control sequence, the dryer 10 further includes an externally mounted temperature sensor 222, an externally mounted humidity sensor 224, a first drying chamber temperature sensor 226, and a first The drying chamber humidity sensor 228, the second drying chamber temperature sensor 234, and the second drying chamber humidity sensor 236, the externally mounted temperature sensor 222 senses the temperature of the ambient air, and is installed externally. The humidity sensor 224 senses the humidity of the ambient air, the first drying chamber temperature sensor 226 senses the temperature in the first drying chamber separated by the plate 29, and the first drying chamber humidity sensor 228 senses The humidity in the first drying chamber is measured, the temperature in the second drying chamber separated by the plate 29 by the second drying chamber temperature sensor 234, and the second drying chamber humidity sensor 236 sensing the second drying Humidity in the room. Additionally, dryer 10 includes heating elements 242, 244, 246, and 248. Heating elements 242 and 244 are respectively disposed across the forced ventilation fans 68 and 70 to heat the air discharged by each of the fans. Heating elements 246 and 248 are respectively disposed across the forced ventilation fans 72 and 74 to heat the air discharged by each of the fans.

Turning now to the flow chart of Figure 13, the exemplary mode and sequence of operations performed by the control system 200 by the dryer 10 will be more fully described. In step 300, the dryer 10 begins to be activated (the user selects the drying chamber 1, the drying chamber 2 or the combined drying chamber desired by the user, and selects the chamber 1 for discussion herein), and then transfers to the pre- Loop step 302.

In step 302, control system 200 operates to ensure that all of the valves are in the correct position before the forced ventilation fan is turned on. Therefore, at the beginning of this step, the fresh air valve will be completely hit by the electric valve motors 120a and 120b. On, the recirculation valve will be fully closed, and with the electric valve motor 132, the bleed valve will fully open. Once the control system 200 confirms that the gas valves are in the correct position, then the forced ventilation fans 68 and 70 will be turned on, the fresh ambient air will be drawn through the drying chamber, and the fresh ambient air will be discharged from the drying chamber through the discharge conduit 136, thereby taking the fresh environment. The air passes through the wet objects placed in the drying chamber. After a predetermined period of time, a query is made at step 304 to determine if the humidity in the drying chamber (as sensed by the humidity sensor 228) is greater than a predetermined humidity (eg, the first humidity value is greater than the ambient humidity sensed by the humidity sensor 222). , or the drying chamber temperature (as sensed by temperature sensor 226) is below a predetermined temperature set point.

If these conditions are met, the control system moves to step 306 to initiate an air circulation mode to begin drying the items disposed in the drying chamber.

However, if for any reason the above conditions are not met, the program will determine that it can be closed early. The program will then return to step 302, the beginning of the pre-cycle. This will turn on the dryer's other timed air purge to try to increase the humidity in the dryer above the external humidity reading or to lower the temperature in the dryer below the program start point. The program will do twice before shutting down the dryer due to the inability to meet the pre-start conditions. As mentioned, it is possible to dry very light fabrics in pre-cycled timing cycles due to a variety of reasons, such as incorrectly programmed dryer start-up parameters, or incorrectly loaded and baked during pre-cycled timing cycles. Dry machine, or stylized wrong drying fabric selection, or environmental conditions. This will be a safety feature to ensure that the dryer can shut down once the program cannot be started in the required parameters. Audible and visual alerts alert the user.

In response to the air cycle beginning at step 306, the control system passes the electric valve motor 132 to close the air exhaust conduit, and the electric valve motors 120a and 120b To close the corresponding ambient air valve, open the corresponding air circulation valve, and energize the electric heating units 242 and 244 (operate the valve motors 120a and 120b before the valve motor 132). Then, the process proceeds to step 308, where it is inquired whether the humidity of the drying chamber (as sensed by the humidity sensor 228) is greater than a predetermined humidity (eg, the second humidity value is greater than the ambient humidity sensed by the humidity sensor 222), or The dry room temperature (as sensed by temperature sensor 228) is equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature (e.g., 50 °C).

