Patent Abstract:
A heater bracket assembly for securing a heater case in a dryer is disclosed. The heater bracket assembly includes a supporting part secured to a bottom end of the heater case for supporting the heater case, a fixing part secured to a base plate of the dryer, and a connecting part connecting the supporting part and the fixing part, wherein the supporting part comprises a first extension member extended therefrom which engages with an aperture provided to the bottom end of the heater case such that the supporting part is initially secured to the heater case.

Full Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. P2003-085616, filed on Nov. 28, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a dryer, and more particularly, to a heater bracket assembly for securing a heater case in a dryer.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Generally, a laundry dryer is a home appliance for drying a wet laundry automatically. The dryer is provided with a heater for drying a laundry and a heater bracket assembly supporting the heater. The heater bracket assembly is explained in detail by referring to the attached drawings as follows.  
         [0006]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a dryer  1  consists of a case  10  forming an exterior and a base plate  20  forming a bottom side. An opening  30  is formed in a front side of the case  10  to put/pull a laundry in/from the case and a door  40  is provided to the opening  30  to open/close. And, a drum  50  is rotatably provided within the case  10  to dry a wet laundry therein. Meanwhile, a heater  61  providing hot air to the drum  50  and a heater case  62  accommodating the heater  61  are provided within a space between the drum  50  and the base plate  20 . And, the heater case  62  is fitted in a duct  80  having one open end and the other end communicating with the drum  20  to be coupled thereto without a separate fixing member.  
         [0007]     In order to fix the heater case  62  to the base plate  20 , a heater bracket assembly  70  is provided. A process of assembling the heater bracket assembly  70 , base plate  20 , and heater case  62  is explained by referring to  FIG. 2  as follows. The heater bracket assembly  70  has a          type cross-section. Holes  21  and  71  are formed at both lower ends of the heater bracket assembly  70  and the base plate  20 , respectively. A fixing member is fitted in the corresponding holes  21  and  71  to fix the heater bracket assembly  70  to the base plate  20 .  
         [0008]     Meanwhile, an upper end of the heater bracket assembly  70  supports the heater case  62  without a separate fixing member. However, when the heater bracket assembly supports the heater case in the above-explained manner, the following problems are inevitable.  
         [0009]     First of all, the heater bracket assembly  70  and the heater case  62  are shaken when the dryer is carried or installed. Namely, when the dryer is shaken, the heater case is detached from the duct to be movable within the dryer. Secondly, in fixing the heater bracket to the base plate, it takes quite a long working time to align the holes of the base plate and heater bracket assembly to each other. Moreover, the corresponding fixing work is not facilitated.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a heater bracket assembly for a dryer that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0011]     An object of the present invention, which has been devised to solve the foregoing problem, lies in providing a heater bracket assembly for a dryer, by which a heater case is prevented from being separated from a duct.  
         [0012]     Another object of the present invention to provide a heater bracket assembly for a dryer, by which the heater bracket assembly is easily fixed to a base plate and by which a corresponding working time is shortened.  
         [0013]     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.  
         [0014]     To achieve these objects and other advantages in accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a heater bracket assembly for securing a heater case in a dryer includes a supporting part secured to a bottom end of the heater case for supporting the heater case, a fixing part secured to a base plate of the dryer, and a connecting part connecting the supporting part and the fixing part, wherein the supporting part comprises a first extension member extended therefrom which engages with an aperture provided to the bottom end of the heater case such that the supporting part is initially secured to the heater case.  
         [0015]     Herein, the fixing part may include a second extension member extended therefrom which engages with an aperture provided on the base plate such that the fixing part is initially secured to the base plate. The second extension member may include a first protrusion protruding downward from a portion of the fixing part to penetrate the aperture provided on the base plate, and a second protrusion protruding forward from a tip of the first protrusion to be in contact with and be supported by a bottom side of the base plate. A tip portion of the second protrusion is tilted such that the second extension member easily engages with the aperture provided on the base plate.  
         [0016]     The supporting part may include at least one through-hole adopted to receive a fastener for securing the bottom end of the heater case to the supporting part. Herein, the fixing part may include at least one through-hole adopted to receive a fastener for securing the fixing part to the base plate. Also, at least one bead is provided to the connecting part for rigidity reinforcement, and the connecting part is tilted forward.  
