U.S. patent application number 14/590175 was filed with the patent office on 2015-09-03 for laundry dryer.
This patent application is currently assigned to ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS CORPORATION N.V.. The applicant listed for this patent is Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V.. Invention is credited to Calum Armstrong, Alberto Bison, Kim Michel, Gabriele Missio, Nicola Reid, Giuseppe Rossi.
Application Number | 20150247279 14/590175 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48745918 |
Filed Date | 2015-09-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150247279 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bison; Alberto ; et
al. |
September 3, 2015 |
Laundry Dryer
Abstract
Laundry dryer (1) comprising an outer casing (2) having a front
wall (2a) provided with a laundry loading/unloading pass-through
opening, and an air-filtering cartridge (15) which is fitted in
removable manner into an air-vent (10) which is passed through by a
laundry drying airflow (f), said air-filtering cartridge (15)
comprising a first substantially bag-or pocket-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel (20, 120) which is dimensioned for
being inserted/plugged into said air-vent (10) and a second
substantially bag- or pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel
(30, 130) which is fitted/recessed into said first air-filtering
shell or vessel (20, 120), so as to be passed through by
substantially the same airflow (f) that crosses the first
air-filtering shell or vessel (20, 120), each of said first and
second air-filtering shells or vessels (20, 120, 30, 130) having a
two valve-like structure (23a, 23b, 32a, 32b; 123a, 123b, 132a,
132b) which is openable in a book-like manner and has surfaces (21,
121, 31, 131) arranged to restrain fluff and/or lint particles in
suspension into the airflow (f). The laundry dryer has the second
air-filtering shell or vessel (30, 130) hingedly coupled to the
first air-filtering shell or vessel (20, 120), such that, in an
open position, both valve-like structures (23a, 23b, 32a, 32b;
123a, 123b, 132a, 132b) displace the inner faces (21a, 21b, 31a,
31b; 121a, 121b, 131a, 131b) of said surfaces (21, 121, 31, 131) on
the same side.
Inventors: |
Bison; Alberto; (Pordenone,
IT) ; Armstrong; Calum; (Montereale Valcellina (PN),
IT) ; Reid; Nicola; (Budoia (PN), IT) ; Rossi;
Giuseppe; (Porcia, IT) ; Michel; Kim; (Porcia,
IT) ; Missio; Gabriele; (Torre di Mosto (Venezia),
IT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V. |
Brussels |
|
BE |
|
|
Assignee: |
ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS
CORPORATION N.V.
Brussels
BE
|
Family ID: |
48745918 |
Appl. No.: |
14/590175 |
Filed: |
June 26, 2013 |
PCT Filed: |
June 26, 2013 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2013/063365 |
371 Date: |
January 6, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
34/82 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F 58/22 20130101 |
International
Class: |
D06F 58/22 20060101
D06F058/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 6, 2012 |
EP |
12175288.5 |
Claims
1. Laundry dryer (1) comprising an outer casing (2) having a front
wall (2a) provided with a laundry loading/unloading pass-through
opening, and an air-filtering cartridge (15) which is fitted in
removable manner into an air-vent (10) which is passed through by a
laundry drying airflow (f), said air-filtering cartridge (15)
comprising a first substantially bag- or pocket-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel (20, 120) which is dimensioned for
being inserted/plugged into said air-vent (10) and a second
substantially bag- or pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel
(30, 130) which is fitted/recessed into said first air-filtering
shell or vessel (20, 120), so as to be passed through by
substantially the same airflow (f) that crosses the first
air-filtering shell or vessel (20, 120), each of said first and
second air-filtering shells or vessels (20, 120, 30, 130) having a
two valve-like structure (23a, 23b, 32a, 32b; 123a, 123b, 132a,
132b) which is openable in a book-like manner and has surfaces (21,
121, 31, 131) arranged to restrain fluff and/or lint particles in
suspension into the airflow (f); the laundry dryer being
characterized in that the second air-filtering shell or vessel (30,
130) is hingedly coupled to the first air-filtering shell or vessel
(20, 120), such that, in an open position, both valve-like
structures (23a, 23b, 32a, 32b; 123a, 123b, 132a, 132b) displace
the inner faces (21a, 21b, 31a, 31b; 121a, 121b, 131a, 131b) of
said surfaces (21, 121, 31, 131) on the same side.
2. Laundry dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that each
two valve-like structure (23a, 23b, 32a, 32b; 123a, 123b, 132a,
132b) of said first and second air-filtering shells or vessels (20,
120, 30, 130) comprises two valve-like pieces (23a, 23b, 32a, 32b;
123a, 123b, 132a, 132b) which are hinged to one another in a bottom
region thereof so as to be selectively separable to one another,
one of the two valve-like pieces (32a, 132a) of the second air
filtering shell or vessel (30, 130) being furthermore hinged to one
of the two valve-like pieces (23b, 123a) of the first air filtering
shell or vessel (20, 120).
3. Laundry dryer according to claim 2 wherein the other of the two
valve-like pieces (32b, 132b) of the second air filtering shell or
vessel (30, 130) being displaced between the hingedly coupled valve
pieces (23b, 123a, 32a, 132a) of the first and second filtering
shells or vessels (20, 30; 120, 130).
4. Laundry dryer according to any one of the foregoing claims,
characterized in that the second air filtering shell or vessel (30,
130) is hinged in a releasable/detachable manner to one of the two
valve-like pieces (23b, 123a) forming the two valve-like structure
of the first air filtering shell or vessel (20, 120).
5. Laundry dryer according to any claim claims 2 to 4,
characterized in that the second air-filtering shell or vessel (30,
130) is provided with a snap-on locking mechanism (34) which is
structured for selectively rigidly anchoring/fixing the two
valve-like pieces (32a, 32b; 132a, 132b) of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel (30, 130) to one another when the
same valve-like pieces (32a, 32b; 132a, 132b) are reciprocally
coupled to form/compose the second air-filtering shell or vessel
(30, 130)
6. Laundry dryer according to any claim claims 2 to 5,
characterized in that the valve-like pieces (23a, 23b) forming the
two valve-like structure of the first air filtering shell or vessel
(20) are rotatable one relative to the other about a first axis (A)
and the valve-like pieces (32a, 32b) forming the two valve-like
structure of the second air filtering shell or vessel (30) are
rotatable one relative to the other about a second axis (B), the
second air filtering shell or vessel (30) being rotatable relative
to one of the two valve-like pieces (23b) of the first air
filtering shell or vessel (20) about a third axis (C) parallel to
the first and/or second axis (A, B) between a first position
wherein the second air-filtering shell or vessel (30) is
fitted/recessed into said first air-filtering shell or vessel (20)
and a second position wherein the second air-filtering shell or
vessel (30) is overturned outside the first air-filtering shell or
vessel (20), in said first position the second air-filtering shell
or vessel (30) being prevented from being opened in a book like
manner even if the first air-filtering shell or vessel (20) is
opened in a book like manner.
