A tumble-drier with a removable filter

Abstract

 A tumble-drier of the type with a rotary drum includes a filter element (18) situated in a seat (16) in the loading door (10) of the drier. The drier has an electrical control switch (22) which enables the drier to be switched on when the door (10) is closed and the filter element (18) is inserted in its seat (16). The switch (22) is operated by an operating member (30) mounted for sliding relative to the door (10) and connected to the seat (16) of the filter element (18) by a transmission mechanism (34, 38) which is adapted to keep the operating member (30) in an extended, operative position when the filter element (18) is inserted in its seat (16).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a tumble-drier of the type comprising:
- a casing which has a front wall with a laundry-loading aperture and in which a motor-driven drum for holding the laundry is rotatable,
- a loading door articulated to the casing and provided with a seat for a removable filter element;
- means for directing a flow of air through the drum and through the seat for the filter element, and
- an electrical control switch carried by the casing of the machine and operated by an operating member which is operatively associated with the door and with the filter element so that the control switch enables the machine to be switched on when the door is closed and the filter element is inserted in its seat.

[0002] A machine of the type defined above is known from European Patent Application No. 250789.

[0003] In a tumble-drier of the type indicated above, the filter element must be removed from its seat after each drying cycle in order to clean off the fluff deposited thereon. With these driers, therefore, there is the problem that the drier must be prevented from being started when the filter is not inserted in its seat. It is also necessary, for safety reasons, to prevent the drier from being started with the door open.

[0004] German Patent Application No. 2136501 and U.S. Patent No. 3579851 describe tumble-driers in which the filter elements are situated in seats formed in the casings of the driers. These driers therefore have a first switch which detects the closed condition of the door and a second switch which detects the presence of the filter in its seat.

[0005] The European patent application No. 250789 cited above describes a tumble-drier in which the filter element is situated in the door of the drier. In this case, a single electrical switch can simultaneously detect the presence of the filter in its seat and the closed condition of the door. In the drier described in EP 250789, the control button of the switch faces the loading aperture of the drier and is operated by an appendage of the filter element which cooperates with the control button of the switch when the door is closed. In order to prevent the control switch from being operated accidentally, for example, during the insertion or removal of the laundry through the loading aperture, the button of the switch is surrounded by a box-like casing with a groove which admits only the appendage of the filter element intended to cooperate with the push-button.

[0006] The solution described in EP 250789 involves an irregularity in the shape of the loading aperture and introduces considerable structural complications. Moreover, the control button of the switch is situated in a region in which fluff produced by the laundry during drying tends to collect. This fluff may jam the button in the position in which the switch is closed and, should this occur, the drier would continue to operate even if the door were open, to the detriment of the safety of the drier. A further disadvantage of the solution described in EP No. 250789 is constituted by the fact that, in the event of small downward displacements of the door caused by the weight of the door or the normal working and assembly tolerances of the elements constituting the drier, the appendage of the filter may fail to contact the control button of the switch. It is therefore necessary to take particular care in the assembly of the door and of the seat for the filter element and this results in an increase in the production cost of the drier.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a tumble-drier of the type defined at the beginning of the description which overcomes the aforesaid disadvantages whilst retaining a structure which is simple and cheap to produce.

[0008] According to the present invention, this object is achieved by virtue of a drier of the type defined above, characterised in that the operating member is mounted for sliding in a hole in the door in a direction substantially perpendicular to a face of the door which, when the door is closed, faces the front wall of the casing with the laundry-loading aperture, and in that the operating member is movable relative to the door between an extended, operative position and a retracted, inoperative position and is connected to the seat of the filter element by a transmission mechanism which is associated with the filter element and is adapted to keep the operating member in its extended position when the filter element is inserted in its seat.

[0009] By virtue of this characteristic, the control switch can be situated in a region which is not directly in contact with the loading aperture of the drier and the aperture can therefore have a simpler shape. Moreover, the control switch is removed from the path of the drying air-flow and this prevents the fluff transported by the air-flow from adversely affecting the operation of the control switch.

[0010] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become clear in the course of the detailed description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a tumble-drier according to the present invention,

Figures 2 and 3 are partial sections taken on the line II of Figure 1, on an enlarged scale, in two different operating conditions,

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the drier of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the part indicated by the arrow V in Figure 4, on an enlarged scale.

