Patent Publication Number: US-8109011-B2

Title: Clothes dryer bulkhead recess

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a clothes dryer front bulkhead structure mounted relative to a front panel of the dryer cabinet and positioned within an open end of a rotating drum. More particularly, at least a portion of the front bulkhead structure is structured to direct clothing away from the junction between the front bulkhead and the drum. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Various bearing structures have been used to support the rotating dryer drum within the cabinet of a dryer. Such support may take the form of a substantially axial shaft extending from the closed end of the drum and received in a suitable bearing. More generally there are bearings on both ends of the drum. In some instances the front bearing also provides a front bulkhead adjacent the open end of the dryer drum that fits into this open end. 
     In one front bulkhead structure, the bulkhead comprises upper and lower structural portions fitted together and mounted to the front panel of the dryer cabinet by snapping hooks and/or screws. The two bearing structural portions provide a ring like bearing support surface and form a stationary front bulkhead within the open end of the clothes dryer drum. The front bulkhead faces into the dryer drum and includes a clothes access opening through which clothing may enter the drum when the clothes dryer door, mounted to the front panel of the dryer, is opened. In some cases the front bulkhead has a grill like portion located below the clothes access opening. The grill portion has a series of air flow openings through which air leaves the dryer drum. As the dryer drum rotates it tumbles the clothing in the drum. During tumbling, the clothing comes into contact with the front bulkhead and the inside surface of the closed door. In some instances, the clothing has been known to contact the junction between the stationary bulkhead and the rotating drum. While tolerances at this junction are quite small, clothing can sometimes temporarily enter any gap in the junction between the dryer drum wall and the stationary bulkhead wall. This can damage or soil the clothing. Clearly, any improvements in clothes dryer construction that would reduce the risk of clothing contacting the junction between the stationary bulkhead and the rotating dryer drum would be advantageous. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a clothes dryer front bulkhead structure mounted relative to a front panel of the dryer cabinet and positioned within an open end of a rotating drum. Side wall portions of the front bulkhead structure each have recessed surface portions with an outer deflection wall for directing clothing away from a junction between the front bulkhead and the drum. 
     The bulkhead structure comprises a generally cylindrical outer wall that fits within an open end of the clothes dryer drum to define the junction. The side wall portions face into the drum on opposing sides of a bulkhead access opening. Each of the side wall portions has a recess extending from the bulkhead access opening towards the cylindrical outer walls. The recess terminates in an outer deflection wall inwardly spaced from the cylindrical outer wall. The outer deflection wall causes clothing contacting the recess and moving towards the dryer drum to be deflected away from the junction adjacent the recess. 
     In one embodiment, the recess has a concave curvature adjacent the outer deflection wall resulting in the clothing being swept away from the junction. In alternative embodiments, the recess may not have a concave curvature adjacent the outer deflection wall and the outer deflection wall may extend outwardly from the recess at an angle of 90 degrees or any other suitable sloping angle. 
     In an embodiment, the outer deflection wall extends generally parallel to the cylindrical outer wall. 