         [0017]     In another aspect of the present invention, a heater bracket assembly for securing a heater case in a dryer includes a supporting part secured to a bottom end of the heater case for supporting the heater case, a fixing part secured to a base plate of the dryer, a connecting part connecting the supporting part and the fixing part, a first extension member extended from the supporting part for engaging with an aperture provided to the bottom end of the heater case, and a second extension member extended from the fixing part for engaging with an aperture provided on the base plate.  
         [0018]     In a further aspect of the present invention, a heater bracket assembly for securing a heater case in a dryer includes a supporting part secured to a bottom end of the heater case for supporting the heater case, a fixing part secured to a base plate of the dryer, a connecting part connecting the supporting part and the fixing part, the connecting part being tilted forward, a first extension member extended from the supporting part for engaging with an aperture provided to the bottom end of the heater case, a second extension member extended from the fixing part for engaging with an aperture provided on the base plate, and at least one bead provided to the connecting part for rigidity reinforcement.  
         [0019]     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  
       [0020]     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 embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional diagram of a dryer according to a related art;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram of a heater bracket assembly according to a related art;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional diagram of a dryer according to the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram of the heater bracket assembly according to the present invention; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  is perspective diagram of the heater bracket assembly coupled to a heater case according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, like elements are indicated using the same or similar reference designations where possible.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional diagram of a dryer  100  provided with a heater bracket assembly  300  according to the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 3 , a dryer  100  includes a base plate  120  forming a bottom side and a case  110  on the base plate  120  to form an exterior and. An opening  130  is formed in a front side of the case  110  to put/pull a laundry in/from the case and a door  140  is provided to the opening  130  to open/close. A drum is rotatably provided within the case  110  to hold a laundry therein. Front and rear sides of the drum are rotatably coupled to front and rear supports  160  and  170 , respectively. An inlet duct  180  provided in rear of the drum and an outlet duct  190  is provided in front of the drum, whereby the drum can be externally ventilated. The inlet and outlet ducts  180  and  190  are coupled to upper and lower parts of the drum, respectively.  
         [0028]     A motor  200  is provided under the drum to generate a rotational force. In order to transfer the rotational force generated from the motor  200  to the drum, a pulley  210  is coupled to one side of the motor  200  and the pulley  210  is connected to the drum via belt  220 . A blower fan  230  is connected to the other side of the motor  200 . The blower fan  230  is connected to the outlet duct  190  to suck the air inside the drum to discharge outside the case  110 . A heater  240  is provided under the drum to dry the laundry held within the drum. The heater  240  heats air to supply the heated air to the drum. The heater  240  is provided within a heater case  250 . In order for the heater  240  to heat the air, one side of the heater case  250  is open and the other side of the heater case  250  is connected to the inlet duct  180 .  
         [0029]     Meanwhile, the heater case  250  is provided over the base plate  120  via a heater bracket assembly  300 . The heater bracket assembly  300  is explained by referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5  as follows. The heater bracket assembly  300  includes a supporting part  310 , a fixing part  320 , and a connecting part  330 . The supporting part  310  supports a bottom side of the heater case  250 . Specifically, the supporting part  310  is fixed (or secured) to a bottom of an open side of the heater case  250  to support the heater case  250 . Holes  251  and  311  are formed in the heater case  250  and the supporting part  310 , respectively, so as to allow a fixing member  260  to pass through. The fixing member  260  is inserted in both of the holes  251  and  311  to fix the heater case  250  to the supporting part  310 .  
         [0030]     Meanwhile, the fixing part  320  is fixed to a topside of the base plate  120 . Holes  321  and  121  are formed in the fixing part  320  and base plate  120  to be penetrated by a fixing member  260 . The corresponding fixing member  260  is inserted in the holes  321  and  121  to fix the fixing part  320  to the base plate  120 . The fixing member  260  preferably includes a bolt and nut or a rivet. The connecting part  330  connects the fixing part  320  and the supporting part  310 . And, the connecting part  330  is tilted forward from the supporting part  310  to the fixing part  320 . Moreover, the connecting part  330  is provided with at least one bead  340  for rigidity reinforcement.  
