US3034223A

US3034223A - Clothes drying machine

Info

Publication number: US3034223A
Application number: US803459A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald W Lynch
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1959-04-01
Filing date: 1959-04-01
Publication date: 1962-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 1979-05-15

Description

May 15, 1962 Filed April 1, 1959 D. W. LYNCH CLOTHES DRYING MACHINE F'IGI 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

DONAL-D W. LYNCH BY @gfzimmz Hi5 ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 D. W. LYNCH CLOTHES DRYING MACHINE HIS ATTORNEY AWN/{I7 r.... n n ..n.. u I I 1 l I :iiiw. l llllllllrlll Z 4 n n 4 G RW I HIH I I I I II IM |Ur www nu .l.. i lrilfll May 15, 1962 Filed April 1, 1959 May 15, 1962 D. w. LYNCH CLOTHES DRYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 1, 1959 F'IG.4

H is ATTORNEY vals.

United States Patent 3,034,223 CLGTIES DRYBJG MACHINE Donald W. Lynch, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 1, 195%, SenNo. 803,459

' 9 Claims. (Cl. 34-79) This invention relates to clothes drying machines, and more particularly to such machines which are provided with arrangements for automatically disposing of lint from the clothes without any attention being required from the operator of the machine.

Most clothes drying machines now available are of the type wherein a forced draft of heated air is used to achieve vaporization of moisture out of the clothes. This process tends to generate a substantial amount of lint which is carried away from the clothes with the draft of air and which must somehow or other be disposed of. The general approach toward disposal of the lint has been to provide suitable trap means for the lint, which is then cleaned by the machine operator at suitable inter- However, various arrangements have also been proposed whereby the lint is automatically consumed, and thus requires no attention from the operator of the machine. In such arrangements, it is of prime importance that the consumption of the lint require as little additional energy input to the machine as possible. One reason for this is that the more additional energy consumed the more the increase in the cost of running the machine; another and equally important reason is the fact that many electric clothes dryers have power consumptions which already approach the limit of capacity of the wiring in many homes, and any further power consumption in such cases must be subtracted from the power used directly for clothes drying purposes.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved clothes dryer wherein a lint consuming arrangement using very little energy is provided.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved dryer wherein the energy required for lint consumption is kept to a minimum by catching the lint directly in the path of the forced draft of air, and then removing the lint from the forced draft of air before attempting to consume it by burning it, whereby the coolatmosphere so that the draft of air, after passing through the container, may then be exhausted. In order to consume the lint which is carried from the clothes into the exhaust duct arrangement, I provide a duct portion which has a relatively small cross sectional area together with a screen member which has a substantially larger area. The screen member extends into the duct portion so as to form a lint catching barrier and is movably mounted so that during its movement at least a part of the screen member is alternately inside and outside the duct portion. When the lint which has been caught by the screen member inside the duct is carried by the screen member to the outside of the duct, it comes to a position adjacent a heat source positioned outside the duct portion. The heat source then consumes the lint by burning it; a minimum of energy is required for the process since it takes place in virtually still air without any cooling eifect from moving currents of air.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. However, my invention, both as to organization and method of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof,

may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. I

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a clothes dryer incorporating my improved lint consumer, the view being partially broken away and partially sectionalized to illustrate details;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the dryer of FIGURE 1, with the drum removed and with certain surfaces broken way and partially sectionalized to illustrate further details;

FIGURE 3 is a view along line 33 in FIGURE 1, partly broken away in order to show details;

FIGURE 4 is a view along line 44 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view along line 55 in FIGURE 3; and 1 FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional viewflof a portion of the screen shown in FIGURESA and 5.

Referring now to FIGURES land 2, I have shown therein a domestic clothes dryer 1. The dryer includes aclothes tumbling receptacle or drum 2 provided within a suitable outer casing or cabinet 3 which completely encloses it on all sides. The drum is mounted for rotation within the cabinet on a substantially horizontal axis. and is generally cylindrical in shape, having a first central outer wall portion 4, second and

third outerwall portions

5 and 6 located respectively adjacent the ends of the drum, a back wall 7, and a front wall 8.