7. Laundry dryer according to any claims 2 to 5, characterized in
that a first of the two valve-like pieces (132a, 132b) of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel (130) is hinged to one of the
two valve-like pieces (123a, 123b) of the first air-filtering shell
or vessel (120) in a bottom region of the first air-filtering shell
or vessel (120), so that the two valve-like pieces (132a, 132b) of
the second air-filtering shell or vessel (130) are allowed, when
the first air-filtering shell or vessel (120) is opened in a
book-like manner, to rotate about their rotation axis (E) on said
valve-like piece (123a, 123b) for opening the second air-filtering
shell or vessel (130) in book-like manner immediately above the
first air-filtering shell or vessel (120).
8. Laundry dryer according to claim 7, characterized in that the
two valve-like pieces (132a, 132b) of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel (130) are pivotally connected to one another
through hinges (133) which are pivotally jointed to one of the two
valve-like pieces (123a, 123b) of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel (120).
9. Laundry dryer according to any one of the foregoing claims,
characterized in that the air-filtering cartridge (15) additionally
comprises a permeable-to-air, upper lid (22, 122) which is rigidly
associated/fixed to the first air-filtering shell or vessel (20,
120), so as to close the upper mouth of said first air-filtering
shell or vessel (20, 120).
10. Laundry dryer according to claim 9, characterized in that said
permeable-to-air upper lid (22, 122) is divided into two
complementary pieces (25, 125) which are selectively separable to
one another, and each of which is permanently rigidly fixed to
and/or formed in one piece with a respective valve-like piece (23a,
23b, 123a, 123b) of the first air-filtering shell or vessel (20,
120), so as to allow the first air-filtering shell or vessel (20,
120) to open in a book-like manner.
11. Laundry dryer according to claim 10, characterized in that the
permeable-to-air upper lid (22, 122) furthermore comprises a
manually-operated snap-on locking mechanism (26, 126) which is
structured for selectively rigidly anchoring the two complementary
pieces (25, 125) of the permeable-to-air upper lid (22, 122) to one
another when they are reciprocally coupled to form/compose the
permeable-to-air upper lid (22, 122).
12. Laundry dryer according to any one of the foregoing claims,
characterized in that each of said first and second air-filtering
shells or vessels (20, 120, 30, 130) is provided with two
reciprocally-faced, permeable-to-air sidewalls (21, 121, 31, 131)
which are incorporated in respective two valve-like structures
(23a, 23b, 32a, 32b; 123a, 123b, 132a, 132b) for restraining fluff
and/or lint particles in suspension into the airflow (f) that
crosses the air-vent (10).
13. Laundry dryer according to claim 12, characterized in that each
permeable-to-air sidewall (31, 131) of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel (30, 130) is arranged locally faced and
superimposed to a respective permeable-to-air sidewall (21, 121) of
the first air-filtering shell or vessel (20, 120).
14. Laundry dryer according to one of the foregoing claims,
characterized in that a heat pump circuit (18) is arranged in fluid
communication with the airflow (f) to remove moisture therefrom and
to release heat to said airflow (f).
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a laundry dryer.
[0002] More in particular, the present invention relates to a
rotary-drum household laundry dryer to which the following
description refers purely by way of example without implying any
loss of generality.
[0003] As it is known, rotary-drum household laundry dryers
currently on the market generally comprise: a substantially
parallelepiped-shaped, outer boxlike casing structured for resting
on the floor; a substantially cylindrical rotatable drum which is
structured for housing the laundry to be dried and which is housed
in axially rotating manner inside the casing so to rotate about a
substantially horizontally-oriented longitudinal reference axis,
directly facing a laundry loading/unloading opening formed in the
front wall of the casing; a porthole door hinged to the front wall
of the casing to rotate to and from a closing position in which the
door rests completely against the front wall of the casing to close
the laundry loading/unloading opening and airtight seal the
rotatable drum; an electrically-powered motor assembly which is
housed inside the casing and is structured for driving into
rotation the rotatable drum about its longitudinal reference axis;
a closed-circuit, hot-air generator which is housed inside the
casing and is structured to circulate inside the rotatable drum a
stream of hot air which has a very low moisture content and flows
through the rotatable drum and over the laundry inside the drum to
rapidly dry the laundry; and finally an electronic central control
unit which controls both the motor assembly and the hot-air
generator to perform, on command, one of the user-selectable drying
cycles stored in the same central control unit.
[0004] In most of the rotary-drum household laundry dryers
currently on the market, the rotatable drum furthermore consists in
a substantially cylindrical, rigid tubular body which is generally
made of metal material and extends substantially horizontally
inside the boxlike casing, locally aligned to the laundry
loading/unloading opening. This rigid tubular body may be
furthermore structured for resting on a number of idle supporting
rollers which are arranged at the two axial ends of the tubular
body locally parallel to the drum longitudinal reference axis, and
are fixed to the boxlike casing in free revolving manner so as to
allow the tubular body to freely rotate about its
horizontally-oriented longitudinal reference axis. The circular
front rim of the tubular body surrounds the laundry
loading/unloading opening and is coupled in substantially airtight
and axially rotating manner to the front wall of the boxlike
casing; whereas the circular rear rim of the tubular body abuts
against the rear wall of the boxlike casing and is coupled in
substantially airtight and axially rotating manner directly to said
rear wall.
[0005] The closed-circuit, hot-air generator in turn comprises: an
air recirculating conduit which extends on the bottom of the
boxlike casing and has a first end directly connected to a first
air-vent realized in the rear wall of the boxlike casing, within
the perimeter of the rear rim of the tubular body, and a second end
directly connected to a second air-vent realized on the annular
frame that delimits the laundry loading/unloading opening on the
front wall of the appliance casing; and an electrically-powered
centrifugal fan which is located along the air recirculating
conduit and is structured to produce an airflow which flows in
closed loop through the air recirculating conduit and the rotatable
drum.
[0006] The stream of hot air produced by the hot-air generator
generally enters into the tubular body via the first air-vent
realized in the rear wall of the boxlike casing, flows inside the
tubular body for the entire length of the latter, and finally comes
out of the tubular body via the second air-vent realized on the
annular frame that delimits the laundry loading/unloading opening
on the front wall of the casing.
[0007] The closed-circuit, hot-air generator furthermore comprises:
an air-cooling device which is located along the air recirculating
conduit, and is structured to cool the moist air arriving from the
rotatable drum, so as to cause the condensation of the surplus
moisture inside the airflow; an air-heating device which is located
along the air recirculating conduit, downstream of the air-cooling
device, and which is structured for heating the dehumidified
airflow arriving from the air-cooling device and directed back to
the rotatable drum, so that the airflow directed back into the
rotatable drum is heated to a temperature preferably, though not
necessarily, higher than or equal to that of the moist air flowing
out of the same rotatable drum.
[0008] The closed-circuit, hot-air generator is finally provided
with an air-filtering member which is arranged along the air
recirculating conduit, upstream of the air-cooling device, to
prevent the fluff and/or lint particles from reaching and clogging
up the air-cooling device, the air-heating device and the
centrifugal fan.
[0009] In some of the rotary-drum household laundry dryers
currently on the market, the air-filtering member consists in a
substantially wedge-shaped filtering cartridge which is fitted in
removable manner into the air-vent realized on the annular frame
that delimits the laundry loading/unloading opening on the front
wall of the casing, so as to cover/close the whole air-vent. When
the porthole door is in the wide-opened position, the user is
allowed to manually extract the wedge-shaped filtering cartridge
from the air-vent realized on the annular frame that delimits the
laundry loading/unloading opening for periodical cleaning.
