BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dryer using heated air to dry items, such as clothes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dryer using an improved drum design to deliver heated air to the items.

Discussion of the Related Art

Clothes dryers basically work in the same manner. The dryer sucks in air from the surrounding area. The dryer heats the air using an electric heating element, a gas burner and the like. The air passes into a tumbler, or drum, housed within the dryer once it is heated. The hot air evaporates water from the clothes as they spin inside the tumbler. The dryer then forces the water evaporated from the clothes along with the hot air outside its assembly. Typically, a vent allows the air and moisture to exit the room.

Articles, such as clothes, towels, rugs and the like, take a certain amount of time to dry. The amount of time varies according to the article being dried. Other factors to this time period are energy capacity of the heating element, efficiency of heat transfer, air flow capacity, vapor pressure and the like. Some of these factors may be beyond the control of the dryer, while others may be controlled or monitored to improved drying times and efficiency.

The dryer pulls heated air through a main port in the back of the drum. The heated air moves through the drum to contact the items, such as clothes. After removing moisture from the clothes, the air exits out of the front of the drum. This process results in limited surface area for the heated air to come into contact with the items in the drum. Further, the heated air immediately cools down once it enters the drum and as it travels to the other side. Because clothes are tumbling on the outside of the interior of the drum due to centrifugal forces, a portion of the heated air bypasses the wet clothes all together. This process is inefficient in its use of the heated air within the drum.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to a dryer apparatus that improves drying efficiency and reduces the amount of time needed to dry articles within the apparatus. The disclosed dryer and drum distribute the heated air in a more efficient manner without significant changes to the dryer operation. Additional heaters or redesign of the dryer is not needed. Instead, the improved dryer configuration improves air flow and heating efficiency.

A dryer is disclosed. The dryer includes a housing. The dryer also includes an inlet air path into the housing. The dryer also includes an outlet air path out of the housing. The dryer also includes a heating element positioned to receive the inlet air path to heat air. The dryer also includes a drum to receive the heated air and to rotate within the housing. The drum includes an outer cylindrical wall. The drum also includes an inner cylindrical wall to fit within the outer cylindrical wall. The inner cylindrical wall includes holes. The drum also includes an air passage formed between the outer cylindrical wall and the inner cylindrical wall to receive the heated air from the inlet air path. The heated air exits the air passage through the holes in the inner cylindrical wall and then exits the drum into the outlet air path.

A drum to dry articles is disclosed. The drum includes an outer cylindrical wall. The drum also includes an inner cylindrical wall to fit within the outer cylindrical wall. The inner cylindrical wall includes holes. The drum also includes an air passage formed between the outer cylindrical wall and the inner cylindrical wall to receive air to flow into an interior of the drum. The interior is defined by the inner cylindrical wall. The air exits the air passage through the holes in the inner cylindrical wall.

A method for drying articles within a dryer is disclosed. The method includes heating air within an inlet air path within the dryer. The method also includes flowing the heated air through an air inlet to a drum. The method also includes moving the heated air within an air passage formed by an outer cylindrical wall and an inner cylindrical wall of the drum. The inner cylindrical wall includes holes. The method also includes exiting the heated air from the air passage through the holes in the inner cylindrical wall into an interior of the drum. The method also includes removing moisture from the articles within the interior of the drum using the heated air.

The drum disclosed above may be separated into chambers also having holes to promote the exit of heated air into the drum. These features increase the amount of heated air directed to the surface area of articles, such as wet clothes.

