Patent Application
20220341074
The present disclosure relates generally to laundry machines and more particularly to a sealing apparatus for a washer and dryer combination appliance.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Laundry machines are prolific in both residential and commercial settings. Traditionally, separate washer and dryer machines have been used in tandem to clean and dry laundry. However, there is a growing market for washer and dryer combination appliances where a single machine performs both the washing and drying functions, thereby eliminating the need for two separate machines. There are a number of different names used to describe washer and dryer combination appliances, including without limitation, “washer/dryer combos” and “all-in-one washer dryers.” While these units save space compared to separate washer and dryer machines, combining the washing and drying functions into a single appliance presents a number of engineering challenges.
Many washer and dryer combination appliances have a front-load appliance configuration, where the washer and dryer combination appliance includes an appliance housing with a front opening that is accessed by a front-mounted appliance door. A drum is positioned in and is rotatable with respect to the appliance housing. During tumbling, a motor housed within the appliance housing rotates the drum. The drum typically has a front end with a drum opening that provides access to a laundry compartment inside the drum. The drum also may have a rear wall that is perforated to permit air flow into the laundry compartment. In such a configuration, the air inlet opening is typically located at the rear of the appliance housing, but some of the inlet air flows around the drum instead of through the perforations in the rear wall and into the laundry compartment. Thus, one of the engineering challenges presented by washer and dryer combination appliances is how to direct more air through the laundry compartment during the drying cycle for improved drying performance without interfering with the system requirements associated with the wash cycle. The apparatus described herein helps address this problem.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for a washer and dryer combination appliance is provided, where the apparatus includes a drum housing, a drum positioned in and rotatable with respect to the drum housing, and provisions for a dynamic, expandable seal positioned between the drum and the drum housing. The drum housing includes a front housing end with a housing opening and a rear housing end with a rear housing wall. The drum includes a front drum end with a drum opening and a rear drum end with a rear drum wall. A laundry compartment is located inside the drum, which is accessible through the housing opening and the drum opening. The rear drum wall includes perforations that permit air to flow into the laundry compartment. An air gap is located between the rear housing wall and the rear drum wall and the dynamic, expandable seal, is attached to either the rear housing wall or the rear drum wall. The dynamic, expandable seal is actuatable between a retracted position and an extended position. In the extended position, the dynamic, expandable seal extends across the air gap to direct airflow through the perforations in the rear drum wall.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the air gap located between the rear housing wall and the rear drum wall has a nominal width that equals the distance between the rear housing wall and the rear drum wall. Thus, in the extended position, the dynamic, expandable seal has an expanded width that extends across at least ninety percent of the nominal width of the air gap. Conversely, in the retracted position, the expanded width of the dynamic, expandable seal is small such that the dynamic, expandable seal does not add any drag (i.e., friction) on the drum as it rotates inside the appliance housing.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a washer and dryer combination appliance including the apparatus described above is provided. The washer and dryer combination appliance has an appliance housing with a front opening and an appliance door that is pivotally connected to the appliance housing. The appliance door swings between an open position and a closed position. In the closed position, the appliance door closes the front opening in the appliance housing. The drum housing is fixedly mounted inside the appliance housing and defines a housing cavity. The drum housing includes a rear housing wall with an air inlet opening that is arranged in fluid communication with the housing cavity. The drum is positioned in the housing cavity and is rotatable with respect to the drum housing about a longitudinal axis. A drive shaft, coupled to the drum, extends co-axially along the longitudinal axis and through the rear housing wall. A motor, positioned in the appliance housing, is coupled to the drive shaft and is configured to drive rotation of the drive shaft and therefore the drum relative to the drum housing during operation of the washer and dryer combination appliance.
In the extended position, the dynamic, expandable seal creates a sealed region in the air gap that is arranged in fluid communication with the air inlet opening in the rear housing wall. As such, the dynamic, expandable seal directs air through the perforations in the rear drum wall and into the laundry compartment and blocks the air from flowing radially outwardly and around the drum when the dynamic, expandable seal is in the extended position. The washer and dryer combination appliance further includes a controller that actuates the dynamic, expandable seal. In operation, the controller places the dynamic, expandable seal in the extended position during a drying cycle of the washer and dryer combination appliance and places the dynamic, expandable seal in the retracted position during a wash cycle of the washer and dryer combination appliance. This allows the dynamic, expandable seal to direct more air through the laundry compartment during the drying cycle for improved drying performance without adding friction induced drag on the drum during the wash cycle.
Other advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a washer and dryer combination appliance 20 is illustrated.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
For purposes of description herein the terms “up,” “down,” “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the assembly as oriented in
With reference to
With additional reference to
A drum 48 is positioned in the housing cavity 40 such that the drum 48 is rotatable with respect to the drum housing 28 about a longitudinal axis A. The drum 48 also has a cylindrical shape and extends longitudinally between a front drum end 50 and a rear drum end 52. The drum 48 includes a drum opening 54 at the front drum end 50, a rear drum wall 64 at the rear drum end 52, and a drum sidewall 56 that extends longitudinally between the front and rear drum ends 50, 52. The front drum end 50, the drum sidewall 56, and the rear drum wall 64 cooperate to define a laundry compartment 58 inside the drum 48. The front opening 24 of the appliance housing 22, the housing opening 34 at the front housing end 30, and the drum opening 54 at the front drum end 50 are substantially aligned with one another and therefore provide access to the laundry compartment 58 inside the drum 48 when the appliance door 26 is in the open position. Thus, it should be appreciated that in use, laundry (e.g., clothes, towels, and bedding) is placed inside the laundry compartment 58 where it is first cleaned during a wash cycle and then dried during a drying cycle.
A drive shaft 60 that is fixedly coupled to the drum 48 extends co-axially along the longitudinal axis A and through the rear housing wall 36. The drive shaft 60 is supported by a bearing pack 62 that is mounted in the rear housing wall 36 such that the drive shaft 60 and the drum 48 rotate together as a single unit within the appliance housing 22. A motor (not shown) is positioned in the appliance housing 22 and is coupled to the drive shaft 60. The motor drives rotation of the drive shaft 60 and the drum 48 relative to the drum housing 28 and the appliance housing 22 during operation of the washer and dryer combination appliance 20, such as during washing and tumbling.
With additional reference to
The dynamic, expandable seal 76, is actuatable between a retracted position and an extended position. In the extended position, the dynamic, expandable seal 76 extends across the air gap 70 to either completely or partially block the bypass air flow path 74. In the illustrated example, the dynamic, expandable seal 76 is positioned adjacent to the outer perimeter 66 of the rear drum wall 64 and, in the extended position, creates a sealed region 78 in the air gap 70 around the air inlet opening 42 in the rear housing wall 36. As such, the dynamic, expandable seal 76 directs all or substantially all of the air that enters the sealed region 78 through the perforations 68 in the rear drum wall 64 and into the laundry compartment 58 when the dynamic, expandable seal 76 is in the extended position.
The air gap 70 has a nominal width 80 that equals a distance between the rear housing wall 36 and the rear drum wall 64. It should be appreciated that the width of the air gap 70 may vary depending on the location and the drum 48 may be configured to move longitudinally relative to drum housing 28 during operation of the washer and dryer combination appliance 20 due to unbalanced loads of laundry in the laundry compartment 58 or other operating variables. Therefore, it should be understood that the nominal width 80 of the air gap 70, as the term is used herein, refers to the distance between the rear housing wall 36 and the rear drum wall 64 at the location of the dynamic, expandable seal 76 when the drum 48 is in its rest position (i.e., naturally biased position) within the drum housing 28.
The dynamic, expandable seal 76 may be attached to either the rear housing wall 36 or the rear drum wall 64 and has an expanded width 82 that extends across at least ninety percent (90%) of the nominal width 80 of the air gap 70 when the dynamic, expandable seal 76 is in the extended position. In the illustrated example, the dynamic, expandable seal 76 is attached to (i.e., is mounted to) the rear housing wall 36 and is configured to contact the outer perimeter 66 of the rear drum wall 64 when the dynamic, expandable seal 76 is in the extended position and the drum 48 is in its rest position. As such, in the illustrated example, the expanded width 82 of the dynamic, expandable seal 76 equals the nominal width 80 of the air gap 70 when the dynamic, expandable seal 76 is in the extended position. However, nothing in this description should be read as requiring the dynamic, expandable seal 76 to remain in contact with the rear drum wall 64 in the extended position during all possible movements of the drum 48 during operation of the washer and dryer combination appliance 20.
Still referring to
Many modifications and variations of the apparatus and assemblies described in the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the appended claims. These antecedent recitations should be interpreted to cover any combination in which the inventive novelty exercises its utility.