[0010] DE8437357U1 discloses a wedge-like air-filtering cartridge
for laundry driers which is dimensioned for being inserted/plugged
into the air-vent realized on the annular frame that delimits the
laundry loading/unloading opening, so as to cover/close the whole
air-vent, and is structured to restrain the fluff and/or lint
particles in suspension into the airflow. This air-filtering
cartridge basically consists in a substantially bag- or
pocket-shaped air-filtering rigid shell which has a substantially
V-shaped cross section and is dimensioned for being
inserted/plugged into the air-vent realized on the annular frame
that delimits the laundry loading/unloading opening, so as to
cover/close the whole air-vent.
[0011] The bag-shaped shell is furthermore divided into two
complementary valve-like pieces which are laterally hinged to one
another at the bottom of the bag- or pocket-shaped air-filtering
rigid shell, so that the rigid shell is openable in a book-like
manner; and each valve-like piece is provided with a substantially
flat, large permeable-to-air sidewall which is structured to
restrain the fluff and/or lint particles within the bag-shaped
rigid shell.
[0012] To improve the air filtering performances, in DE8437357U1
the wedge-like air-filtering cartridge furthermore comprises two
substantially flat, additional permeable-to-air panels, each of
which is structured to restrain the fluff and/or lint particles and
is hinged to the upper edge of a respective valve-like piece of the
bag- or pocket-shaped air-filtering shell, so as to be foldable
towards the inside of the bag- or pocket-shaped air-filtering shell
for covering the whole permeable-to-air sidewall of the same
valve-like piece, thus improving the air-filtering
capabilities.
[0013] Unluckily, periodical cleaning of the DE8437357U1 wedge-like
filtering cartridge is particularly unpleasant to the user because
the particular structure of the filtering cartridge allows the
fluff and/or lint particles to accumulate on faces of the
permeable-to-air sidewalls of the two valve-like pieces and of the
permeable-to-air panels hinged to the same valve-like pieces that
result to be placed on opposite sides when the filter in unfolded,
i.e. opened in a book-like manner, thus creating several problems
at opening of the filtering cartridge.
[0014] Aim of the present invention is to provide a laundry dryer
having an air-filtering cartridge which is easier to clean.
[0015] In compliance with the above aims, according to the present
invention there is provided a laundry dryer having an air-filtering
cartridge as claimed in claim 1 and preferably, though not
necessarily, in any one of the dependent claims.
[0016] A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will now
be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts removed for
clarity, of a rotary-drum household laundry dryer realized in
accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a section view of the FIG. 1 laundry dryer with
parts removed for clarity;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
air-filtering member of the FIG. 1 laundry dryer;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a section view of the FIG. 3 air-filtering
member;
[0021] FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show three partly-exploded perspective
views of the FIG. 3 air-filtering member;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
air-filtering member of the FIG. 1 laundry dryer;
[0023] FIG. 9 is a section view of the FIG. 8 air-filtering
member;
[0024] FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 show three partly-exploded perspective
views of the FIG. 8 air-filtering member.
[0025] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference number 1
indicates as a whole a rotary-drum household laundry dryer which
comprises: a preferably, though not necessarily,
parallelepiped-shaped, outer boxlike casing 2 which is structured
for resting on the floor and is provided with reciprocally-faced,
substantially vertically-oriented, front and rear walls 2a and 2b;
a substantially cylindrical rotatable drum 3 which is structured
for housing the laundry to be dried, and is fixed in axially
rotating manner inside the boxlike casing 2, directly facing a
laundry loading/unloading pass-through opening formed on the front
wall 2a of casing 2; and a porthole door 4 hinged to the front wall
2a of casing 2 so to be able to rotate about a preferably, though
not necessarily, vertically-oriented reference axis, to and from a
closing position in which the porthole door 4 rests completely
against the front wall 2a to close the laundry loading/unloading
opening and substantially airtight seal the rotatable drum 3.
[0026] Inside the boxlike casing 2, the laundry dryer 1
additionally comprises an electrically-powered motor assembly 5
which is structured for driving into rotation the rotatable drum 3
about its longitudinal reference axis; a closed-circuit, hot-air
generator 6 which is structured to circulate through the rotatable
drum 3 a stream of hot air having a low moisture level, and which
flows over and rapidly dries the laundry located inside the drum 3;
an electronic central control unit (not shown in the drawing)
controls the motor assembly 5, the hot-air generator 6 to perform,
on command, one of the user-selectable drying cycles preferably,
though not necessarily, stored in the same central control unit, a
further control unit 7 may be provided for controlling the
operation of the compressor 19.
[0027] With reference to FIG. 2, in particular, the rotatable drum
3 preferably consists in a substantially cylindrical-shaped, rigid
tubular body 3 which is preferably made of metal material and
extends inside the boxlike casing 2 coaxial to a preferably
substantially horizontally-oriented, longitudinal reference axis L
while remaining locally substantially aligned to the laundry
loading/unloading opening on the front wall 2a of the boxlike
casing 2. The substantially cylindrical-shaped, rigid tubular body
3 is furthermore preferably structured for resting on a number of
idle supporting rollers 8 which are arranged approximately at the
two axial ends of the tubular body 3 with their rotation axis
locally substantially parallel to the longitudinal reference axis L
of tubular body 3, and are fixed to the boxlike casing 2 in free
revolving manner so as to allow the tubular body 3 to freely rotate
about its longitudinal reference axis L inside the boxlike casing
2. Even if it is here described a drum supported by rotatable
rollers, it should be understood that the present invention covers
also an arrangement wherein the drum is supported by a shaft
mechanically connected to the drum rear wall, i.e. the wall
opposite to the drumfront wall which is provided with an opening
for loading/unloading laundry into/from the drum. Said shaft is
also provided to rotate the drum.
[0028] The circular front rim 3f of tubular body 3 surrounds the
laundry loading/unloading opening realized on the front wall 2a of
boxlike casing 2 and is coupled in substantially airtight and
axially rotating manner to the same front wall 2a, preferably with
the interposition of a first circular sealing gasket. The circular
rear rim 3r of tubular body 3 instead abuts against the rear wall
2b of boxlike casing 2 and is coupled in substantially airtight and
axially rotating manner directly to the same rear wall 2b with the
interposition of a second circular sealing gasket. Front and rear
circular sealing gaskets are therefore substantially coaxial to the
longitudinal reference axis L of tubular body 3.
[0029] The stream of hot air produced by the hot-air generator 6
preferably enters into tubular body 3 through the rear mouth of
tubular body 3, i.e. the mouth of tubular body 3 delimited by the
rear rim 3r, flows inside tubular body 3 for the entire length of
the latter, and finally comes out of tubular body 3 through the
front mouth of tubular body 3, i.e. the mouth of tubular body 3
delimited by the front rim 3f, or vice versa.