     In an embodiment, the side wall portions each define a generally normal wall portion facing into the drum between the outer deflection wall and the cylindrical outer wall. The outer deflection wall includes at least one flange extending therefrom and into the dryer drum farther than the normal wall to facilitate deflection of clothing articles away from the junction. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided a clothes dryer comprising a dryer drum having an open end and a bulkhead structure fitting into the open end of the dryer drum. The bulkhead structure has an access opening of reduced area to that of the open end of the dryer. The bulkhead structure comprises a generally cylindrical outer wall and two side wall portions. The generally cylindrical outer wall fits within the open end of the dryer drum and forms a junction with the open end of the dryer drum. The two side wall portions face into the drum on opposing sides of the bulkhead access opening. The side wall portions each comprise a recess extending from the bulkhead access opening towards the cylindrical outer wall. The recess terminates in an outer deflection wall inwardly spaced from the cylindrical outer wall. The outer deflection wall causes clothing contacting the recess and moving towards the dryer drum to be directed from the junction adjacent the recess. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention reference may be had by way of example to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary clothes dryer that may benefit from the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side sectional view of an exemplary clothes dryer that may benefit from the present invention; and, 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective inside view showing an exemplary bulkhead structure mounted to the front panel of the clothes dryer; and, 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged exemplary view of one of the side wall portions of the bulkhead structure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a clothes dryer front bulkhead structure mounted relative to a front panel of the dryer cabinet and positioned within an access opening of a rotating drum. More particularly, the front bulkhead structure is structured to direct clothing away from the junction between the front bulkhead and the drum. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show perspective and side sectional views of an exemplary clothes dryer  10  that may benefit from the present invention. The clothes dryer  10  includes a cabinet or a main housing  12  having a front panel  14 , a rear panel  16 , a pair of side panels  18  and  20  spaced apart from each other by the front and rear panels, and a top cover  24 . Within the housing  12  is a drum or container  26  mounted for rotation around a substantially horizontal axis. A motor  44  rotates the drum  26  about the horizontal axis through, for example, a pulley  40  and a belt  42 . The drum  26  is generally cylindrical in shape, has an imperforate outer cylindrical wall  28 , and has an open end  27  that typically comprises a metal ring  29  or reduced diameter that is attached by welding to the drum for reducing the diameter of the opening of the drum  26  to match a front bulkhead structure  30 . The bulkhead structure  30  further defines an access opening  32  into the drum  26 . Access opening  32  has a reduced area across it as compared to the area across the open end  27  of the drum  26 . Clothing articles and other fabrics are loaded into the drum  26  through the access opening  32 . A plurality of tumbling ribs (not shown) are provided within the drum  26  to lift the articles and then allow them to tumble back to the bottom of the drum as the drum rotates. The drum  26  includes a rear wall  34  rotatably supported within the main housing  12  by a suitable fixed bearing  35 . The rear wall  34  includes a plurality of holes (not shown) that receive hot air that has been heated by a heater such as electrical heating elements (not shown) in the heater housing  22 . The housing  22  receives ambient air via an inlet  36 . Although the exemplary clothes dryer  10  shown in  FIG. 1  is an electric dryer, it could just as well be a gas dryer having a gas burner. 
     The dryer has a control panel  54  with touch and or dial controls  56  whereby a user can control the operation of the dryer  10 . Also, the access opening  32  is shown closed by a window or port-hole like door  60 . Door  60  has a handle  62  for pivotally opening the door about hinge  64 . 
     Heated air is drawn from the drum  26  by a blower fan  48  which is also driven by a second motor  49  in the embodiment shown. In an alternative embodiment, motor  44  could be used to drive blower fan  48  thereby eliminating the need for second motor  49 . Second motor  49  allows the drum  26  to rotate in opposing directions whereas the use of a single motor to drive both the drum  26  and blower fan  48  would rotate in one direction only. The air passes through a grill  45  and screen filter  46 . Grill  45  keeps clothing articles tumbling in the drum  26  from contacting the filter  46  and touching the lint trapped by the filter  46  within the trap duct  50 . As the air passes through the screen filter  46 , it flows through lower duct portion  51  and is drawn by blower wheel  48  attached to motor  49  out of the clothes dryer through an exhaust duct  52 . In this embodiment, the drum  26  is in air flow communication with the trap duct  50  whose lower duct portion  51  has an outlet that is in air flow communication with the blower wheel  48  and the exhaust duct  52 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , this embodiment of the bulkhead structure  30  is made up of two plastic molds of a lower bulkhead structure part  66  and an upper bulkhead structure part  68 . The two parts are secured together and mounted by snapping hooks (not shown) to the front panel  14 . The lower bearing structural part  66  and the upper bearing structural part  68  define a bulkhead junction  76 . 
