Patent Application
20110010961
The apparatus and method described below relate to laundry appliances and, more specifically, to a clothes drying machine.
Clothes drying machines, referred to as clothes dryers, dry damp clothing by circulating heated air among the clothing. Often, clothes dryers include a drum in which a load of damp clothing is placed. During a drying cycle, an electric motor rotates the drum and a blower circulates heated air among the clothing as the clothing tumbles within the drum. The drying cycle may continue until the expiration of a predetermined time period or until a control system determines that the clothing is substantially dry.
The electric motor coupled to the drum includes an output shaft having a fixed angular velocity or rotational speed. The rotation of the output shaft is typically coupled at one end to the drum, through a transmission system, to cause the drum to have an angular velocity suitable for most clothes drying situations, and at another end to an air blower that forces an air flow through the drum. In particular, if the drum is rotated too quickly the clothes within the drum may become forced against the sides of the drum instead of tumbling within the drum. Additionally, if the drum is rotated too slowly the clothes within the drum may remain grouped together, and prevent the heated air from flowing among the clothing sufficiently to dry the clothing. Therefore, the electric motor is chosen with reference to its angular velocity to produce an angular velocity for the drum at which an average load of damp clothing is dried within a reasonable time. The angular velocity of the motor output shaft, however, may not drive the air blower at an angular velocity, which produces a preferred amount of air flow, as explained below.
The air blower, or blower, often includes a fan mounted within a housing. When the fan is rotated within the housing, air is drawn into a housing inlet and expelled through a housing outlet. The air expelled from the housing outlet creates a vacuum in an outlet port of the drum for pulling air through the dryer for contacting the damp clothing tumbling in the drum. Depending on the drying cycle, a heating element, or heater, may be activated to heat the air before the air is drawn into the drum. The dry heated or unheated air circulates among the damp clothing causing water within the damp clothing to evaporate. As additional dry air is drawn into the drum, moisture laden air is extracted from the drum through an exhaust port of the drum via the blower. As would be readily understood by one skilled in the art, the blower may be adapted to blow air into the drum opposite as described above.
As noted above, the angular velocity of the motor output shaft is typically dictated by the number of motor poles and the electricity source frequency. With this relatively fixed value, a transmission system (e.g., a pulley) is used to produce a drum angular velocity suitable to tumble an average load of clothing. For instance, the dryer may have a two (2) pole line frequency electric motor coupled to a sixty (60) hertz (“Hz”) power supply in North America. This motor is configured to have an unloaded output shaft angular velocity of approximately 3,600 rotations per minute (“rpm”). Even with a transmission system, however, size constraints prevent this motor from reliably rotating a drum. Specifically, because the output shaft angular velocity must be reduced in order to rotate the drum at a preferred angular velocity, a transmission member having a very small diameter must be coupled to the output shaft and a comparatively larger transmission member must be coupled to drum. A power transmission device, such as an endless belt, is used to couple the rotation of the small diameter transmission member on the output shaft to the larger transmission member coupled to the drum. In order to achieve a preferred drum angular velocity; however, the transmission member coupled to the output shaft may be too small to engage reliably the endless belt. Furthermore, when the blower is driven at 3,600 rpm it may operate at a noise level that some users find objectionable.
To address this problem, clothes dryers may include a four (4) pole line frequency electric motor coupled to a sixty (60) Hz power supply. This motor is configured to have an unloaded output shaft angular velocity of approximately 1,800 rpm. An angular velocity of 1,800 rpm may be faster than a preferred angular velocity of the drum; however, the reduced angular velocity of the output shaft (as compared to a two (2) pole line frequency electric motor) enables a preferred drum angular velocity to be attained with a larger output shaft transmission member, which engages an endless belt or other power transmission device more reliably. An angular velocity of 1800 rpm, however, may be too slow to drive the blower at a speed that produces a preferred amount of air flow. Therefore, a second transmission is required to convert the angular velocity of the output shaft to a preferred angular velocity for driving the blower. In summary, a four (4) pole line frequency electric motor may function to rotate both a drum and a blower of a clothes dryer; however, two transmissions are required to convert the angular velocity of the output shaft to preferred angular velocities for driving the blower and rotating the drum. Therefore, further developments in the area of clothes dryers having a single electric motor, are highly desirable.
