Opinion ID: 895183
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Clothes Dryer

Text: A brief explanation of how a Whirlpool Easy Clean 100 clothes dryer operates will aid in understanding the parties' contentions and the testimony. [2] When the drying cycle is started, a drum inside the dryer cabinet begins rotating, causing the clothes in it to tumble. Air is circulated through the drum, and a heating element is energized to heat the circulating air. At the end of the drying cycle, the heating element turns off and the dryer enters a cool-down cycle during which the drum continues rotating, the clothes continue tumbling, and the blower circulates unheated ambient air through the clothes. At the end of the cool-down cycle, the dryer automatically shuts off completely. The dryer's air circulation system is designed so that a sealed blower fan draws air into and through the circulation system at a high speed and eventually expels the air through an exhaust vent at the rear of the dryer. The sealed blower fan is located in the lower back part of the cabinet. Air drawn into the circulation system passes through a heater box that is mounted on the lower rear part of the dryer opposite the blower assembly. The heater box is essentially an elongated rectangular-shaped metal box positioned vertically and open at its lower end so air from inside the dryer cabinet is drawn into the box at the lower end. The air travels vertically past the heater element, then continues vertically for several inches to a grill-covered inlet that opens into the dryer drum. The air passes through the inlet grill into the rotating dryer drum, flows through the dryer drum and tumbling clothes, exits through an outlet grill similar in configuration to the inlet grill, and passes into an enclosed lint chute assembly where it is drawn vertically down the back of the dryer cabinet to the blower assembly. When the air reaches the blower assembly at the base of the dryer, the lint is routed into a lint transport tube and carried vertically by airflow to a lint trap on top of the dryer. A screen in the lint trap filters lint from the circulating air. The circulating air then returns to the lint chute, travels back to the blower assembly, and is discharged out of the dryer through the exhaust vent by the blower. The exhaust of the Camachos' dryer was properly vented through the floor of the trailer.