Patent Publication Number: US-6910286-B2

Title: Laundry dryer

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 10-2002-0075981 filed on Dec. 2, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a laundry dryer, and more particularly, to a laundry dryer employing a unified sealing means in a door sealing assembly of the laundry dryer. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   Generally speaking, a laundry dryer performs the drying of laundry using hot air circulating within a sealed space, which is in essence a drum having an entrance provided with a hinged door for accessing the drum. Typically, the door is provided with a glass window for observing the status of the drum&#39;s interior. During drying, hot and humid air is contained under an airtight seal between the various components of the laundry dryer, including the door, the glass window of the door, and components forming the front surface of the drum. Such a laundry dryer is illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , a laundry dryer comprises a cabinet frame  11  forming the body of the laundry dryer and a frame cover  14  forming the front surface of the cabinet and having an entrance hole where a door frame  15  is installed. The door frame  15  has a door glass  15   a  through which a user can observe the state of drying. A drum  20  is mounted within the cabinet frame  11 , and the front side of the drum is secured to the frame cover  14  using a front support  22  coupled to the frame cover. 
   During operation, the air circulating within the closed space, formed by the door frame  15  and door glass  15   a  closing the entrance hole of the frame cover  14  connected to the front support  22 , may escape through gaps between the above-mentioned components of the laundry dryer. Accordingly, a laundry dryer according to a related art is provided with a door sealing assembly, as shown in FIG.  2 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , a door sealing assembly is provided three separate seals or gaskets for establishing an airtight seal between respective components, namely, a first sealing member  41  for sealing a gap between the door frame  15  and door glass  15   a , a second sealing member  42  for sealing a gap between the door frame  15  and a frame cover panel  14   a  of the frame cover  14 , and a third sealing member  43  for sealing a gap between the frame cover panel and a front support panel  22   a  of the front support  22 . In doing so, however, three distinctly shaped sealing members are required, which complicates fabrication and increases production costs accordingly. Moreover, with the use of multiple sealing members, there is an inherent increase in the probability of a leak to occur. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a laundry dryer that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
   An object of the present invention, which has been devised to solve the foregoing problem, lies in providing a laundry dryer, by which the sealing properties of a door sealing assembly are improved while simplifying fabrication and reducing production cost. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a laundry dryer having a door sealing assembly in which a unified sealing member is used to perform the necessary sealing actions. 
   Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from a practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the subject matter particularly pointed out in the specification and claims hereof as well as in the appended drawings. 
   To achieve these objects and other advantages in accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a laundry dryer having a sealing assembly for a hinged door, the laundry dryer comprising a door frame, the door frame being provided with a door glass; a frame cover having a frame cover panel in which an entrance hole is formed for receiving the door frame, the frame cover panel having an inner end surface; a front support, coupled with the frame cover, for supporting a drum, the front support having a front support panel having an inner end surface; and a unified sealing member, fixed to the inner end surfaces of the frame cover panel and the front support panel, providing for simultaneous contact with surfaces of the door frame and the door glass when the hinged door is closed. 
   It is to be understood that both the foregoing explanation and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and illustrative and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a general laundry dryer; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a door sealing assembly of a laundry dryer according to a related art; 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a door sealing assembly of a laundry dryer according to the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the sealing member of FIG.  3 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , a laundry dryer according to the present invention is provided with a frame cover  52  having a frame cover panel  52   a  having a rolled inner end  52   b , a door frame  51  with a door glass  51   a , a front support  53  having a front support panel  53   a , a unified sealing member  54 , and a fixing bar  55 . The frame cover  52 , which provides the front cover of the cabinet frame (shown in  FIG. 1 ) and is coupled to the front support  53 , has an entrance hole for receiving the door frame  51  with the door glass  51   a  through which a user may observe the state of drying. The front support  53  provides support for the front end of the drum (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to be mounted to the frame cover  52 . The unified sealing member  54  is a single gasket piece fixed to inner end surfaces of the frame cover panel  52   a  of the frame cover  52  and the front support panel  53   a  of the front support  53 , while providing for simultaneous contact with surfaces of both the door frame  51  and the door glass  51   a . The fixing bar  55  is provided to press and fix the unified sealing-member  54  to the frame cover panel  52   a.    
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the unified sealing member  54  comprises a small diameter part  54   a  for receiving the fixing bar  55 , a large diameter part  54   b  for receiving the rolled inner end  52   b  of the frame cover panel  52   a  of the frame cover  52 , a lip  54   c  protruding from one side of the large diameter part, and a tip  54   d  protruding from a juncture of the large and small diameter parts. The small diameter part  54   a , large diameter part  54   b , lip  54   c , and tip  54   d  are integrally formed of a pliable material such as soft rubber. When the door of the laundry dryer is closed, the tip  54   d  is in pliant contact with the door frame  51  and the lip  54   c  is in pliant contact with the door glass  51   a . The rolled inner end  52   b  of the frame cover panel  52   b  is curved toward the door frame  51 , and the fixing bar  55  presses and fixes the small diameter part  54   a  to the rolled inner end. 
   In the door sealing assembly of the laundry dryer according to the present invention, the unified sealing member  54  is provided at the gaps between the door frame  51  and door glass  51   a , the door frame  51  and frame cover  52 , and the frame cover  52  and front support  53 , whereby air is prevented from escaping when the door is closed during operation. At the time of assembly, the respective inner ends of the frame cover panel  52   a  and the support cover panel  53   a  are inserted in a space of the unified sealing member  54 , between the small diameter part  54   a  and the large diameter part  54   b , thereby sealing the gap between the frame cover  52  and the front support  53 ; and the rolled inner end  52   b  of the frame cover panel  52   a  is inserted over the small diameter part  54   a  of the unified sealing member  54 , thereby sealing the gap between the door frame  51  and the frame cover  52 . When the door is closed, the gap between the door frame  51  and the front frame  52  is sealed by the tip  54   d  of the unified sealing member  154  making contact with the door frame  51 . The seal between the door frame  51  and the front frame  52  is facilitated by the fixing bar  55  pressing and fixing the small diameter part  54   a  of the unified sealing member  54  to the rolled inner end  52   b  of the frame cover panel  52   a . The seal between the door frame  51  and the door glass  51   a  is maintained, when the door is closed, by the tip  54   d  being in contact with the door frame, and the lip  54   c  being in contact with the door glass. 
   By adopting the door sealing assembly as described above in a laundry dryer according to the present invention, the unified sealing member  54  provided as a single sealing means including the large diameter part  54   b , small diameter part  54   a , tip  54   d , and lip  54   c  is disposed in correspondence to the various components of the laundry dryer. Accordingly, the reduced number of sealing members improves the sealing properties of the door sealing assembly, simplifies fabrication, and reduces production cost. 
   It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations, provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.