     The bulkhead structure  30  defines a generally cylindrical outer wall  74  which in this embodiment is a bearing support wall that fits within, or is surrounded by, the metal ring  29  at the open end  27  of the drum  26 . In this manner, the metal ring  29  matches the outer wall  74  so as to rotate about the outer wall  74  during dryer operation. The outer wall  74  acts as a bearing support for the drum  26 . In alternative embodiments roller bearings may be employed to support the drum  26 . In this alternative embodiment the front bulkhead  30  carries little or no load of the drum  26 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the cylindrical outer wall  74  is generally cylindrical in the sense that it is not a continuous wall and therefore not a perfect cylinder. It should be understood that the cylindrical outer wall  74  forms with the metal ring  29  at the open end  27  of the drum  26  a junction  76  (see  FIG. 2 ) that is cylindrical in shape and follows the outer circumference of the cylindrical outer wall  74 . This junction  76  is an area in previous dryer constructions where clothes have been known to come into contact with resulting in damaging or soiling of the clothes. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3  the bulkhead access opening  32  is located within the cylindrical outer wall  74 . Opening  32  has an area that is smaller than the open end  27  of the dryer drum  26 . Below the bulkhead access opening  32 , bulkhead  30  has a bottom wall portion  80  that faces into the dryer drum  26 . The bottom wall portion  80  is also located within the cylindrical outer wall  74 . The bottom wall portion  80  comprises the grill portion  45  that has a plurality of air exhaust openings  86 . The grill portion  45  is angled into the drum downwardly and inwardly from the bulkhead access opening  32  so as to deflect clothing away from that portion of the junction  76  generally located below the grill portion  45 . 
     Bulkhead  30  has two arcing side wall portions  82  that face into the drum and extend up on opposing sides from the bottom wall portion  80 . The two arcing side wall portions  82  each extend between the bulkhead access opening  32  and the cylindrical outer wall  74 . Bulkhead  30  has an arcuate top portion  84  that bridges the two arcing side wall portions  82 . The arcuate top wall portion  84  extends between the bulkhead access opening  32  and the cylindrical outer wall  74 . In the embodiment of the bulkhead structure  30  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the lower bulkhead part  66  includes the bottom wall portion  80  and first or lower portions  90  of each of the two arcuate side wall portions  82 . The upper bulkhead structure part  68  includes the top wall portion  84  and second portions or upper portions  92  of each of the two arcing side wall portions  82 . The side wall portions  82  each comprise a recess  94  that extends from the bulkhead access opening  32  towards the cylindrical outer wall  74 . The recess  94  also extends between the top wall portion  84  and the bottom wall portion  80 . The recess has a concave curvature  95  terminating in an outer deflection wall  96 . The outer deflection wall  96  is inwardly spaced from the cylindrical outer wall  74 . The outer deflection wall  96  generally extends parallel to the cylindrical outer wall  74 . The concave curvature  95  also curves into both the arcuate top portion  84  and the bottom wall portion  80 . The side wall portions  82  each define a generally normal wall  98  that faces into the drum  26  and is located between the outer deflection wall  96  and the cylindrical outer wall  74 . The outer deflection wall  96  further has attached to it, or comprises as part of it, a flange or flanges  100 . Flanges  100  extend into the dryer drum  26  farther than the normal wall  98  so as to facilitate the deflection of clothing articles away from the junction  76 . In the embodiment shown the flanges  100  extend about 6 mm past normal wall  98 . In operation, clothing tumbling within the dryer  10  and moving towards the front bulkhead  30  will contact the recesses  94  of the side wall portions  82 . Clothing moving across the recesses  94  towards the junction  76  are deflected or swept in the curving motion by the concave surface  96 , the outer deflection wall  96  and the flanges  100  away from the junction  76 . 
     As best seen in  FIG. 4 , the upper and lower portions  92 ,  90  of the side wall portion  82  have raised ribs  102  that rise out of the recess surface  94  as the ribs  102  extend towards the bulkhead junction  70 . The ribs  102  reduce the chance of clothing, swept along recess  94 , contacting or becoming wedged in the bulkhead junction  70  between the upper and lower bulkhead parts  68  and  66 . 
     While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as disclosed herein.