US 4,300,293 AGranted

Belt tensioning assembly for a clothes dryer

AssigneeCanadian Appliance Manufacturing Company Limited

InventorVictor Gladysz

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Abstract

A belt tensioning assembling for use in a clothes dryer positions a drive belt in tensioned relation about a rotatable drum and a drive pulley mounted within the dryer housing. The belt tensioning assembly includes an idler pulley and a resilient mounting bar. The mounting bar is preferably pre-stressed to maintain the belt in aligned tensioned relation about the pulleys. The mounting bar includes a torsion arm member, a moment arm member, and a cantilevered positioning arm member onto which the idler pulley is rotatably mounted. The moment member joins one end of the positioning member to one end of the torsion member. The torsion member is secured in positioned load transfer relation with the housing. This locates the positioning member in predetermined spaced relation to the main axis of the drive pulley so that the idler pulley may be mounted thereon. Once mounted, the idler pulley may be moved to receive the belt thereover so as to provide tension thereto. In this position the idler pulley and drive pulley are substantially positioned in mutually aligned and parallel relation. Previous belt tensioning assemblies include mounting supports for the idler pulley having many separate components taking on a relatively more complex and expensive construction than that of the mounting bar of the present assembly.

Claims10

Dependent claims

In a clothes dryer employing a belt tensioning assembly for positioning a drive belt in tensioned relation about a rotatable drum and a drive pulley mounted within the housing of the dryer, said belt tensioning assembly comprising:

an idler pulley operable in guiding and tensioning relation with said belt;
a resilient mounting bar including a cantilevered positioning arm member onto which said idler pulley is rotatably mounted, a moment arm member connecting one end of said positioning member to one end of a torsion arm member, said moment arm member being connected in torque imposing relation with said torsion arm member, and a cantilevered anchor member inclined from said torsion member at an end opposite the one end of the torsion member in torque restraining relation thereto;
anchor means securing said torsion member and said anchor member in positioned load transfer relation with said housing to locate said positioning member in predetermined spaced relation to the main axis of said drive pulley, for mounting said idler pulley thereon, whereby upon displacement of said idler pulley towards said drive pulley to receive said belt in tensioned supported relation over said idler pulley, said idler pulley is substantially positioned in mutually aligned and parallel relation with said drive pulley;
and
said mounting bar is pre-stressed to maintain said belt in aligned tensioned relation about said pulleys.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.