A drying device has been developed having a single electric motor configured to drive an air blower at a preferred angular velocity without requiring transmission components for rotation of the air blower or the clothes drum. The drying device includes a drum, a blower, and a non-line frequency electric motor. The drum is coupled to a support frame to enable rotation of the drum relative the support frame. The drum has an interior space for holding a load of articles, such as clothing. The blower is coupled to the support frame. The blower is configured to generate an air flow within the interior space of the drum in response to being driven by the electric motor. The non-line frequency electric motor is coupled to the support frame and is electrically coupled to a non-line frequency supply voltage. The electric motor has an output shaft that is connected directly to the blower to drive the blower and that is coupled to the drum to rotate the drum.
Another drying device has a variable speed electric motor configured to drive an air blower and rotate a clothes drum within a continuous range of angular velocities. The drying device includes a drum, a blower, a non-line frequency variable speed electric motor, and a controller. The drum is coupled to a support frame to enable rotation of the drum relative the support frame. The drum has an interior space for holding a load of articles, such as clothing. The blower is coupled to the support frame and configured to generate an air flow within the interior space of the drum in response to being driven by the variable speed electric motor. The non-line frequency variable speed electric motor includes an output shaft that is coupled at one end to the blower to drive the blower and that is coupled at another end to the drum to rotate the drum. The controller is electrically coupled to the electric motor and is configured to control at least an angular velocity of the output shaft to regulate the speed of the air blower.
Another drying device has a single electric motor coupled to a controller to enable a heater to be energized only in response to the electric motor rotating its output shaft. The drying device includes a drum, a blower, a heater, a non-line frequency electric motor, a sensing element, and a controller. The drum is coupled to a support frame to enable rotation of the drum relative the support frame. The drum has an interior space for holding a load of articles, such as clothing. The blower is coupled to the support frame and is configured to generate an air flow within the interior space of the drum in response to being driven by an electric motor. The heater is configured for being selectively coupled to a supply voltage to enable the heater to heat the air flow generated by the blower selectively. The non-line frequency electric motor is coupled to the support frame and electrically coupled to a non line-frequency supply voltage. The electric motor includes an output shaft configured to drive the blower and rotate the drum. The sensing element is configured to generate at least a shaft rotation signal in response to rotation of the output shaft. The controller is electrically coupled to at least the sensing element and the heater. The controller is configured to couple the heater to the supply voltage only in response to the sensing element generating the shaft rotation signal.
Another drying device has a bearing cap, which includes a guide surface for guiding an endless belt onto a belt engaging surface. The drying device includes a drum, a blower, an electric motor, and a bearing cap. The drum is coupled to a support frame to enable rotation of the drum relative the support frame. The drum has an interior space for holding a load of articles, such as clothing. The blower is coupled to the support frame and is configured to generate an air flow within the interior space of the drum in response to being driven by an electric motor. The electric motor includes an output shaft coupled to the blower to drive the blower. The bearing cap is mounted about the output shaft and includes a guide surface configured to guide an endless belt onto a belt engaging surface coupled to the output shaft. The endless belt is configured to couple rotation of the output shaft to the drum.
A method for modifying a drying device that tumble dries articles has been developed. The method includes decoupling a line frequency supply voltage from a drying device that has a motor unit, a drum, a blower, and a support frame. The motor unit, which has a line frequency electric motor, is removed from the support frame to expose a motor space. The method further includes coupling a motor assembly to the support frame that is configured to fit within the motor space. The motor assembly includes a non-line frequency electric motor that is electrically coupled to a controller. The line frequency supply voltage is coupled to the controller, which is configured to convert the line frequency supply voltage to a non-line frequency supply voltage. One end of an output shaft of the non-line frequency electric motor is coupled to the drum and another end of the output shaft of the non-line frequency electric motor is coupled to the blower. Thus, the non-line frequency electric motor is able to rotate the blower to generate an air flow through an interior space of the drum that is also rotated by the motor.