Outer wall sections

4, 5 and6 are imperforate over their entire lengths, so that the entire outer shell of the basket is imperforate; on the interior surface of central portion 4 there is provided a plurality of clothes tumbling ribs 9. p

The front of drum 2 is rotatably supported on the outer the base 13 of the machine (FIGURE 1). It will be observed that rollers 10 and 11 are disposed beneath the drum in contact with portion 6 thereof so that the drum is supported on the rollers and is free to rotate. The rear end of drum 2 receives its support from a roller wheel 13 which is positioned beneath the portion 5 of the drum in supporting and frictionally driving engageinent therewith. While there is obviously a wide choice of suitable materials for the driving engagement, one proven efiective combination includes steel plate for the drum and relatively hardrubber (on the order of 60 durometer units of hardness) for the roller 13.

Roller 13 is mounted on ashaft 14 supported in a bearing 15; at one end of shaft 14 is secured a pulley 16 driven from a belt 17 in turn powered by a pulley 18 mounted on the end of shaft 19 of an electricmotor 20'. The motor, pulleys, and roller 13 are so proportioned to the drum and to each other that drum}. is rotated by roller 13 at an appropriate speed to provide tumbling action or articles of clothing placed therein. It will be observed that with the driving arrangement described, the driving roller 13 provides the entire support for the rear end of drum 2 so that the force with which the drum presses down on it is a direct reflection of the weight of the clothes in the basket. In order that a stream of drying air may be introduced into and passed through the clothes drum, the drum is provided with a central aperture 21in its front wall 8 and with a plurality of perforations 22 extending in an annulus around its back wall 7. Rigidly secured to the rear wall 23 of casing 3 by any desired means such as, for instance, Welding at suitable points 24, is a bafile rnember 2.5 which has secured thereto heating elements 26 appropriately insulated from the baflie member. Heating elements 26 m'ay be annular in shape so as to be gen- 7 and within the stationary bafile 25 so that an annular air inlet 28 is in eifect formed by the two

baffi es

25 and 27 is further provided with an annular series of openings 29; in this manner the baffles form inlet duct. means, and a passage is provided for air to enter annular inlet 28 between the bafiles, pass over the heating elements 26 i v thereby to be warmed, through openings 29, and then through perforations 22 into theinterior of drum her 2.

In order to secure drum 2 so that it is supported by the roller members .10, Ill and 13. without any undue horizontal motion but with a reasonably limited and permissible amount of vertical motion, a suitable thrust bearing arrangement, such as that generally indicated at 29a is provided in baffle member 25 to receive a stub shaft 29b secured to battle member 27. Ihe bearing arrangement 29a permits the entire weight of the drum 2 and HEID- vits contents to be taken up by the roller members while at the same time preventing any tendency toward displacement of the drum in any horizontal direction. The

construction including bearing arrangement 29a is described in full detail and is claimed in application Serial No. 789,869 filed January 29, 1959, now Patent 3,009,259 by William L. Simpson and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

The front opening 21 of the drum is substantially closed by means of a stationary bulkhead generally indicated at 30. Bulkhead 30 is made up of a number of adjacent members including the inner surface 31 of an access door 32 mounted on the dryer cabinet, a stationary frame 33 for the door, the inner surface 34 of an exhaust duct 35 leading from the drum, and an annular flange 36 mounted on the frame 33 and on the duct wall. It will be noted that .a suitable clearance is provided between the inner edge of the drum opening 21 and the edge of bulkhead '30 so that there is no rubbing between the drum and the bulkhead during rotation of the drum. In order to prevent any substantial air leakage through opening 21 between the interior and the exterior of the drum a suitable ring seal 37, preferably formed'of felt-like material, is secured to flange 36in sealing relationship with the exterior surface. of drum wall 8 Front opening 21, in addition to serving as part of the air flow path through the drum, also serves as a means whereby clothes may be loaded into and unloaded from the drum. The door 32, .whoseinner surface forms part of the bulkhead 30 closing the opening, is mounted on cabinet 3 and whenthe door is opened the clothes may be inserted into or removed from the drum through the door frame 33. It will be noted that the door includes an outer imperforate section 38' and an inwardly extending hollow section 39 mounted on the flat outer section. Hollow section 39 extends into the door frame 33 when the door is closed, and the door surface 31 which comprises part of the combination bulkhead 30 is actually the inner wall of this hollow section. The air outlet from the basket is provided by a perforated opening 40 formed in'the inner Wall 31 of hollow door section 39. The'bottom wall of door section 39 and the adjacent wall of door frame'33 are provided with'aligned

openings

41 and 42, with opening 42 providing the entrance toduct 35.