If one of the two conditions is met, the control system moves to step 310 to turn on the ambient mode to purge the circulating air of the drying chamber with fresh ambient air. In response to turning on the environmental mode in step 310, control system 200 goes to electrical valve motor 132 to open the air exhaust conduit, to electrical valve motors 120a and 120b to open the corresponding ambient air valve, and to open the associated air circulation valve, and The electric heating elements 242 and 244 are de-energized (the valve motor 132 is operated before the gas valve motors 120a and 120b are operated).

After a predetermined period of time, the control system moves to step 312 where it is queried whether the sensed drying chamber humidity is equal to the sensed ambient humidity. If this condition is met, the control system moves to step 314 where the cooling mode is turned on to lower the temperature of the article disposed in the drying chamber to a temperature suitable for taking. In response to step 314 of turning on the cooling mode, the control system maintains energization of the forced ventilation fans 68 and 70 to draw fresh ambient air into the drying chamber and exhaust fresh ambient air out of the exhaust conduit, thereby cooling by passage of fresh ambient air. Objects placed in the drying chamber. After a predetermined period of time, control system 200 moves to step 316 where the stop mode is turned on to stop dryer operation with respect to the drying chamber selected in step 300.

Returning to step 312, if the conditions are not met, the control system 200 moves to step 318 where it is queried whether the sensed drying chamber humidity is greater than a predetermined humidity (eg, the first humidity value is greater than the ambient humidity). If a higher humidity level still exists, the control system 200 moves to step 306 where the cycle mode is turned on again.

This process continues until termination at step 316 to effect effective drying of the items disposed in the drying chamber. It should be understood that the program will power all components at the end of any program. As previously described, although the above exemplary modes and sequences of operations are only used to reference the first drying chamber, the exemplary mode and sequence of operations may also extend to the second drying chamber or the two drying chambers being larger Single drying room. It will be understood that various modes and operational sequences remaining within the scope of the invention may be implemented.

In an embodiment, dryer 10 may include a component failure indication to the operator. The component fault indication can be in the form of a visual or audible indicator. The component failure indication may alert the operator that the dryer needs to be serviced, and/or may include an indication of a particular component failure. In an embodiment, the monitoring component can have a feedback signal to the control system 200, and the digital display on the screen can alert the user to the component inaction and can therefore call the service personnel. By the user being able to explain what the service center displays on the keypad, the maintenance personnel can bring in the correct replacement to reduce the repeated door-to-door due to the lack of the correct portion.

In an embodiment, control system 200 may require the user to enter a personal identification number or password to open the dryer to insert the garment, or to remove the garment at the end of the cycle. This is desirable where a person's clothing item using a dryer in a commercial laundromat or apartment building is safe. In the case of commercial applications, for other users, a reasonable time delay can be programmed to open the drawer.

In an embodiment, to facilitate maintenance of internal components, the drying rack 16 can be removed similar to any table drawer.

In an embodiment, control system 200 can include a high temperature alarm that shuts down all of the heating elements if, for some reason, the drying chamber temperature exceeds the programmed temperature. In manual mode, the maximum temperature allowed will be the same as the highest setting in stylized mode.

In an embodiment, the retractable keypad is used to enable a person with a disability to use the keypad from the sitting position.

Some embodiments of the invention have been described. It will be appreciated, however, that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following patent applications.

10‧‧‧Dryer

12‧‧‧ cabinet

14‧‧‧drying room

16‧‧‧drying rack

18‧‧‧Drawer track

20‧‧‧Drawer track

21‧‧‧ side panels

22‧‧‧ Cabinet door panel

23‧‧‧ side panels

24‧‧‧ openings

26‧‧‧handle

28‧‧‧ventilation holes

29‧‧‧ partition board

30‧‧‧Frame members/vents

32‧‧‧Frame components

36‧‧‧Parts board

38‧‧‧Parts board

44‧‧‧Additional parts access board

46‧‧‧Additional parts access board

84‧‧‧floor

142‧‧‧suspension parts

206‧‧‧Control keypad

Claims (8)