Referring to
The blower 108 generates an air flow through the drum 104 for drying the articles. As shown in
The heater 116 is coupled to the support frame to heat the air flow generated by the blower 108 before the air flow enters the drum 104. When the heater 116 is coupled to a supply voltage 152 at least a portion of the heater 116 increases in temperature. By heating the air circulated among the damp articles in the drum 104, a drying time may be reduced. In some embodiments, the heater 116 may be heated by the combustion of a fuel, such as gas, instead of being coupled to the supply voltage 152. Suitable fuels include, but are not limited to, natural gas and liquid propane. The controller 120, as explained below, may control when the heater 116 becomes energized.
The non-line frequency electric motor 112, one embodiment of which is shown in
The output shaft 148 of the electric motor 112 rotates with an angular velocity suitable to be directly connected to the blower 108. In particular, because the electric motor 112 is a non-line frequency motor, the output shaft 148 can be controlled to rotate at an angular velocity between the output shaft angular velocities of a two (2) pole line frequency electric motor (3,600 rotations per minute (“rpm”)) and a four (4) pole line frequency electric motor (1,800 rpm). Accordingly, the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 may eliminate the need for a transmission between the motor 112 and the blower 108. Additionally, the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 may be coupled to the drum 104 with an output shaft transmission member having a diameter configured to engage reliably an endless belt or other transmission device 162.
Referring now to
As shown in
To ensure that an endless belt remains seated upon the belt engaging surface 160, the electric motor 112 may include a bearing cap 172 having a guide surface 176. Typically, a bearing cap 172 may be mounted about an output shaft 148 to support an output shaft bearing (not illustrated). In known dryers, pulley side surfaces normally keep endless belts seated upon a pulley, however, because the output shaft 148 may not be equipped with a pulley, there may not be side surface to guide the belt. Accordingly the bearing cap 172 has been modified to include a guide surface 176. The reader should note that the bearing cap 172 and guide surface 176 do not prohibit a transmission member from being coupled to the output shaft 148.
Referring again to
The controller 120 of the motor assembly 180 controls at least an angular velocity of the output shaft 148 of the electric motor 112. As shown in
The frequency generator 184 may also generate a motor voltage having a continuously variable frequency. For instance, by way of non-limiting example, the frequency generator 184, may generate a motor voltage having a frequency, which ranges continuously from approximately zero (0) Hz to five hundred (500) Hz. The variable frequency motor voltage generated by the controller 120 may be coupled to a non-line frequency variable speed electric motor 112 for controlling the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 of the electric motor 112 within a predetermined range. Such a controller may gradually increase the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 to provide a “soft start” feature for the dryer 100. Often, when a drying cycle begins, the electric motor of a dryer is coupled to a voltage signal that causes a motor output shaft 148 to increase in angular velocity very quickly. The abrupt increase in angular velocity may stress belts and other transmission members coupled to the electric motor. To minimize stress upon transmission members the controller 120 may increase slowly the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 of a variable speed motor 112 by regulating the ratio of the amplitude and frequency of the power signal provided to the motor in response to a dryer start signal. An exemplary manner of increasing slowly the angular velocity is to increase gradually the frequency of the motor voltage with the frequency generator 184 from lower frequency to a higher operating frequency. An exemplary soft start cycle may require several seconds in order to bring the output shaft 148 from zero (0) angular velocity to an operational angular velocity. The soft start of the output shaft 148 minimizes stress upon belts, transmission members, and also motor mounts (not illustrated), which secure the motor assembly 180 to the support frame of the dryer 100.
