US 8,256,137 B2Granted

Determining clog steam generator tank filter laundry drier, and apparatus

AssigneeElectrolux Home Products, Inc.

InventorsFlavio Noviello, Gennaro Napolitano, Mirko Cenedese, Roberto Ragogna

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A home laundry drier (1) having a revolving drum (5) for housing the laundry to be dried, a hot-air generator (7) for circulating a stream of hot air inside the drum (5), and a steam generator (17) for feeding steam into the drum (5); the steam generator (17) having an electric boiler (18) designed to receive a given quantity of water and immediately convert it into a stream of low-pressure steam to be fed into the drum (5), a demineralized-water reservoir (20) located over and communicating with the electric boiler (18), and a lint filter (23) located upstream from the water reservoir (20); the water reservoir (20) receiving distilled water from the water canister (12) of the heat exchanger (10) of the hot-air generator (7) via a water drain circuit (13); and the laundry drier (1) also having a liquid level sensor (26) for determining when the water in the water reservoir (20) is below a given minimum level, and a central control unit (24) for determining whether the water reservoir (20) is in a given low-water-level condition at both the start and end of a user-selected drying cycle not including activation of the steam generator (17).

Claims14

Dependent claims

Method of determining clogging of the lint filter (23) of the steam generator (17) of a home laundry drier (1), wherein said steam generator (17) comprises an electric boiler (18) designed to receive a given quantity of water and convert said water into low-pressure steam, a steam exhaust manifold (19) connecting the outlet of said electric boiler (18) to the laundry container (3, 5) of said home laundry drier (1), and a water reservoir (20) located above and communicating with said electric boiler (18);

the home laundry drier (1) also comprising a hot-air generator (7) for circulating a stream of hot air inside the laundry container (3, 5), and a water drain circuit (13) which draws distilled water from the water canister (12) of the condenser (10) of said hot-air generator (7), and feeds said water at least partially into said water reservoir (20);
the lint filter (23) of said steam generator (17) being interposed between said water drain circuit (13) and said water reservoir (20), and the method being characterized by comprising the steps of:
determining whether the water reservoir (20) is in a given low-water-level condition at the start of the user-selected drying cycle;
determining whether the water reservoir (20) is in said low-water-level condition at the end of the user-selected drying cycle;
and
determining clogging of the lint filter (23) of said steam generator (17) when the user-selected drying cycle does not include activation of said steam generator (17), and said water reservoir (20) remains in the low-water-level condition at both the start and end of the user-selected drying cycle.

3 more elements

Home laundry drier (1) comprising an outer box casing (2) and, inside the casing, a laundry container (3, 5) for housing the laundry to be dried, a hot-air generator (7) for circulating a stream of hot air inside the laundry container (3, 5), and a steam generator (17) for feeding steam into the laundry container (3, 5);

said hot-air generator (7) comprising an air recirculating conduit (8) connected at both ends to said laundry container (3, 5), and a heat exchanger (10) located along said recirculating conduit (8) to cool the airflow (f) from the laundry container (3, 5) and condense the surplus moisture in said airflow (f);
said heat exchanger (10) comprising a water canister (12) for collecting the liquid distilled water produced inside the heat exchanger (10) by condensation of the surplus moisture in the airflow (f) from the laundry container (3, 5);
said steam generator (17) in turn comprising an electric boiler (18) designed to receive a given quantity of water and convert said water into a stream of low-pressure steam to be fed into the laundry container (3, 5), and a water reservoir (20) located over and communicating with said electric boiler (18);
said hot-air generator (7) also comprising a water drain circuit (13) for drawing distilled water from said water canister (12) and feeding said water at least partially into said water reservoir (20);
said steam generator (17) comprising a lint filter (23) interposed between said water drain circuit (13) and said water reservoir (20);
said home laundry drier (1) being characterized by also comprising control means (24, 26) for determining when the water reservoir (20) of said steam generator (17) is in a given low-water-level condition;
said control means (24, 26) also determining whether said water reservoir (20) remains in said given low-water-level condition at both the start and end of the user-selected drying cycle, when said user-selected drying cycle does not include activation of said steam generator (17).

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/668,444Filed 11 Jul 2008
Priority: EP 0712248913 Jul 2007
Published: US 2010/0180465 A122 Jul 2010
Granted: 4 Sep 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

D06F 58/203
General details of domestic laundry dryers: laundry conditioning arrangements
D06F 58/20
Domestic laundry dryers: general details of domestic laundry dryers
D06F 58/45
Characterised by the purpose or target of the control: cleaning or disinfection of machine parts, e.g. of heat exchangers or filters
D06F 34/14
Details of control systems for washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers: arrangements for detecting or measuring specific parameters