WO2011080214A1

WO2011080214A1 - A laundry dryer with sliding bearings

Info

Publication number: WO2011080214A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/070639
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ertan Cetinkaya; Levent Cinar; Guven Ertas
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2009-12-31
Filing date: 2010-12-23
Publication date: 2011-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 2012-06-30
Also published as: PL2519685T3; EP2519685A1; EP2519685B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer (1) comprising a drum (2) which can rotate around itself, having a cylindrical horizontal axis body (3) and a ring-shaped front lid (4) forming the front surface of the body (3) and a circular flange (7) surrounding the inner edge of the front lid (4) and extending perpendicular to the front lid (4) towards outside and bearing members (5) in protrusion form, bearing against the flange (7), on which the drum (2) rotates by sliding during the drying process.

Description

A LAUNDRY DRYER WITH SLIDING BEARINGS

[0001] The present invention relates to a laundry dryer.

[0002] As it is known, in laundry dryers, laundry to be dried is loaded into a drum.

The drying process is performed by this drum being driven and rotated by a motor.

[0003] In the state of the art, sliding or roller systems are used for the front

bearing of the drums. In the roller system which is advantageous in terms of cost, abrasion of the bearing members on which the drum rotates in the course of time, and hence increase in the distance between the front lid and the bearing member may become an issue.

[0004] In the European Patent Application No. EP0136491 , one of the state of the art embodiments, an embodiment relating to a laundry dryer the front bearing of which is realized by a sliding system is explained. In this embodiment, prestressed springs are placed behind the bearing members in order to provide the bearing members to continuously press on the drum.

[0005] In these state of the art embodiments, entering of the laundry during the rotation of the drum into the dead zones forming on the edges of the bearing members especially due to the abrasion of the bearing members in the course of time and damaging thereof by getting stuck at these zones may become an issue.

[0006] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a laundry dryer

wherein laundry is prevented from being damaged during the drying process.

[0007] The laundry dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present

invention and explicated in the attached claims is slidably beared over the bearing members on which the circular flange surrounding the inner edge of the front lid seats. At least one deflector is disposed on the bearing member edges. The deflectors provide the laundry to be deflected from where they are and thus prevent the laundry from getting stuck between the front lid and the bearing member.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present invention, a circular collar extending towards the inside of the casing is disposed on the frame. In this embodiment, the bearing members are on the collar, and the flange extending towards over the collar seats on the bearing members.

[0009] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the deflector is in almost triangular form. In this embodiment, the deflector has a surface angular to the rotation direction of the drum.

[0010] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a deflector is

disposed on each of the two edges of the bearing members. Thus, the laundry is provided to be deflected from this region no matter at which direction the drum rotates and is prevented from getting stuck between the flange and the collar.

[001 1] The model embodiments relating to the laundry dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention are illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0012] Figure 1 - is the partial cross sectional view of a laundry dryer.

[0013] Figure 2 - is the sideways schematic view of a laundry dryer.

[0014] Figure 3 - is the partial perspective view of a frame.

[0015] Figure 4 - is the view of detail A in Figure 2.

[0016] Figure 5 - is the inner view of detail A in Figure 2.

[0017] Figure 6 - is the partial perspective view of the collar and the bearing

member.

[0018] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Laundry dryer

2. Drum

3. Body

4. Front lid

5. Bearing members

6. Deflector

7. Flange

8. Casing

9. Opening

10. Frame

1 1. Collar 12. Orifice

13. Inclined surface

[0019] The laundry dryer (1) comprises a drum (2) that is rotated around its own horizontal axis (Figure 1 ). The laundry dryer (1 ) of the present invention is a horizontal axis laundry dryer (1).

[0020] The drum (2) comprises a cylindrical body (3) and a ring-shaped frond lid (4) forming the front surface of the body (3) and a circular flange (7) surrounding the inner edge of the front lid (4) and extending perpendicular to the front lid (4) towards outside.

[0021] The laundry dryer (1) furthermore comprises bearing members (5) on

which the front lid (4) seats and over which the drum (2) rotates by sliding during the drying process (Figure 2).

[0022] The laundry dryer (1) of the present invention furthermore comprises at least one deflector (6) disposed on the edges of the bearing member (5), which provides the laundry to be deflected from the region between the front lid (4) and the bearing member (5) such as to prevent the laundry from getting stuck therebetween. Thus, during the rotation of the drum (2), the laundry is directed into the drum (2) by contacting at least one of the deflectors (6) according to the rotation direction and possible jamming is prevented. Furthermore, by means of the deflectors (6), the number of the dead zones forming as a result of the abrasion and which cause the accumulation of particles is decreased to a minimum.

[0023] The laundry dryer (1) furthermore comprises a casing (8) having an

opening (9) which enables access to the inside thereof and a frame (10) having an orifice (12) which enables the loading and unloading of the laundry in and out of the drum (2) by aligning with the opening (9) and a collar (1 1 ) surrounding the orifice (12) and extending towards the inside of the casing (8) (Figure 2). The bearing members (5) are disposed on the collar (1 1 ). The flange (7) extends towards over the collar (1 1 ) and seats on the bearing members (5). At this moment, the flange (7) does not contact the deflector (6).

[0024] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the deflector (6) comprises an inclined surface (13) angular to the rotation direction of the drum (2) (Figure 3 and Figure 4). In this embodiment, the inclined surface (13) extends such that the deflector (6) widens from the drum (2) to the frame (10) on the collar (1 1 ). Thus, during the rotation of the drum (2), guiding the laundry according to the rotation direction into the drum (2) is facilitated.

[0025] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the laundry dryer (1 ) comprises two deflectors (6), each on one of the two sides of the bearing members (5) on the rotation direction of the drum (2) (Figure 3 and Figure 4). In this embodiment, each bearing member (5) is positioned between two deflectors (6). Thus, guiding can be realized while the drum (2) rotates at both directions.

[0026] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the

embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A laundry dryer (1 ) comprising a horizontal axis drum (2) which can rotate

around itself, having a cylindrical body (3) and a ring-shaped front lid (4) forming the front surface of the body (3) and a circular flange (7) surrounding the inner edge of the front lid (4), extending perpendicular to the front lid (4) towards outside and bearing members (5) in protrusion form bearing against the flange (7), on which the drum (2) rotates by sliding during the drying process, characterized by a deflector (6) disposed on the edges of the bearing member (5), which does not contact the flange (7), which provides the laundry to be deflected from the region between the front lid (4) and the bearing member (5) such as to prevent the laundry from getting stuck therebetween.

2. A laundry dryer (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized by

- a casing (8) having an opening (9) which enables access to the inside thereof and

- a frame (10) having an orifice (12) which enables the loading and unloading of the laundry in and out of the drum (2) by aligning with the opening (9) and a collar (1 1 ) surrounding the orifice (12) and extending towards the inside of the casing (8).

3. A laundry dryer (1 ) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the deflector (6) comprises an inclined surface (13) angular to the rotation direction of the drum (2).

4. A laundry dryer (1 ) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by two deflectors (6), each on one of the two sides of the bearing members (5) on the rotation direction the drum (2).