[0030] In other words, the stream of hot air produced by hot-air
generator 6 preferably enters into tubular body 3 via a first
air-vent 9 which is incorporated in the rear wall 2b of casing 2
locally aligned/faced to the rear mouth of tubular body 3, i.e.
within the perimeter of the rear rim 3r of tubular body 3, and
comes out of tubular body 3 via a second preferably substantially
slot-shaped, air-vent 10 which is preferably incorporated in the
annular frame that, on front wall 2a, delimits the laundry
loading/unloading opening of boxlike casing 2.
[0031] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hot-air generator 6 in
turn is structured for gradually drawing air from rotatable drum 3;
cooling down the air arriving from rotatable drum 3 so to extract
and retain the surplus moisture in the air drawn from rotatable
drum 3; heating the dehumidified air to a predetermined
temperature, normally higher than the temperature of the air from
rotatable drum 3; and finally feeding the heated, dehumidified air
back into the rotatable drum 3, where it flows over, to rapidly
dry, the laundry inside the drum.
[0032] In other words, hot-air generator 6 provides for continually
dehumidifying and heating the air circulating inside rotatable drum
3 to rapidly dry the laundry inside the drum, and basically
comprises: [0033] an air recirculating conduit 11 which has a first
end in direct communication with, i.e. fluidly connected to, the
air-vent 9 located in the rear wall 2b of casing 2, and a second
end in direct communication with, i.e. fluidly connected to, the
air-vent 10 preferably located in the annular frame that delimits
the laundry loading/unloading opening on front wall 2a; [0034] an
electrically-powered centrifugal fan 12 (part of its volume is
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) or other type of air circulating pump,
which is located along recirculating conduit 11 to produce, inside
recirculating conduit 11, an airflow f which flows through the
rotatable drum 3 and over the laundry inside drum 3; [0035] an
air-cooling device 13 which is located along the air recirculating
conduit 11 preferably, though not necessarily, upstream of the
centrifugal fan 12, and is structured to cool the moist air
arriving from rotatable drum 3, so as to cause the quick
condensation of the surplus moisture inside the airflow f; and
[0036] an air-heating device 14 which is located along the air
recirculating conduit 11, downstream of the air-cooling device 13
and preferably also upstream of the centrifugal fan 12, and which
is structured for heating the dehumidified airflow f arriving from
the air-cooling device 13 and directed back to rotatable drum 3, so
that the airflow f directed back into the rotatable drum 3 is
heated to a temperature preferably, though not necessarily, higher
than or equal to that of the moist air flowing out of the same
rotatable drum 3.
[0037] With reference to FIG. 2, the hot-air generator 6 lastly
comprises a preferably substantially wedge-shaped, air-filtering
cartridge 15 which is fitted in removable manner into the air-vent
10 preferably realized on the annular frame that delimits, on front
wall 2a, the laundry loading/unloading opening of casing 2. This
air-filtering cartridge 15 is dimensioned so as to cover/close the
whole air-vent 10, i.e. the entrance of air recirculating conduit
11, and it is structured to restrain the fluff and/or lint
particles in suspension into the airflow f so to prevent the same
fluff and/or lint particles from reaching and clogging up the
air-cooling device 13, the air-heating device 14 and the
centrifugal fan 12 located along the air recirculating conduit
11.
[0038] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the example shown, in
particular, the outer boxlike casing 2 preferably, though not
necessarily, comprises a substantially parallelepiped-shaped lower
supporting basement 16 which is structured for resting on the
floor; and a substantially parallelepiped-shaped upper boxlike
cabinet 17 which is rigidly fixed to the top of the lower
supporting basement 16 and it is structured so as to house the
rotatable drum 3.
[0039] In other words, the rotatable drum 3 extends inside the
upper boxlike cabinet 17, immediately above the supporting basement
16; the laundry loading/unloading opening of boxlike casing 2 is
realized in the front wall of the upper boxlike cabinet 17; and the
porthole door 4 is hinged to the front wall of the same upper
boxlike cabinet 17.
[0040] The lower supporting basement 16, in turn, is preferably,
though not necessarily, structured for internally housing a
central/intermediate section of air recirculating conduit 11, and
the air-cooling device 13, the air-heating device 14 and the
centrifugal fan 12 of hot-air generator 6 are preferably located
inside said central/intermediate section of the air recirculating
conduit 11. Thus the lower supporting basement 16 is preferably,
though not necessarily, structured for internally housing part of
the hot-air generator 6.
[0041] Preferably, though not necessarily, the lower supporting
basement 16 is moreover structured to directly support the
drum-supporting rollers 8. In other words, the idle rollers 8 that
support in free revolving manner the tubular body 3 are preferably
fixed in axially rotating manner directly to the top of the lower
supporting basement 16.
[0042] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hot-air generator 6
preferably, though not necessarily, consists in a heat-pump type,
closed-circuit, hot-air generator 6, and is therefore provided with
a heat-pump circuit 18 which comprises a first and a second
air/refrigerant heat exchanger, both located inside the air
recirculating conduit 11 preferably upstream of the centrifugal fan
12.
[0043] The first air/refrigerant heat exchanger, traditionally
referred to as the "evaporator" of the heat-pump circuit, is
located inside the air recirculating conduit 11, and it is
structured to remove/absorb heat from the airflow f arriving from
rotatable drum 3, thus forming the air-cooling device 13 of the
hot-air generator 6. The second air/refrigerant heat exchanger,
traditionally referred to as the "condenser" of the heat-pump
circuit, is instead located inside the air recirculating conduit 11
downstream of the first air/refrigerant heat exchanger 13, and it
is structured to release heat to the airflow f arriving from the
first air/refrigerant heat exchanger 13, thus forming the
air-heating device 14 of the hot-air generator 6.
[0044] In the example shown, in particular, the first and second
air/refrigerant heat exchangers 13 and 14 are recessed one after
the other inside the section of air recirculating conduit 11 which
is integrated into the lower supporting basement 16 of boxlike
casing 2.
[0045] In addition to the above, the heat-pump circuit 18
furthermore comprises: an electrically-powered refrigerant
compressing device 19 which is interposed between the
refrigerant-outlet of air/refrigerant heat exchanger 13 and the
refrigerant-inlet of air/refrigerant heat exchanger 14, and it is
structured for compressing the gaseous-state refrigerant directed
towards heat exchanger 14 so that refrigerant pressure and
temperature are much higher at the refrigerant-inlet of heat
exchanger 14 than at the refrigerant-outlet of heat exchanger 13;
and an expansion valve or similar known passive/operated
refrigerant expansion device (for example a capillary tube, a
thermostatic valve or an electrically-controlled expansion valve)
which is interposed between the refrigerant-outlet of
air/refrigerant heat exchanger 14 and the refrigerant-inlet of
air/refrigerant heat exchanger 13, and it is structured so as to
cause a rapid expansion of the refrigerant directed towards the
air/refrigerant heat exchanger 13, so that refrigerant pressure and
temperature are much higher at the refrigerant-outlet of heat
exchanger 14 than at the refrigerant-inlet of air/refrigerant heat
exchanger 13.
According to a different embodiment not shown, the hot air
generator 6 may comprise an electric heater as air-heating device
14 and an air-air type heat exchanger as air-cooling device 13,
where the airflow f is cooled by air taken from and exhausted to
the environment surrounding the laundry machine. An appropriate air
pumping device is further arranged to pump ambient air through the
air-air type heat exchanger.
