GB2105450A - Laundry dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A laundry drier is provided with a condensing unit connected via a conduit to a condensate receiver 5. Receiver 5 is removably mounted within the drier and is located behind door 7 which is spring-loaded to open and which is securable by mechanical means 12 forming part of a mechanism 9. A device 8 for triggering release of the door locking mechanism 9 is connected to and is operable by the same press button switch 10 as operates the main loading door 3 of the drier. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Laundry drier This invention relates to a laundry drier.

In laundry driers having a condensate receiver, the condensate receiver is, as a rule, installed at the front of the drier in the region of the control panel, in a manner permitting it to be removed like a drawer. A disadvantage of this installation is that the front panel of the drawer, which must certainly possess a grip recess for the purpose of removing the receiver, exerts a discordant influence on the aesthetic appearance of the control panel.

Moreover, although the condenste receiver can be removed from the casing of the drier only after having overcome some resistance, it can still, however, be removed while the drying process is in operation, thereby giving rise to the disadvantage that the programmed control unit immediately switches the drying programme to the cold phase.

An object of the present invention is to provide a laundry drier having a condensate receiver, which does not possess the disadvantages indicated above.

According to the present invention there is provided a laundry drier having a condensing unit connected via conduit to a condensate receiver which is located in the casing of the drier and is removable at the front of the drier, a front control panel and a lockable front loading door which door is unlockable by means of a press-button switch located in the front control panel, characterised in that the condensate receiver is located behind a condensate-receiver door which is closable against spring pressure and is mchanically locked with its front flush with the control panel, and a device for triggering release of the door locking mechanism is connected to and operable by the press-button switch for unlocking the loading door.

In accordance with the present invention, whenever the press-button switch in the front control panel is operated, with the intention of opening the loading door, the closed door in the control panel springs open, under the influence of a spring force, and signals the person operating the drier that the condensate receiver must be emptied. If the condensate receiver is made of a transparent plastic, the level of water present in the condensate receiver can also be seen at the same time. This visual perception, and the need to close the door in the control panel again, ensures that the person operating the drier empties the condensate receiver after every drying operation.

Accordingly the present invention provides a visual attention-getter. If appropriate an acoustic attention-getter could be provided operating in parallel with the visual attention-getter.

Furthermore, the visual and, if appropriate, acoustic attention-getters may be rendered inoperative, on the spot by a latch level fitted to the drier, if the condensate is led directly, via a drain hose, into the public drainage system.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:~ Figure 1 shows a laundry drier, seen from the side, in a sectioned representation.

Figure 2 shows the laundry drier, in front view, only the region of the control panel being represented, in a partially cut-open manner.

According to the drawings, the laundry drier possesses a front loading door 3, which is secured, in the closed position, by means of a latch catch, which is not represented, but which can be unlocked mechanically via a press-button switch 10 in the control panel 6. A condensing unit, which is not represented, is located beneath the drying drum 4, this unit removing the moisture during the dyring process from the stream of drying air which is circulated within a closed circuit. The condensate, formed during this process, is fed, by means of a pump via a hose line, to the condensate receiver 5, which is located above the drying drum 4, the limited capacity of this condensate receiver resulting in a need to empty it after each drying operation.For this purpose, the condensate receiver 5 is installed, in the region of the control panel 6, in a manner permitting it to be removed from the casing of the drier, at the front.

According to the invention, the condensate receiver 5 is located behind a door 7 which can be closed against spring pressure and can be mechanically locked with its front flush with the control panel 6, the device 8 for triggering the door locking mechanism 9 being connected to the press-button switch 10 for unlocking the loading door 3. The door 7 is mounted on hinges 11, a torsion spring, which is known per se and is not represented, being inserted in the region of the hinges, this spring continuously pressing the door 7 towards the open position.The door 7 itself is designed so that it is completely smooth on its front surface, and is preferably provided, on the side opposite the hinges, with a spring-loaded locking latch 12, which is let into the door, or is fitted behind the door, this latch engaging, in the closed position, into a recess 13 in the end face of the control panel 6, or engaging behind this panel.

From the outside, the locking latch 12 can be moved out of the recess 13, which holds it in the locking position, only by means of the pressbuttton switch 10. This movement can be effected by means of an arrangement whereby the pressbutton switch 10 actuates an elecric switch, which is not represented, which applies a voltage to a solenoid, a bi-metallic device, or the like, which moves the locking latch 12 out of the recess 13, against the spring force which is applied to the latch. As soon as the locking latch 12 no longer engages into the recess 13, the door 7, which was closed, at the same time overcoming a spring force, springs open, and the condensate receiver 5 can be removed through the aperture thus opened.In order to enable the door 7 to be unlocked even when the mains plug has been pulled out, the locking latch 12 is triggered, from the press-button switch, exclusively by mechanical means. As represented in Figure 2, the triggering device 8 can consist of a linkmechanism, similar to the triggering device 14, which triggers the locking of the loading door 3.

The triggering device 8 can, of course, also be formed by a lever, a slide, or the like. In principle, all mechanical means are suitable, which are capable of transmitting the pressure exerted on the press button switch 10 by the person operating the drier, and of transmitting the shift-throw, which is preset by the press-button switch, to the door locking mechanism 9.

In a further development of the invention, a locking lever 16 is provided, either on the casing of the machine, in the region of the control panel 6, or on the door 7 itself, this locking lever being in the form of a drop-lever, a slider, or the like, and being capable of being thrown over manually, from the outside, via the door gap 15, while the door 7 is closed, and engaging into a corresponding recess in the door 7, or in the casing of the machine, in the region of the control panel 6, or engaging behind the casing.This locking lever 16 is then thrown over, by means of a screwdriver, or some other narrow object, via the door gap 15, and is brought into its locking position 17, which is represented by a broken line, when the condensate, forming during the drying process, is not to be fed to the condensate receiver 5, but is to be fed, via a changeover device, to a drain hose which is connected to the public drainage system. In this case, the door 7 then remains permanently closed, even when the door locking mechanism 9 is unlocked during the operation of opening the loading door 3 by means of the press-button switch 10.

A door 7, of this type, can, of course, also be successfully fitted in front of a drawer which is installed in the control panel 6 of a washing machine, for the purpose of flushing-in the washing agent. In this location as well, a smooth surface would be provided, and the control panel would thus be endowed with an attractive appearance.

Claims (4)

1. A laundry drier having a condensing unit connected via a conduit to a condensate receiver which is located in the casing of a drier, and is removable at the front of the drier, a front control panel and a lockable front loading door which door is unlockable by means of a press-button switch located in the front control panel, characterised in that the condensate receiver is located behind a condensate-receiver which is closable against spring pressure and is mechanically locked with its front flush with the control panel, and a device for triggering release of tne door locking mechanism is connected to and operable by the press-button switch for unlocking the loading door.

2. A laundry drier according to Claim 1, characterised in that unlocking of the condensatereceiver door is effected exclusively by mechanical means.

3. A laundry drier according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that a locking lever is provided behind the condensate-receiver door, either on the casing of the drier or on the door itself, and being capable of being actuated manually, from outside the drier, via the door gap, while the condensatereceiver door is closed, the lever engaging into a corresponding recess in the door or in the casing of the drier, or engaging behind the casing.

4. A laundry drier as claimed in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.