Clothes Dryer Lint Filter Sealing Unit to Prevent Air Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clothes dryers suffer from air leakage and reduced drying performance due to insecure attachment of the lint filter, leading to lint accumulation on heat exchangers and decreased heat exchange efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A clothes dryer design featuring a lint filter with an accommodating unit on the door, where the lint filter is connected via a sealing unit inclined to the vertical direction, utilizing the filter's weight for secure sealing and facilitating easy attachment and detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lint filter is detachably attached to the door, then ease of maintenance is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to gaps between the lint filter and door
Solution Approach 1:
The lint filter is pre-formed with a sealing portion that includes a sealing rib protruding from its peripheral surface. This sealing rib is designed to fit into a corresponding groove on the door's air outlet, creating a sealed connection before the lint filter is fully attached. The preliminary formation of this sealing interface ensures that when the lint filter is detached for maintenance and reattached, the sealing connection is automatically re-established without requiring additional adjustment or alignment steps by the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing portion of the lint filter incorporates a flexible sealing rib that can deform elastically to conform to the groove geometry on the door. This flexible sealing element maintains continuous contact with the groove surface, preventing air leakage while allowing for easy attachment and detachment. The flexibility of the sealing rib compensates for minor manufacturing tolerances and wear, ensuring reliable sealing over repeated use cycles.
2Ease of operation
If the lint filter is not securely accommodated, then ease of detachment is improved, but drying performance deteriorates due to air leakage from the circulating path
Solution Approach 1:
The door is pre-equipped with a groove structure that guides and positions the lint filter's sealing rib during attachment. This preliminary structural arrangement ensures that when the lint filter is pushed into place, the sealing rib automatically engages with the groove, creating a secure connection that prevents air leakage while maintaining easy detachment by simply pulling the lint filter outward.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing rib is designed with an asymmetric cross-sectional shape that provides different mechanical properties in different directions. The broader base of the sealing rib provides strong engagement with the groove to prevent air leakage and secure attachment, while the narrower protruding portion allows for easy lateral movement and detachment. This asymmetric design creates a unidirectional locking effect that secures the lint filter during operation but allows simple removal when needed.
3Reliability
If the sealing unit is made more complex to improve sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is merged with the structural components of the lint filter and door rather than being a separate, additional element. The sealing rib is integrated into the peripheral surface of the lint filter's housing, and the groove is formed directly into the door's air outlet structure. This integration eliminates the need for separate sealing mechanisms such as gaskets, O-rings, or complex latch systems, achieving reliable sealing while maintaining device simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is achieved using a simple flexible sealing rib that is molded as part of the lint filter housing. This thin, flexible element provides effective sealing through its ability to deform and conform to the groove surface, replacing what would otherwise require complex multi-component sealing assemblies. The simplicity of this flexible sealing approach maintains ease of manufacture and device clarity while ensuring reliable air-tight connection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design prevents air leakage, enhances sealing, and maintains high drying performance by ensuring the lint filter is securely accommodated, thus improving the overall efficiency of the drying process.
Implementation Method 1
This structure air-tightly seals the sealing unit between the lint filter and the sloped surface of the accommodating unit by utilizing the weight of the lint filter
Data Source
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AI summary
A clothes dryer according to the present invention includes a drying chamber accommodating clothes, a loading port through which clothes are loaded into and removed from the drying chamber, a door that closes the loading port, and lint filter (510) that is detachably attached to the door. Door (120) includes accommodating unit (121) that is disposed opposed to the loading port and that accommodates lint filter (510), lint filter (510) and accommodating unit (121) are connected with each other via a sealing unit, and the sealing unit is inclined with respect to a vertical direction. This structure provides a clothes dryer which prevents deterioration of drying performance caused by leakage of drying air from lint filter (510).