[0046] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the centrifugal fan 12 of
hot-air generator 6, in turn, is preferably, though not
necessarily, located on the back of the supporting basement 16,
i.e. on the rear wall 2b of the boxlike casing 2, and it is
structured so as to produce an airflow f that flows from the
central/intermediate section of the air recirculating conduit 11 to
the air-vent 9 located in rear wall 2b of casing 2.
[0047] In the example shown, the centrifugal fan 12 of the hot-air
generator 6 is preferably at least partly housed/recessed into the
lower supporting basement 16 of casing 2, i.e. into the rear wall
2b of the boxlike casing 2, roughly at the end of the
central/intermediate section of the air recirculating conduit 11,
and the outer volute or impeller housing of the centrifugal fan 12
is shaped/structured so as to directly communicate with, i.e. be
fluidly connected to, both the central/intermediate section of the
air recirculating conduit 11 and with the air-vent 9 integrated in
the rear wall 2b of casing 2.
[0048] With reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, the air-filtering cartridge
15 in turn comprises: [0049] a first substantially bag- or
pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 20 which is
dimensioned for being inserted/plugged in manually extractable
manner into the air-vent 10 which is preferably realized on the
annular frame that delimits, on front wall 2a, the laundry
loading/unloading opening of casing 2, so as to substantially fill
up the whole clear section of the air-vent 10, and which is
preferably provided with two preferably substantially flat,
reciprocally-faced, permeable-to-air sidewalls 21 which are
structured to restrain the fluff and/or lint particles in
suspension into the airflow f that enters into the air
recirculating conduit 11 through the air-vent 10; and [0050] a
permeable-to-air, preferably substantially plate like-shaped, upper
lid 22 which is rigidly associated/fixed to the substantially
bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 20 so as to close the
upper mouth of the same air-filtering shell or vessel 20, and which
is furthermore shaped/dimensioned so as to close/cover the whole
air-vent 10.
[0051] In the example shown, the permeable-to-air sidewalls 21 of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 20 are preferably, though not
necessarily, substantially specularly inclined to a center-plane M
of the air-filtering shell or vessel 20, so that the air-filtering
shell or vessel 20 has a substantially V- or U-shaped
cross-section.
[0052] The substantially bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel
20 is furthermore divided into two complementary valve-like pieces
23a, 23b which are selectively separable to one another, and each
of which incorporates a respective permeable-to-air sidewall 21 of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 20. Preferably, the two
valve-like pieces 23a, 23b are furthermore laterally hinged to one
another approximately at the bottom of the air-filtering shell or
vessel 20, i.e. opposite to the permeable-to-air upper lid 22, for
reciprocal rotation about a transversal reference axis A which is
preferably substantially parallel to the permeable-to-air sidewalls
21 of the air-filtering shell or vessel 20, so that the whole
air-filtering shell or vessel 20 is openable in a book-like manner
about the same reference axis A.
[0053] With reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, in the example shown, the
two valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of the air-filtering shell or vessel
20 are preferably pivotally jointed to one another via a pair of
connecting hinges 24 which are aligned to reference axis A and are
located approximately on the bottom of the air-filtering shell or
vessel 20, i.e. opposite to the upper lid 22. Furthermore the
articulation axis of the two connecting hinges 24, i.e. the
rotation axis A of the two valve-like pieces 23a, 23b, preferably
substantially lies on the center-plane M of the air-filtering shell
or vessel 20, and further preferably, it extends transversally
relative to the direction of the airflow f passing through the
air-filtering cartridge 15.
[0054] With reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, similarly to the
air-filtering shell or vessel 20, the permeable-to-air upper lid 22
of the air-filtering cartridge 15 is preferably divided into two
permeable-to-air, complementary pieces 25 which are preferably
substantially plate-like shaped and selectively separable to one
another, and each of which is permanently rigidly fixed to a
respective valve-like piece 23a, 23b of the bag-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel 20, so as to allow the bag-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel 20 to open in a book-like manner.
[0055] Preferably, the permeable-to-air upper lid 22 furthermore
comprises a manually-operable snap-on locking mechanism 26 which is
structured for selectively rigidly anchoring/fixing the two
complementary pieces 25 to one another when they are reciprocally
coupled to form/compose the permeable-to-air upper lid 22, thus
preventing any unintended opening of the first air-filtering shell
or vessel 20.
[0056] In the example shown, the snap-on locking mechanism 26 is
preferably incorporated into the two complementary pieces 25 of the
permeable-to-air upper lid 22. Furthermore each substantially
complementary piece 25 of the permeable-to-air upper lid 22 is
preferably realized in one piece with a respective valve-like piece
23a, 23b of the bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0057] As an alternative, the permeable-to-air upper lid 22 of the
air-filtering cartridge 15 may be permanently rigidly
associated/fixed to one of the two valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 20, and be structured for
selectively couple in a rigid and stable, though easily releasable
manner to the edge of the other valve-like piece 23b, 23a of the
air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0058] With reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, the air-filtering cartridge
15 furthermore comprises a second substantially bag- or
pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 30 which is
fitted/recessed into the first substantially bag-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel 20, beneath the upper lid 22, so as
to be crossed by substantially the same airflow f that crosses the
first air-filtering shell or vessel 20. Similarly to the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20, the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 is furthermore preferably provided with two preferably
substantially flat, reciprocally-faced, permeable-to-air sidewalls
31, each of which is structured to restrain the fluff and/or lint
particles in suspension into the airflow f and is moreover locally
faced and superimposed to a respective permeable-to-air sidewall 21
of the air-filtering shell or vessel 20. According to the
invention, the airflow f, after having passed through the upper lid
22, passes first through the second substantially bag- or
pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 30 and then through
the first bag- or pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel
20.
[0059] With reference to FIG. 4, in the example shown, the
permeable-to-air sidewalls 31 of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 are preferably substantially specularly inclined to the
center-plane of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30, and
are also locally substantially parallel to corresponding
permeable-to-air sidewalls 21 of the air-filtering shell or vessel
20, so that the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 has a
substantially V- or U-shaped cross-section similar to that of the
first air-filtering shell or vessel 20. Preferably the center-plane
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is furthermore
locally substantially coincident to the center-plane M of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0060] Preferably, the permeable-to-air sidewalls 31 of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30 are furthermore structured to
restrain fluff and/or lint particles having lower dimensions than
those restrained by the permeable-to-air sidewalls 21 of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20. However, if preferred, the
permeable-to-air sidewalls 31 of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 may be structured to restrain fluff and/or lint particles
having greater or equal dimensions than those restrained by the
permeable-to-air sidewalls 21 of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 20.
[0061] With reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the second substantially
bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is furthermore divided
into two complementary valve-like pieces 32a, 32b which are
selectively separable to one another, and each of which
incorporates a respective permeable-to-air sidewall 31 of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30.
[0062] In other words, each of the two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is provided with a
preferably substantially flat, permeable-to-air sidewall 31 which
is structured to restrain fluff and/or lint particles, and it is
recessed into a corresponding valve-like piece 23a, 23b of the
first air-filtering shell or vessel 20, so that the outer face side
of permeable-to-air sidewall 31 provided on the same valve-like
piece 32a, 32b can cover substantially the whole inner face side
21a, 21b of permeable-to-air sidewall 21 provided on the
corresponding valve-like piece 23a, 23b of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 20.