         [0031]     The bead  340  prevents the connecting part  330  from being bent by a weight applied to the connecting part  330  by the heater case  250 . In this case, the bead  340  is preferably projected toward a rear side of the connecting part  330 . In order to facilitate to manufacture the heater bracket assembly  300 , the heater bracket assembly  300  includes one plate. The one plate is bent to form the fixing, supporting, and connecting parts  320 ,  310 , and  330 .  
         [0032]     The heater bracket assembly  300  further includes an extension member  350  provided to at least one portion of the supporting part  310  and/or the fixing part  320  to temporarily fix the heater bracket assembly  300  to the heater case  250  and/or the base plate  120  and to guide a corresponding fixing position. Specifically, the extension member  350  includes a first extension member  351  guiding to maintain a corresponding installing position before the heater case  250  is fixed to the heater bracket assembly  300  by the fixing member  260 . The first extension member  351  is provided to the supporting part  310  to protrude upward from the supporting part  310 . And, the heater case  250  has a hole  252  to be penetrated by the first extension member  351 . Moreover, the extension member  350  penetrates the heater case  250  to prevent from moving on the supporting part  310 .  
         [0033]     And, the extension member  350  includes a second extension member  355  guiding to maintain a corresponding installing position before the heater bracket assembly  300  is fixed to the base plate  120  by the corresponding fixing member  260 . The second extension member  355  is provided to the fixing part  320  to protrude downward from the fixing part  320 . And, the base plate  120  has a hole  122  to be penetrated by the second extension member  355 . The second extension member  355  is explained in detail in the following.  
         [0034]     First of all, the second extension member  355  includes a first protrusion  356  protruding from a lower part of the fixing part  320  to penetrate the base plate  120  and a second protrusion  357  protruding forward from a tip of the first protrusion  356  to be supported by a bottom side of the base plate  120 . The first protrusion  356  guides a fixing position when the heater bracket assembly  300  is fixed to the topside of the base plate  120 . And, the second protrusion  357  is supported by the bottom side of the base plate  120  to maintain a balance of the heater bracket assembly  300  and to fix the heater bracket assembly  300  to the topside of the base plate  120 . In this case, in order to facilitate to insert the second protrusion  357  in the base plate  120 , a tip of the second protrusion  357  is tilted toward a ground in a front direction.  
         [0035]     A process of assembling the heater bracket assembly  300  to the base plate  120  and the heater case  250  is explained as follows. First of all, the heater bracket assembly  300  is fixed to the topside of the base plate  120  using the second extension member  355 . In doing so, the first protrusion  356  is inserted in the base plate  120  and the second protrusion  357  is supported by the bottom side of the base plate  120 . Thus, the heater bracket assembly  300  enables to maintain its balance.  
         [0036]     Secondly, the holes  321  and  121  of the fixing part  320  and base plate  120  are aligned to each other. The fixing member  260  is then inserted in the holes  321  and  121  to completely fix the heater bracket assembly  300  to the base plate  120 . In this case, the fixing member  260  includes the bolt and nut or rivet.  
         [0037]     Thirdly, the heater case  250  is temporarily fixed to the supporting part  310 . In doing so, the first extension member  351  penetrates the lower part of the heater case  250 . Once the first extension member  351  temporarily fixes the heater case  250  to the supporting part  310 , the holes  251  and  311  of the heater case  250  and supporting part  310  are aligned to each other. The corresponding fixing member  260  then penetrates the holes  251  and  311  to completely couple the heater case  250  to the supporting part  310 .  
         [0038]     Accordingly, the heater bracket assembly according to the present invention includes the extension member temporarily fixing the heater bracket assembly to the heater case and the base plate, thereby facilitating to be fixed to the heater case and base plate and shortening a working time. And, the heater case is completely fixed to the heater bracket assembly and the heater bracket assembly is completely fixed to the base plate. Therefore, the heater case is prevented from being detached from the inlet duct.  
         [0039]     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.

Technology Classification (CPC): 3