The controller 120 may also increase or decrease the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 to control an amount of air flow produced by the blower 108 and to control precisely the angular velocity of the drum 104, compensating for any slippage of the motor from synchronous speed. For instance, some embodiments of the controller 120 may be coupled to a user interface 188 having one or more input devices for selecting a high load or a low load. When operated in a low load mode, such as with fewer or lighter clothes, the controller 120 may generate a motor voltage having a comparatively lower frequency in order to rotate the motor more slowly than normal because with reduced load, the motor will tend to rotate nearer to synchronous speed. When operated in high load mode, the controller 120 may generate a motor voltage having a comparatively higher frequency in order to rotate the motor more quickly than normal, because with increased load, the motor will tend to rotate further below synchronous speed. These modes are utilized to correct for motor slippage from the preferred drum speed due to loading. Additionally, the user interface 188 may include an input device for selecting a dryer speed along a continuous range of loads. Because the blower fan 128 and the drum 104 are driven by the same electric motor 112, the blower airflow and the drum speed may not be independently controlled in this embodiment.
A load sensor 192 may be included in the controller 120 for determining the present load on the motor, which relates to the mass of clothing within the drum 104. The load sensor 192 generates a signal indicative of the load on the motor. The controller 120 may adjust the angular velocity of the output shaft 148 in response to the signal generated by the load sensor 192. For instance, if the load sensor 192 indicates a comparatively massive load has been placed in the drum 104, the controller 120 may adjust the speed of the drum 104 and the blower 108 to ensure the preferred speed of the drum is maintained regardless of load. As shown in
The controller 120 may also include a blower sensor 196 for determining if the blower 108 is generating an air flow. In order to detect a dryer 100 failure, the controller 120 may monitor the air flow from the blower 108. Specifically, the blower sensor 196 may generate a signal indicating the blower 108 is generating an air flow. If the signal indicates that the blower 108 is generating an air flow, the controller 120 may selectively couple the heater 116 to the supply voltage 152. If, however, the signal indicates that the blower 108 is not generating an air flow, the controller 120 may not couple the heater 116 to the supply voltage 152. Additionally, when the blower sensor 196 generates a signal indicating the blower 108 is not generating an air flow, the controller 120 may energize an enunciator indicating that the dryer 100 has experienced a fault and should be professionally serviced by a trained technician.
A drum sensor 200 may be included in the controller 120 for determining if the drum 104 is rotating. The drum sensor 200 generates a signal indicative of the rotation of the drum 104. When the signal indicates that the drum 104 is rotating, the dryer 100 may function normally. When the output shaft 148 of the electric motor 112 is rotating and the signal indicates that the drum 104 is not rotating, however, the controller 120 will not couple the heater 116 to the supply voltage 152 and will turn off the motor 112, because the drum 104 is not rotating. Additionally, when the drum sensor 200 generates a signal indicating the drum 104 is not rotating, the controller 120 may energize an enunciator indicating that the dryer 100 has experienced a fault and should be professionally serviced by a trained technician. For example, a drum 104 may not rotate due to a broken endless belt or a locked or frozen drum, among other reasons.
The controller 120 may operate the drum 104 and the electric motor 112 in a first and a second direction. In response to the electric motor 112 operating in a first direction, the drum 104 tumbles articles within the drum in one direction. In response to the electric motor 112 operating in a second direction, the drum 104 tumbles articles within the drum in the opposite direction, for controlling the movement of articles within the rotating drum 104, such as for reducing tangling and wrinkling of the articles. The user interface 188 may include an input device allowing a user to select one or more drum rotation options. Additionally, the controller 120 may be configured to alternate automatically between the forward and reverse drum rotation, depending on the drying cycle.
The dryer 100 components illustrated in
Next, as shown in step 512 of
After the output shaft 148 of the non-line frequency motor 112 has been coupled to the blower 108 and the drum 104, the line frequency supply voltage 152 may be coupled to the dryer. In particular, as shown in step 520 of
Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications can be made to the specific implementations described above. Therefore, the following claims are not to be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described above. The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.