A forced convection hanging laundry dryer comprises: a cabinet having an internal drying chamber; a drying rack slidably mounted to the cabinet, and being retractable in a retracted position Moving between positions, the retracted position means that the drying rack is disposed in the inner drying chamber, and the extended position means that the drying rack is disposed outside the inner drying chamber, the drying rack Configuring to movably receive and maintain a drying chamber divider in a vertical direction to horizontally separate the drying rack into two separate portions; and a drying chamber divider, the drying chamber separating The plate is movably received by the drying rack, and when the drying chamber partition is received by the drying rack and the drying rack is in the retracted position, the internal drying chamber is sealed and sealed into independent horizontal settings And the first and second drying chambers extend vertically. The hanging clothes dryer of the forced convection according to claim 1, further comprising: a first forced ventilation fan, the first forced ventilation fan being associated with the first drying chamber; a first air circulation duct, the a first air circulation conduit associated with the first drying chamber and configured to transfer air from the interior of one of the first drying chambers to the first ventilation fan; a first air circulation valve, a first air circulation valve spanning the first air circulation conduit and operative to allow or prevent air flow through the first air circulation conduit; a first ambient air duct configured to transmit ambient air outside the cabinet to the first forced air fan; a first ambient air valve, the first ambient air valve spanning a first ambient air duct operable to or prevent air flow through the first ambient air duct; the first air circulation air valve and the first ambient air air valve operating in opposite directions to each other; a second forced air fan, The second forced ventilation fan is associated with the second drying chamber; a second air circulation conduit associated with the second drying chamber and configured to be from the second drying chamber One of the internal setting positions transmits air to the second ventilation fan; a second air circulation air valve, the second air circulation air valve is disposed across the second air circulation conduit, and operatively allows or prevents air flow through a second air circulation duct; the second ambient air duct is configured to transmit ambient air outside the cabinet to the second forced air fan; a second ambient air valve, the first An ambient air valve spans the second ambient air duct and operatively allows or prevents air flow through the second ambient air duct; the second air circulating air valve and the second ambient air valve operate in opposite directions to each other And the first forced air fan, the first air circulation valve, the first ambient air valve and the second forced air fan, the second air circulation valve, and the first The two ambient air valves are operated independently or in combination. The forced convection hanging clothes dryer of claim 2, further comprising: a first air valve control motor operatively coupled to the first air circulation air valve and the first ambient air air valve; A second gas valve control motor is operatively coupled to the second air circulation air valve and the second ambient air valve. The forced convection hanging clothes dryer of claim 2, further comprising: a first exhaust air duct configured to transfer air from the first drying chamber to one of the exterior of the cabinet a first exhaust air valve spanning the first exhaust air duct and operative to allow or prevent air flow through the first exhaust air duct; a second exhaust air duct The second exhaust air duct is configured to transfer air from the second drying chamber to a position outside the cabinet; a second exhaust air valve, the second exhaust air valve spanning the second exhaust air A conduit operatively or operative to allow or prevent air flow through the second exhaust air conduit. A forced convection hanging laundry dryer comprises: a cabinet having an internal drying chamber; a forced air fan; an ambient air duct configured to transmit an environmental space outside the cabinet to the forced air fan; an ambient air duct air valve, the ambient air duct air valve spanning the environmental space duct And operatively permitting or preventing air flow through the ambient air conduit; a discharge conduit configured to discharge air from the internal drying chamber to a location external to the cabinet; a discharge conduit valve, the discharge a conduit valve spanning the discharge conduit and operatively permitting or preventing air flow through the exhaust conduit valve; a circulating air conduit configured to transfer air within the internal drying chamber to the forcing a circulating air duct valve that straddles the circulating air duct and operatively allows or prevents air flow through the circulating air duct; the ambient air duct valve and the circulating air duct The valves operate in opposite directions to each other. A forced convection hanging laundry dryer as claimed in claim 5, wherein the circulating air conduit is defined by juxtaposed inner and outer cabinet walls. The forced convection hanging clothes dryer of claim 5, further comprising: a first valve motor operatively coupled to the cycle Each of the ring air conduit valve and the ambient air conduit valve; and a second valve motor operatively coupled to the exhaust conduit valve. The hanging laundry dryer of the forced convection of claim 5, further comprising: a drying rack slidably mounted to the cabinet and movable between a retracted position and an extended position, The retracted position means that the drying rack is disposed in the inner drying chamber, and the extended position means that the drying rack is disposed outside the inner drying chamber, and the drying rack is configured to be movable Receiving and maintaining a drying chamber partitioning plate in a vertical direction to horizontally separate the drying rack into two separate portions.