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US 4,095,349 AGranted
Heat exchanger for clothes dryer
OwnerCharles L. Parkerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The lint and moisture laden hot exhaust gases from a commercial laundry dryer are caused to pass, in a non-obstructed manner through a heat exchange unit through which ambient air is drawn and pre-heated before being introduced to the heating unit of the dryer, thereby effecting a substantial savings in fuel.
Claims20
A heat exchanger which utilizes lint and moisture laden hot exhaust gaseous media from a clothes dryer to preheat a portion of the ambient air introduced into a dryer in advance of the heating unit of a dryer, the heat exchanger comprising:
- a housing having a first set of inlet and outlet ports for hot exhaust gaseous media and a second set of inlet and outlet ports for the ambient air, wherein the ports of the first set are disposed at substantial right angles with respect to the ports of the second set;
- a plurality of flat, rectangular plates within the housing disposed in facially opposed spaced relationship, each plate having spacer means on a pair of opposite side edges thereof, said spacer means covering essentially the entire extent of said opposite side edges, said spacer means each having an abutting means thereon engaging the surface of an adjacent plate for essentially the entire extent of that adjacent plate to define a plurality of first flow channels between said spacer means, spacer means on said adjacent plate abutting a further adjacent plate to form a plurality of second flow channels, said adjacent plates being oriented with regard to each other so that said each plate spacer means are at essentially right angles with said adjacent plate spacer means and said second flow channels are oriented at essentially right angles with regard to said first flow channels, said first flow channels being in fluid communication with the first set of inlet and outlet ports, said second flow channels being in fluid communication with the said second set of inlet and outlet ports,
- hot exhaust gaseous media passing through the first passageways being completely isolated from air passing through the second passageways;
- plate mounting means on said housing for releasably receiving each of said plates;
- and
- an access means on said housing for inserting and removing individual plates into and from said housing.
3 more elements
A heat-exchange unit comprising a housing having two sets of inlet and outlet ports therein;
- a plurality of flat, rectangular plates disposed in said housing in facially opposed spaced relationship, each plate having spacer means on a pair of opposite side edges thereof, said spacer means covering essentially the entire extent of said opposite side edges, said spacer means each having an abutting means thereon engaging the surface of an adjacent plate for essentially the entire extent of that adjacent plate, spacer means on said adjacent plate abutting a further adjacent plate, said adjacent plates being oriented with regard to each other so that said each plate spacer means are at essentially right angles with said adjacent plate spacer means thereby providing a plurality of sets of first passageways closed along their respective side edges and open along their respective upper and lower edges, and a plurality of sets of second passageways closed along their respective upper and lower edges and open along their respective side edges, said first and second passageways being oriented at essentially right angles with respect to each other;
- wherein the open ends of the first passageways are disposed in fluid communication with one set of the inlet and outlet ports in the housing;
- wherein the open ends of the second passageways are in fluid communication with the other sets of inlet and outlet ports in the housing;
- and wherein the interiors of the first and second sets of passageways and their respective inlet and outlet ports are completely isolated from one another;
- plate mounting means on said housing for releasably receiving each of said plates;
- and an access means on said housing for inserting and removing individual plates into and from said housing.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.