Clothes dryer with a drum seal
First Claim
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1. A clothes dryer comprising:
- a front bulkhead having a door opening;
a rear bulkhead;
a drum comprising a cylindrical wall terminating in a front edge proximate the front bulkhead and a rear edge proximate the rear bulkhead, with a least one of the front and rear edges having a lip;
a seal having a body terminating in opposing ends, the body having an attachment defining a recess sized to receive the lip to mount the seal about the lip and a seal element abutting the corresponding front or rear bulkhead, wherein the body has a length such that, when the body is mounted to the lip, the opposing ends are in confronting relationship and define an intervening gap; and
a variable shape spacer located within the intervening gap;
wherein the body is made of thermally expanding material and the gap varies in shape depending on the thermal expansion of the body and the spacer varies in shape in response to the gap varying to occlude the intervening gap.
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Abstract
An apparatus for sealing the drum of a clothes dryer comprising an attachment with a recess sized to receive the lip of a dryer drum to mount the seal about the lip and a seal element abutting the corresponding front or rear bulkhead wherein the length of the seal is such that when in place there remains an intervening gap in which a spacer capable of changing shape is located allowing the seal to expand and contract with thermal variations.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A clothes dryer comprising:
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a front bulkhead having a door opening; a rear bulkhead; a drum comprising a cylindrical wall terminating in a front edge proximate the front bulkhead and a rear edge proximate the rear bulkhead, with a least one of the front and rear edges having a lip; a seal having a body terminating in opposing ends, the body having an attachment defining a recess sized to receive the lip to mount the seal about the lip and a seal element abutting the corresponding front or rear bulkhead, wherein the body has a length such that, when the body is mounted to the lip, the opposing ends are in confronting relationship and define an intervening gap; and a variable shape spacer located within the intervening gap; wherein the body is made of thermally expanding material and the gap varies in shape depending on the thermal expansion of the body and the spacer varies in shape in response to the gap varying to occlude the intervening gap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A clothes dryer comprising:
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at least one bulkhead; a drum comprising a peripheral wall terminating in an edge having a circumferential lip defining an open end and proximate the at least one bulkhead; and a seal having confronting ends and a wing, wherein the seal is mounted about the circumferential lip to define a gap between the confronting ends and the wing abuts the bulkhead to seal the drum relative to the bulkhead; and a variable shape spacer located within the gap; wherein the seal is made of thermally expanding material and the gap varies in shape depending on the thermal expansion of the seal and the spacer varies in shape in response to the gap varying to occlude the intervening gap. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification