Patent ID: 8786454
Filing Date: 2014-07-22
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
1. A device for identifying an air flow condition within a plurality of clothes dryers, each having: a door, a lint filter and a blower, the device comprising: a housing containing a power supply; a sensor disposed within the housing; a tubular member having a first end connected to the sensor and a second end that extends beyond an outer surface of the housing, wherein the tubular member defines a passageway extending between the first end and the second end such that the first end is in fluid communication with atmosphere that surrounds the outer surface of the housing, wherein the tubular member is retractably connected to housing and sensor such that a majority portion of tubular member is contained within housing when the device is not being used and can be extended therefrom beyond the outer surface of the housing and into a working position, wherein the tubular member is a flexible plastic tube and is extendable through the door when arranged in a closed orientation without materially affecting the operation of the clothes dryer, wherein the second end of the tubular member is adapted to be disposed within the clothes dryer, upstream from a filter, and wherein the sensor detects a differential between an operating pressure at the free second end of the tubular member versus a reference pressure to thereby determine whether a sufficient vacuum is present within the clothes dryer; and an output that provides an output characteristic when the differential is less than a pre-determined differential threshold, wherein the output characteristic changes from a first characteristic to a second characteristic when the differential surpasses the pre-determined differential threshold, wherein the device is a handheld, portable device that can readily identify the flow condition in a plurality of clothes dryers.