[0063] A first valve-like piece 32a of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 30 is therefore recessed/fitted into a
corresponding first valve-like piece 23a of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 20, whereas the second/other valve-like piece 32b
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is recessed/fitted
into the remaining second/other valve-like piece 23b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0064] The two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b are furthermore laterally
hinged to one another approximately at the bottom of the
air-filtering shell or vessel 30, i.e. opposite to the
permeable-to-air upper lid 22 and close to the bottom of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20, for reciprocal rotation about a
transversal reference axis B which is substantially parallel and
adjacent to the rotation axis A of the two valve-like pieces 23a,
23b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20, so that the
whole second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is openable in a
book-like manner about the reference axis B. However, as it will be
described in greater detail below, when the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 30 is in the position shown in FIG. 5, i.e. it is
still fitted/recessed into the first air-filtering shell or vessel
20 after the latter has been opened in a book-like manner, the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is prevented from being
opened in book-like manner.
[0065] With reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, in the example shown, the
two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 are preferably pivotally jointed to one another via a
pair of connecting hinges 33 which are aligned to reference axis B
and are located substantially on the bottom of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30, i.e. opposite to the upper lid 22
and close to the bottom of the first air-filtering shell or vessel
20.
[0066] Furthermore, the articulation axis of the two connecting
hinges 33, i.e. the rotation axis B of the two valve-like pieces
32a, 32b, preferably substantially lies on the center-plane of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 which in turn is preferably
locally substantially coincident to the center-plane M of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0067] With reference to FIG. 7, the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 is preferably furthermore provided with a snap-on locking
mechanism 34 which is structured for selectively rigidly
anchoring/fixing the two complementary valve-like pieces 32a, 32b
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 to one another when
the same valve-like pieces 32a, 32b are reciprocally coupled to
form/compose the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30, thus
preventing any unintended opening of the second air-filtering shell
or vessel 30.
[0068] With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, one of the two valve-like
pieces 32a, 32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is
furthermore hinged to one of the two valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of
the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20, so as to allow the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 to open, when the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20 is opened in a book-like manner
(see FIG. 7), in a similar book-like manner with the inner faces
31a, 31b of the two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b oriented upwards
alike the inner faces 21a, 21b of the two valve-like pieces 23a,
23b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0069] Preferably, one of the two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is hinged to one of the two
valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 20 so as to keep the other valve-like piece 32b, 32a of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 placed between the valve
piece 32a, 32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 and
the valve piece 23a, 23b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel
20 that are reciprocally hinged to one another. In the example
shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the valve piece 32a of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is hinged to the valve-like piece
23b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20 while the valve
piece 32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 remains
placed between the two hingedly coupled valve pieces 23b, 32a of
the first and second air-filtering shells or vessels 20, 30,
respectively (FIG. 5). With such arrangement, the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is prevented from being opened in
book-like manner when it is kept fitted/recessed into the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20 and the latter is opened in a
book-like manner. In this way a user can carry out a selective
removal of fluff and/or lint particles retrained by the
air-filtering shells or vessels 20, 30.
[0070] The upper edge of a first valve-like piece 32a of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is hinged, roughly immediately
beneath the permeable-to-air upper lid 22, to the second valve-like
piece 23b of the air-filtering shell or vessel 20 that houses the
second/other valve-like piece 32b of the same second air-filtering
shell or vessel 30, or to the complementary piece 25 of the upper
lid 22 fixed/associated to the second valve-like piece 23b of the
air-filtering shell or vessel 20 that houses the second/other
valve-like piece 32b of the same second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30, such that the latter is manually rotatable with respect
to said second valve-like piece 23b about a reference axis C. Axis
C is spaced and substantially parallel to rotation axis A of the
valve-like pieces 23a, 23b and/or to rotation axis B of the
valve-like pieces 32a, 32b, and second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 is rotatable about the axis C between [0071] a first
position (see FIGS. 4 and 5) in which the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 30 rests/extends on the second valve-like piece 23b
of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20 that houses the
second/other valve-like piece 32b of the second air-filtering shell
or vessel 30, with the second/other valve-like piece 32b recessed
into the same second valve-like piece 23b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20 and with the first valve-like
piece 32a of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 holding
the second/other valve-like piece 32b in abutment against the
second valve-like piece 23b of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 20; and [0072] a second position (see FIGS. 6 and 7) in
which the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is overturned
outside the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20, beyond the
permeable-to-air upper lid 22, so that both valve-like pieces 32a,
32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 are spaced apart
from the corresponding valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0073] When the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is arranged
in the first position (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the first valve-like
piece 32a of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 therefore
keeps the second/other valve-like piece 32b of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30 folded up against to the second
valve-like piece 23b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20,
thus preventing the two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30 from opening in book like manner
even if the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20 is opened in a
book like manner.
[0074] When the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is arranged
in the second position (see FIGS. 6 and 7), instead, the valve-like
pieces 32a, 32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 are
spaced apart from the corresponding valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of
the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20 and they can freely
rotate about reference axis B, thus allowing the user to open the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 in book like manner, beside
the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0075] When the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is arranged
in the first position (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the outer face side of
the permeable-to-air sidewall 31 provided on the second/other
valve-like piece 32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30
is arranged substantially in a position which is faced and
superimposed to the inner face side 21b of the permeable-to-air
sidewall 21 provided on the second valve-like piece 23b of the
first air-filtering shell or vessel 20 so as to cover the same
inner face side 21b of the permeable-to-air sidewall 21.
[0076] With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, in the example shown, the
first valve-like piece 32a of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30 is preferably provided with two substantially L-shaped
connecting arms 35, which protrude upwards from respective opposite
ends of the upper edge of the first valve-like piece 32a of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 while remaining locally
substantially reciprocally faced to one another, and have their
distal ends pivotally jointed preferably to the complementary piece
25 of the upper lid 22 which is directly fixed/associated to the
second valve-like piece 23b of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 20, so that the whole second air-filtering shell or vessel
30 is allowed to freely rotate with respect to the same piece 25 of
the permeable-to-air upper lid 22 about the rotation axis C.
[0077] The first and second air-filtering shells or vessels 20, 30
may be permanently hinged one to the other so as to form an
inseparable, unitary body. However, if desired, the hinge
connection between the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 and
one of the valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 20 may be arranged to be easily releasable so as to
allow a user to detach the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30
from first air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
[0078] With reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, in the inner face side of
one valve-like piece 32a of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 30, a spacer 40 may be provided to keep valve-like pieces
32a, 32b spaced one another at a predetermined distance when the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is in a closed position,
i.e. the two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b are coupled. The spacer 40
allows the valve-like pieces 32a, 32b to be pressed against the
valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 20 to eliminate or reduce the possibility that the airflow f
can flow between the first and second air-filtering shells or
vessels 20, 30 rather than through the second air-filtering shell
or vessel 30 first. On the outer face sides of each valve-like
piece 32a, 32b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30, a
further spacer 41, 42 may be provided to keep valve-like pieces
32a, 32b spaced at a predetermined distance from the valve-like
pieces 23a, 23b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20 when
the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is fitted/recessed into
the first air-filtering shell or vessel 20. Spacers 41, 42
cooperate with spacer 40 to keep the valve-like pieces 32a, 32b
pressed against the valve-like pieces 23a, 23b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 20.