' Duct 35 leads through a duct portion 43 of reduced cross sectional area to suitableair moving means which may, a s shown comprise a centrifugal blower 44 mounted on the motor shaft and thus driven by motor 20. The outlet of blower 44 'communicates with an outlet duct 45 which extends to an opening 46 in the rear wall 23 of cabinet 3. Thus,

ducts

35 and 45 and blower 44 to gether form exhaust duct means carrying air from the container out to atmosphere. .During operation of motor 29, the rotation of blower 44 causesair to be drawn into cabinet 3 through suitable openings such as, for instance, opening 46a to atmosphere, through annular opening 28 over heaters 26, through openings 29 and perforations 22 into drum 2, across the drum, through perforated opening 40 and aligned openings 41and 42 into duct 35, and then through duct portion 43, and blower 44 0 Outlet duct 45 and opening 46 to atmosphere. 7

As stated above, when the air passes through drum 2 during rotation of the drum, the combination of the tumbling action of the clothes and the movement of the air evolves a substantial amount of lint, the amount vary ing somewhat with the type of clothes being dried. In order to completely remove the burden of disposing of the lint from the operator with only an exceedingly small increase in the power consumption of the dryer, a suit able lint consuming arrangement is provided in cooperative relation to exhaust duct35, more specifically at the necked-down portion 43 thereof.

Referring now to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 together with FIGURE 1, there is provided a screen member 47 which is positioned to form a lint catching barrier across duct portion 43. As can best be seen by reference to FIG* URES 3 and 5, the screen area is substantially larger than the cross sectional area of duct portion 43. In one desirable arrangement, as shown, the cross sectional shape,

of duct portion 43 is substantially on the order of a semis circle, and the screen 47 is substantially circular with a diameter approximately equal to that of the semi-circular duct portion. At its base, the screen is supported by a driving roller member 48, and its position with respect to duct portion 43 is maintained by the provision of a pair of

idler roller members

49 and 59; all three roller members engage the flat rim 51 of screen member 47 Each idler member is supported at one end by means of a rigid screen housing member. 51a and at the other. end

by means of a second rigid screen housing member 52;

together the two

members

51a and 52, in addition to providing support for the

roller members

49 and 50, form an enclosure or housing for that part of the screen member 47 which extends outside duct portion 43. v

Driving roller 48 is part of any suitable speed r'educ= tion assembly 53 which is secured to the base 54 of me n ber 51a. As shown, the roller 48 prefei'ably receives its driving power through the speed reduction assembly 53 from a pulley 54a and belt 55, which in turn receive power from a pulley 56 mounted on shaft 14. Thus, the same motor 20 which rotates 2 and blower 44 also causes rotation of screen member 47. The rotation of the screen member is preferably'very slow; for instance, it may be on the order of three revolutions per hour either at a steady speed or by a series of impulses, depending on the char acter of the speed reduction assembly.

With the foregoing structure, screen 47 rotates slowly during operation of the machine. As a result (as shown in FIGURE 5 a substantial part of the screen alternately passes through opening 56a (formed between the duct portion and the enclosure ofmembers 51a and 52) into alignment with duct portion 43 and then passes entirely out of alignment with the duct portion into the enclosure. As a result, that portion of the screen 47 which is positinned between members 51:: and 5-2 is, in effect, in an area of complete calm where there are virtually no air currents at all, the main air current passing directly through the duct portion 43 and that part of the screen 47 which is aligned with it, and then through opening 57 into the centrifugal blower 44.

Closely adjacent the part of the screen enclosed by

members

51a and 52 is a suitable heat source, preferably of the electrical resistance type, which in the present case is provided by a quartz lamp 58 supported in a mom ber 59 which is rigidly secured to member 51a. The heat lamp 58 is inalignment with an opening 60 in member 51a so that the lamp 58 is in. radiant heat relation to that part of screen 47 which passes opposite the opening 60. The heating effect of lamp 58 is' such that it causes combustion of lint adhering to that portion of the screen 47 which is within the space enclosed by

members

51a and 52 The products of combustion, which are almost unnoticeable because of the slow rate at which lint is fed into the combustion area, then fall by the simple action of gravity through opening 56:! into duct portion 43 and are carried out through duct 45.

Because the heat source 58 and the part of screen 47 outside duct portion 43 are entirely removed from the path of the air flow, the combustionoi the lint is efiected with only a small increase in the power consumption requirements. For instance, it has been experimentally determined that whereas an average of approximately 5,000 watts is required to operate such a machine where there is no lint consumption, the added wattage required to efiect the lint consumption with the arrangement shown is only about 225 watts, which represents an increase of only 4 /2 percent. The automatic consumption of the lint is thus effected with a power increase which is so small that it is virtually unnoticeable under ordinary user conditions.

