Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
Referring to
In this embodiment, one end of the rotor shaft 25 has a grooved pulley 35 for mounting a belt 36 thereon for rotating a dryer drum 37. The belt 36 extends partially around an idler pulley 39 that is rotatably mounted on an idler arm and thereby mounted on the dryer frame 15. In this embodiment, as is conventional, the belt 36 is biased by a spring 41. Note that the belt 36 extends around the drum 37 as is conventional, but may be otherwise connected to rotate or drive the drum.
Referring to
A second or belt break switch 59 has a sensor generally for sensing the belt 36. The break switch 59 is electrically connected in series with the main and start windings 27, 29 via the protector 55.
The sensor of the break switch 59 is an arm 61 extending from the break switch and disposed for contact with the belt 36. The belt break switch 59 is electrically connected to the winding so that when the belt is no longer sensed, the break switch open circuits the main and start windings 27, 29 to stop energization of the windings and thereby stop rotation of the rotor 23. The break switch 59 is physically mounted on an outwardly facing surface of the motor frame 31. In this embodiment, the outwardly facing surface is that of a mounting plate 63 that is mounted on the main switch 51. Note that the break switch 59 can be otherwise mounted on the motor 11 within the scope of this invention. In one embodiment, the break switch 59, the main switch 51 and the motor frame 31 are provided as an integral unit and the connections between the second switch and the main switch are pre-wired, e.g., using a jumper as shown. This eliminates the need for a separate harness for connecting to the break switch 59.
The break switch 59 is a normally closed (NC) microswitch adapted for automatic reset, so that the switch automatically resets after replacement of the broken belt. However, many other types of switches are contemplated within the scope of the invention.
When the belt 36 breaks, the idler pulley 39 moves due to the spring 41, and triggers the arm of the break switch 59 to open the switch. Opening of the switch causes power to be cut or inhibited to the windings, and thus the motor is stopped.
The dryer 13 also includes a heater that is wired into the “customer circuit” shown in
When introducing elements of various aspects of the present invention or embodiments thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Moreover, the use of “top” and “bottom”, “front” and “rear”, “above” and “below” and variations of these and other terms of orientation is made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientation of the components.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions, methods and products without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.