US3391471A

US3391471A - Tumbler dryers

Info

Publication number: US3391471A
Application number: US551505A
Authority: US
Inventors: Petterson Adolf Helmer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-05-21
Filing date: 1966-05-18
Publication date: 1968-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 1985-07-09
Also published as: GB1088783A; FR1480696A

Description

July 9, 1968 A. H. PETTERSON TUMBLER DRYERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 18, 1966 July 9, 1968 A. H.-PETTERSON TUMBLER DRYERS 4 SheetsSheet 5 Filed May 18, 1966 Fig.3

July 9, 1968 A. H. PETTERSON TUMBLER DRYERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 18. 1966 United States Patent TUMBLER DRYERS Adolf Helmer Petterson, Skarsgatan 70, Goteborg, Sweden Filed May 18, 1966, Ser. No. 551,505 Claims priority, application Sweden, May 21, 1965,

4 Claims. (Cl. 34-134) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tumbler dryer in which a rotatable drum has internal vanes supplied with compressed air which is discharged from the vanes into the drum with an axial velocity component to impart axial transport movement to the laundry in the drum.

The present invention relates to improvements in tumbler dryers with a horizontal rotatable drum, especially for drying laundry. Such drum is open at both ends and is provided with transport vanes extending in the axial direction of the drum to circulate the laundry during the rotation of the drum. The tumbler dryer has means for supplying compressed air thereto.

It is an object of the present invention to prevent the laundry from becoming inter-twisted and to achieve a reliable transport of the clothing through the drum in a more or less spread-out state, so that the drying air has the opportunity of acting on large tree surfaces of the laundry.

The invention is substantially characterized in that the vanes of the drum are provided with exhaust nozzles for jets of compressed air directed towards the interior of the drum with a velocity component in the axial direction of the drum, the said nozzles being fed with compressed air through inlet apertures in the vanes which are supplied with periodic bursts of compressed air, when the vanes pass in the upper part of the path of rotation of the drum.

A selected embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an end view of the tumbler dryer as seen towards the intake opening;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tumbler dryer;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4' is a cross section through a conveyor vane, and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section through one end of the conveyor vane.

The tumbler dryer comprises a frame 1, in which are mounted

rollers

2 and 3 on either side of a drum 6 for support thereof. The

rollers

2 and 3 are interconnected by means of a shaft 4 and driven by means of a motor 5. The drum 6 is rotatably mounted on the

rollers

2, 3. In FIG. 1 the intake opening 7 of the drum is shown. At the opposite end of the drum is an outlet opening 8 which may have the same area as the cross sectional area of the drum. At the intake opening, which is surrounded by an annular flange 9, are openings 10 distributed about the periphery of the drum. The openings 10 are in communication with the interior of conveyor vanes 11 which entrain the laundry and transport it in a rotary motion. The vanes have solid walls and form a chamber communicating with the interior of the drums through nozzles or openings 12. The openings or nozzles 12 are distributed along the inner edge of the couveyor vanes. In addition, each vane is provided with an exhaust nozzle 13 at its rear part as seen in the transport direction of the laundry, the nozzle 13 having an exhaust direction in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the drum.

In order to supply compressed air to the vanes, a chamber 14 is arranged at the annular flange 9 and is provided with a port 15, the edges of which bear on or are located at a small distance from the exterior face of the flange. The chamber is connected via a pipe 16 to a pressure fan (not shown). The port 15 of the chamber communicates with the apertures 10 located in an upper quadrant of the drum. The compressed air in the vanes exhausts through the openings 12 obliquely inwards into the drum with a velocity component in the outlet direction, the clothing thus being carried by the air flow in the interior of the drum.

In a practical embodiment of the tumbler dryer according to the invention, the dryer is charged for example, with kilos of sheets direct from a centrifuge. The sheets are intermingled and knotted together and will be separated by the tumbler, which due to its construction practically delivers one sheet at the time at the outlet opening. The heavier, knotted sheets will remain at the intake end, and only released and separated sheets will be entrained by the air flow and conneyed to the outlet opening. The running time for a charge can be determined by varying the supplied amount of compressed air which is relatively large, so that strong air streams will be generated in the interior of the drum, which also brings about an increased drying eflect.

Within the scope of the invention the arrangement of the nozzles may be varied and may be supplied with hot air, warm air or air at room temperature, as may be desired.

What is claimed is:

1. A tumbler dryer comprising a drum which is supported for rotation about a horizontal axis, said drum having opposite ends in which are respectively provided an inlet opening for laundry to be dried and an outlet opening for the removal of dried laundry, axially mounted vanes on the interior of said drum for circulating the laundry in the drum during rotation of the drum, and means for supplying compressed air to the vanes when the latter are in an upper part of the path of rotation of the drum, said vanes having openings facing inwardly into the drum for the discharge of compressed air thereinto with a velocity component extending in the axial direction of the drum from the inlet opening towards the outlet opening.

2. A dryer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vanes have inlets for the compressed air in the region of the end of the drum in which the laundry inlet is provided, said means which supplies compressed air to the vanes being provided with a stationary outlet for compressed air which periodically communicates with the air inlets of the vanes, during rotation of the drum to supply short bursts of compressed air to the vanes.

3. A dryer as claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for the supply of compressed air to the vanes comprises a stationary pressurized chamber supported at said end of the drum in which the laundry inlet is provided, said 3,391,471 V a r 4 outlet for compressed air being provided in said cham- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4. A dryer as claimed in claim 1, wherein each vane is A provided with an exhaust nozzle in the region of the end 11/1948 Jorgenscn of the drum in which the laundry outlet is provided, the 5 2843945 7/1958 h 34 133 XR exhaust nozzle extending axially to impart an axial move- 3,316,353 5/1967 stnke XR merit to the laundry conveyed by the vanes to discharge the laundry through said outlet therefor when the vanes FREDERICK MATTESON Pnmm'y Exammer' are supplied with compressed air. H. B RAMEY, Assistant Examiner.