The spacer 40 provided in the inner face side of one valve-like
piece 32a of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 30 is
preferably arranged in a top portion of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 30, i.e. close to the upper lid 22. Spacers 41, 42
are preferably arranged in a bottom region of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 30, i.e. close to the rotation axis B
of the two valve-like pieces 32a, 32b.
[0079] With reference to FIGS. 8 to 12, according to an alternative
embodiment, the air-filtering cartridge 15 comprises: [0080] a
first substantially bag- or pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or
vessel 120 which is dimensioned for being inserted/plugged in
manually extractable manner into the air-vent 10 which is
preferably realized on the annular frame that delimits, on front
wall 2a, the laundry loading/unloading opening of casing 2, so as
to substantially fill up the whole clear section of the air-vent
10, and which is preferably provided with two preferably
substantially flat, reciprocally-faced, permeable-to-air sidewalls
121 which are structured to restrain the fluff and/or lint
particles in suspension into the airflow f that enters into the air
recirculating conduit 11 through the air-vent 10; and [0081] a
permeable-to-air, preferably substantially plate like-shaped, upper
lid 122 which is rigidly associated/fixed to the substantially
bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 120 so as to close the
upper mouth of the air-filtering shell or vessel 120, and which is
furthermore shaped/dimensioned so as to close/cover the whole
air-vent 10.
[0082] In the example shown, the permeable-to-air sidewalls 121 of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 120 are preferably, though not
necessarily, substantially specularly inclined to a center-plane N
of the air-filtering shell or vessel 120, so that the air-filtering
shell or vessel 120 has a substantially V- or U-shaped
cross-section.
[0083] The substantially bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel
120 is furthermore divided into two complementary valve-like pieces
123a, 123b which are selectively separable to one another, and each
of which incorporates a respective permeable-to-air sidewall 121 of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 120. Preferably, the two
valve-like pieces 123a, 123b are furthermore laterally hinged to
one another approximately at the bottom of the air-filtering shell
or vessel 120, i.e. opposite to the permeable-to-air upper lid 122,
for reciprocal rotation about a transversal reference axis D, so
that the whole first air-filtering shell or vessel 120 is openable
in a book-like manner about the same reference axis D.
[0084] With reference to FIGS. 8 to 12, in the example shown, the
two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the air-filtering shell or
vessel 120 are preferably pivotally jointed to one another via a
pair of connecting hinges 124 which are aligned to reference axis D
and are located approximately on the bottom of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, i.e. opposite to the upper lid
122. Furthermore the articulation axis of the two connecting hinges
124, i.e. the rotation axis D of the two valve-like pieces 123a,
123b, preferably substantially lies on the center-plane N of the
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, and further preferably, it
extends transversally relative to the direction of the airflow f
passing through the air-filtering cartridge 15.
[0085] With reference to FIGS. 8 to 12, similarly to the
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, the permeable-to-air upper lid
122 of the air-filtering cartridge 15 is preferably divided into
two permeable-to-air, complementary pieces 125 which are preferably
substantially plate like shaped and selectively separable to one
another, and each of which is permanently rigidly fixed to a
respective valve-like piece 123a, 123b of the bag-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, so as to allow the same
air-filtering shell or vessel 120 to open in a book-like
manner.
[0086] Preferably, the permeable-to-air upper lid 122 furthermore
comprises a manually-operable snap-on locking mechanism 126 which
is structured for selectively rigidly anchoring/fixing the two
complementary pieces 125 to one another when they are reciprocally
coupled to form/compose the permeable-to-air upper lid 122, thus
preventing any unintended opening of the first air-filtering shell
or vessel 120.
[0087] In the example shown, the snap-on locking mechanism 126 is
preferably incorporated into the two complementary pieces 125 of
the permeable-to-air upper lid 122. Furthermore each complementary
piece 125 of the permeable-to-air upper lid 122 is preferably
realized in one piece with a respective valve-like piece 123a, 123b
of the bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0088] As an alternative, the permeable-to-air upper lid 122 of the
air-filtering cartridge 15 may be permanently rigidly
associated/fixed to one of the two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 120, and be structured for
selectively couple in a rigid and stable, though easily releasable
manner to the edge of the other valve-like piece 123b, 123a of the
same air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0089] With reference to FIGS. 8 to 12, the air-filtering cartridge
15 furthermore comprises a second substantially bag- or
pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 130 which is
fitted/recessed into the first substantially bag-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, beneath the permeable-to-air
upper lid 122, so as to be crossed by substantially the same
airflow f that crosses the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
Similarly to the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120, the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is preferably provided
with two preferably substantially flat, reciprocally-faced,
permeable-to-air sidewalls 131, each of which is structured to
restrain the fluff and/or lint particles in suspension into the
airflow f and is moreover locally faced and superimposed to a
respective permeable-to-air sidewall 121 of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 120. According to the invention, the airflow f,
after having passed through the upper lid 122, passes first through
the second substantially bag- or pocket-shaped, air-filtering shell
or vessel 130 and then through the first bag- or pocket-shaped,
air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0090] With reference to FIG. 8, in the example shown, the
substantially flat, reciprocally-faced, permeable-to-air sidewalls
131 of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 are preferably
substantially specularly inclined to the center-plane of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130, so that also the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 has a substantially V- or
U-shaped cross-section. Preferably the center-plane of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is furthermore locally
substantially coincident to the center-plane N of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0091] Preferably, the permeable-to-air sidewalls 131 of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 are furthermore structured to
restrain fluff and/or lint particles having lower dimensions than
that restrained by the permeable-to-air sidewalls 121 of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120. However, if preferred, the
permeable-to-air sidewalls 131 of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130 may be structured to restrain fluff and/or lint
particles having greater or equal dimensions than those restrained
by the permeable-to-air sidewalls 121 of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 120.
[0092] With reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, the second
substantially bag-shaped, air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is
furthermore divided into two complementary valve-like pieces 132a,
132b which are selectively separable to one another, and each of
which incorporates a respective permeable-to-air sidewall 131 of
the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130.
[0093] In other words, each of the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is provided with a
preferably substantially flat, permeable-to-air sidewall 131 which
is structured to restrain fluff and/or lint particles, and it is
recessed into a corresponding valve-like piece 123a, 123b of the
first air-filtering shell or vessel 120 so that the outer face side
of permeable-to-air sidewall 131 provided on the same valve-like
piece 132a, 132b can cover substantially the whole inner face side
121a, 121b of permeable-to-air sidewall 121 provided on the
corresponding valve-like piece 123a, 123b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0094] A first valve-like piece 132a of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 130 is therefore recessed/fitted into a
corresponding first valve-like piece 123a of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, whereas the second/other
valve-like piece 132b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel
130 is recessed/fitted into the remaining second valve-like piece
123b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0095] The two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 are furthermore laterally hinged
to one another approximately at the bottom of the air-filtering
shell or vessel 130, i.e. opposite to the permeable-to-air upper
lid 122 and close to the bottom of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 120, for reciprocal rotation about a transversal reference
axis E which is substantially parallel and adjacent to the rotation
axis D of the two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, so that the whole second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is openable in a book-like manner
about the reference axis E.