[0011] With reference to the drawings, a tumble-drier, indicated 1, comprises, in known manner, a casing 2 having a front part 4 with a laundry-loading aperture 6. A motor-driven rotary drum 8 is arranged within the casing 2 and has an open end situated in correspondence with the loading aperture 6. A door 10 is articulated to the casing 2 of the drier and has an inner wall 12 with a projecting box portion 14 which, when the door 10 is closed, is inserted in the aperture 6 (Figure 4). A seat 16 for a removable filter element 18 is formed in the box portion 14. Ducts (not shown) are formed within the drier 1 and convey a drying air-flow through the drum 8 and through the box element 14 and the filter element 18.

[0012] With reference to Figures 2 and 3, an electrical unit, indicated 20, has an electrical switch 22 which is connected in the electrical operating circuit of the machine 1. One end of a resilient blade 24 is fixed to the casing of the unit 20 and cooperates with the control button of the switch 22. The other end of the blade faces a hole 26 formed in the front wall 4 of the casing 2. An operating member 30 is situated on the inner wall 12 of the door 10 and, as a result of the closure of the door 10, is inserted in the hole 26 and operates the switch 22 by means of the blade 24.

[0013] Driers with structures similar to that described up to now are known and have operating members 30 which are fixed relative to their doors 10. In this case, the switch 22 can detect only the closed condition of the door 10.

[0014] According to the present invention, the operating member 30 is mounted for sliding in a hole 32 in the door 10 and is movable in a direction perpendicular to the inner wall 12 of the door 10 between an extended position shown in Figure 2 and a retracted position shown in Figure 3.

[0015] One end of a rocker arm 34 articulated to the door 10 at 36 acts on the operating member 30. A slidable push-rod 38 communicates at one end 40 with the upper part of the seat 16 for the filter element 18 and acts on the other end of the rocker arm 34.

[0016] As can be seen in greater detail in Figure 5, the filter element 18 has an appendage 42 with a cam-like portion 44 which, when the element 18 is inserted in its seat 16, pushes the push-rod 38 to the position shown in Figure 2.

[0017] In this configuration, the operating member 30 is kept in its extended position and, when the door 10 is closed, can act on the blade 24 to enable the drier to be switched on. However, if the filter element 18 is not in the seat 16 when the door is closed, as shown in Figure 3, the operating member 30 comes into contact with the blade 24 but cannot overcome the resilience of the latter and moves to its retracted configuration. The switch 22 does not therefore enable the drier to be switched on.

Claims

1. A tumble-drier comprising:
- a casing which has a front wall with a laundry-loading aperture and in which a motor-driven drum for holding the laundry is rotatable,
- a loading door articulated to the casing and provided with a seat for a removable filter element,
- means for directing a flow of air through the drum and through the seat for the filter element, and
- an electrical control switch carried by the casing of the machine and operated by an operating member which is operatively associated with the door and with the filter element so that the control switch enables the machine to be switched on when the door is closed and the filter element is inserted in its seat, characterised in that the operating member (30) is mounted for sliding in a hole (32) in the door (10) in a direction substantially perpendicular to a face (12) of the door (10) which, when the door (10) is closed, faces the front wall (4) with the laundry-loading aperture (6), and in that the operating member (30) is movable relative to the door (10) between an extended, operative position and a retracted, inoperative position and is connected to the seat (16) of the filter element (18) by a transmission mechanism (24, 38) which is associated with the filter element (18) and is adapted to keep the operating member (30) in its extended position when the filter element (18) is inserted in its seat (16).

2. A tumble-drier according to Claim 1, characterised in that the transmission mechanism comprises a rocker arm (34) articulated to the door (10) and having first and second ends which act respectively on the operating member (30) and on a slidable push-rod (38) which is associated with the seat (16) of the filter element (18) for cooperating with an appendage (42) of the latter.

3. A tumble-drier according to Claim 2, characterised in that the appendage (42) of the filter element (18) includes a cam-like portion (44) which cooperates with the slidable push-rod (38) when the filter element (18) is inserted in its seat (16).

Drawing