Due to the slow rotation of the screen, the lint is burned continuously and in very small quantities. In fact, the burning rate of lint approximates only of the burning rate of a cigarette, and is thus virtually unnoticeable. It can also be seen that the location of the lint consuming apparatus upstream of the blower is preferable in that it eliminates fouling of the blower by unconsumed lint. Also, the provision of an enclosure for the heat source and the burning lint eliminates all possibility of a the hazard existing within the machine should combustible matter be located close to the heat source.

The exceedingly small smoke and odor generation of my invention can be improved even further by the use of appropriate catalysts. Thus, for instance, when the individual wires 62 (see FIGURE 6) forming screen member 47 (or another screen member downstream of screen member 47) are sprayed with a thin coating 61 of a material such as platinum, palladium, or a mixture of the two, smoke and odor both virtually disappear. The terms platinum and palladium include, of course, compounds such as platinum chloride and palladium chloride where the noble metal is still the main effective agent.

While a rotatable screen, as described, is a preferred arrangement for achieving the movable relationship be-- tween the duct portion and the screen member, the in vention in its broader aspects is not so limited. For instance, suitable lint consumption is obtainable by moving a screen in a reciprocating relationship to the duct portion, particularly if a heat source is provided at each end of the screen so that lint at each end of such a screen is consumed as that end moves out of the duct portion.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have shown what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention, and I therefore aim to cover in the appended claims all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clothes dryer comprising a clothes container; means for providing a draft of warm air through said container; exhaust duct means for the air connecting said container to atmosphere; and means for consuming lint carried from the clothes into said exhaust duct means; said last mentioned means comprising a duct having a first cross sectional area, a screen member having a second substantially greater area positioned extending across said duct to form a lint catching barrier thereacross, said screen member being movably mounted and positioned a part thereof to alternately intercept and then be removed from said duct, means for moving said screen me-m her, and a low energy heat source positioned outside said duct adjacent that part of said screen member which is also outside said duct for burning lint caught on said part of said screen member.

2. A clothes dryer comprising a clothes container; means for providing a draft of warm air through said container; exhaust duct means for the air connecting said container to atmosphere; and means for consuming lint carried from the clothes into said exhaust duct means; said last mentioned means comprising a duct having a first cross sectional-area, a screen member having a sec ond substantially greater area positioned extending across said duct to form a lint catching barrier thereacross, said screen member being rotatably mounted and positioned so that rotation of said screen member causes at least a part thereof to alternately intercept and then be removed from said duct means for rotating said screen member, and a low energy heat source positioned outside said duct adjacent that part of said screen member which is also outside said duct for burning lint caught on said part of said screen member.

3. A clothes dryer comprising: clothes tumbling means including a rotatable clothes container; inlet duct means and exhaust duct means each connecting said container to atmosphere; means for creating a draft of air from said inlet duct means through said container to said exhaust duct means; means for heating air prior to its passage into said container; and means for consuming lint carried from the clothes into said exhaust duct means; said last mentioned means comprising a duct having a first cross sectional area, a screen member having a second substantially greater area positioned extending across said duct to form a lint catching barrier thereacross, said screen member being rotatably mounted and positioned so that rotation of said screen member causes at least a part thereof to alternately intercept and then be removed from said duct, means for rotating said screen member, and a low energy heat source positioned outside said duct adjacent that part of said screen member which is also outside said duct for burning lint caught on said part of said screen member.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said draft creating means is positioned in said exhaust duct means downstream of said means for consuming lint.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein common drive means are provided in rotative relation both to said container and to said screen member.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein members are provided forming an enclosure for the part of said screen member outside said duct and for said heat source, said enclosure having an opening formed in communication with said duct to accommodate said screen member, whereby products of combustion pass back into said duct through said opening.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said heat source is an electrical resistance device.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein a smoke eliminating catalyst is provided downstream of the point at which lint is burned.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein said catalyst is a noble metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium, and mixtures thereof.

References titted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 839,797 Wood Dec. 25, 1905 2,658,742 Suter et al. Nov. 10, 1953 2,809,025 Pettyjohn Oct. 8, 1957 isclaimer 3,034,223.D0nald W. Lynch, uisville, Ky.

Patent dated May 1 1%62. Disclanner filed Feb. 25, 1963, by assignee, General E 016mg Company. Hereby enters this disclaimer to

claims

1, 2, 3,

[Oflicial Gazette May 28, 1963.]

CLUIHES DRYING MACHINE. the

4, 5, 7 8 and 9 of said patent.