[0096] With reference to FIGS. 9, 11 and 12, in the example shown,
the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 130 are preferably pivotally jointed to one another
via a pair of connecting hinges 133 which are aligned to reference
axis E and are located approximately on the bottom of the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130, i.e. opposite to the upper lid
122 and close to the bottom of the first air-filtering shell or
vessel 120.
[0097] Furthermore, the articulation axis of the two connecting
hinges 133, i.e. the rotation axis E of the two valve-like pieces
132a, 132b, preferably substantially lies on the center-plane N of
the air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0098] Preferably, the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 may
be furthermore provided with a snap-on locking mechanism (not shown
in the Figures) which is structured for selectively rigidly
anchoring/fixing the two complementary valve-like pieces 132a, 132b
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 to one another when
the same valve-like pieces 132a, 132b are reciprocally coupled to
form/compose the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130, thus
preventing any unintended opening of the second air-filtering shell
or vessel 130.
[0099] With reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, one of the two
valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130 is furthermore hinged, preferably in a stable though
easily releasable/detachable manner, to one of the two valve-like
pieces 123a, 123b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120,
so as to allow the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 to
open, when the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120 is opened in
a book-like manner, in a similar book-like manner with the inner
faces 131a of the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b oriented upwards
alike the inner faces 121a of the two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b
of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120. However, if
preferred, the first and second air-filtering shells or vessels
120, 130 may be permanently hinged one to the other so as to form
an inseparable, unitary body.
[0100] Preferably, one of the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of
the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is hinged to one of
the two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 120 so as to keep the other valve-like piece 132b,
132a of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 placed between
the valve piece 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130 and the valve piece 123a, 123b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120 that are reciprocally hinged to
one another.
[0101] More specifically, one of the two valve-like pieces 132a,
132b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is hinged,
preferably in a stable though easily releasable/detachable manner,
to one of the two valve-like pieces 123 of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 120 approximately at the bottom of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, so that the two valve-like
pieces 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130
are allowed, when the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120 is
opened in book-like manner, to freely rotate about their reference
axis E on said valve-like piece 123 so as to open the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 in book-like manner immediately
above the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0102] In other words, one of the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b
of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is hinged,
preferably in a stable though easily releasable/detachable manner,
to one of the two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120 approximately at the bottom of
the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120, so that the two
valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130 are allowed to freely rotate, when the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120 is opened in a book-like manner,
on the same valve-like piece 123a, 123b about a common rotation
axis which is locally substantially coincident to rotation axis E,
so that the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is allowed to
open in a book-like manner immediately above and inside the
perimeter of (see FIG. 11) the first air-filtering shell or vessel
120.
[0103] With reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, the connecting hinges
133 on the bottom of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130
are preferably pivotally jointed, in a stable though easily
releasable/removable manner, to one of the two valve-like pieces
123a, 123b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120, close to
the bottom of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120. Thus,
when the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120 is opened in a
book-like manner, the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 are allowed to freely
rotate on the valve-like piece 123a, 123b of the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120 about the rotation axis E.
[0104] With reference to FIG. 12, in the example shown one of the
two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first air-filtering shell
or vessel 120 is preferably provided, close to the bottom of the
first air-filtering shell or vessel 120, with two
reciprocally-faced protruding pins 135 that extend coaxial to a
reference axis D' locally substantially parallel to rotation axis D
of the two valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 120; and the connecting hinges 133 on the bottom of
the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 are each structured to
fit in a rotatable and stable, though easily removable/releasable
manner, on a respective protruding pins 135 of the valve-like piece
123 of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120.
[0105] When connecting hinges 133 of the second air-filtering shell
or vessel 130 are fitted to the protruding pins 135 on the first
air-filtering shell or vessel 120, rotation axis E of the two
valve-like pieces 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130 coincides with the reference axis D' of the protruding
pins 135.
[0106] With reference to FIGS. 9 to 12, in the inner face side of
one valve-like piece 132a of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130, a spacer 140 may be provided to keep valve-like pieces
132a, 132b spaced one another at a predetermined distance when the
second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is in a closed position,
i.e. the two valve-like pieces 132a, 132b are coupled. The spacer
140 allows the valve-like pieces 132a, 132b to be pressed against
the valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first air-filtering shell
or vessel 120 to eliminate or reduce the possibility that the
airflow f can flow between the first and second air-filtering
shells or vessels 120, 130 rather than through the second
air-filtering shell or vessel 130 first. On the outer face sides of
each valve-like piece 132a, 132b of the second air-filtering shell
or vessel 130, a further spacer 141, 142 may be provided to keep
valve-like pieces 132a, 132b spaced at a predetermined distance
from the valve-like pieces 123a, 123b of the first air-filtering
shell or vessel 120 when the second air-filtering shell or vessel
130 is fitted/recessed into the first air-filtering shell or vessel
120. Spacers 141, 142 cooperate with spacer 140 to keep the
valve-like pieces 132a, 132b pressed against the valve-like pieces
123a, 123b of the first air-filtering shell or vessel 120. The
spacer 140 provided in the inner face side of one valve-like piece
132a of the second air-filtering shell or vessel 130 is preferably
arranged in a top portion of the second air-filtering shell or
vessel 130, i.e. close to the upper lid 122. Spacers 141, 142 are
preferably arranged in a bottom region of the second air-filtering
shell or vessel 130, i.e. close to the rotation axis B of the two
valve-like pieces 132a, 132b.
[0107] General operation of the rotary-drum household laundry drier
1 is clearly inferable from the above description, with no further
explanation required.
[0108] The advantages connected to the particular structure of the
air-filtering cartridge 15 are large in number.
[0109] In the air-filtering cartridge 15, in fact, the fluff and/or
lint particles tends to accumulate/settle on the inner faces 21a,
21b, 31a, 31b; 121a, 121b, 131a, 131b of the valve-like pieces 23a,
23b, 32a, 32b; 123a, 123b, 132a, 132b of the first and second
air-filtering shell or vessels 20, 120 and 30, 130, which are all
oriented upwards when the first and second air-filtering shell or
vessels 20, 120 and 30, 130 are wide opened in book-like manner.
Thus the fluff and/or lint particles remains inside/above both
first and second air-filtering shells or vessels 20, 120 and 30,
130 when the user disassembles/opens the air-filtering cartridge 15
for periodical cleaning, greatly simplifying such operation.
[0110] Clearly, changes may be made to the rotary-drum household
laundry drier 1 as described herein without, however, departing
from the scope of the present invention.
[0111] For example, the air-cooling device 13 of hot-air generator
6 may comprise an air/air heat exchanger which is located inside
the air recirculating conduit 11, preferably upstream of the
centrifugal fan 12, and is structured for using the external fresh
air to cool down the airflow f arriving from rotatable drum 3;
whereas the air-heating device 14 of hot-air generator 6 may
consists in a resistor which is located inside the air
recirculating conduit 11, downstream of the air/air heat exchanger
and preferably also downstream of centrifugal fan 12.
* * * * *