The present invention relates to household dryers comprising a filter.

In household dryers, the importance of efficiency increases every day. Components are constantly modified in order to achieve more efficient machines. In this type of dryers, one of the main factors which affect the energy efficiency is the obstacles on the path of the air continuously circulating therein, which resist the air flow. Avoiding narrow sections and sharp turns on the path of the air flow prevents the flow rate of the air from decreasing and thus, increases efficiency. One of the regions through which the air flows is the filter region which is arranged in sections such as front bearing. During the passage of the air through the filter, lints are removed by being retained in the filter. Loss in air flow rate decreases as the cross-sectional area of the filter increases.

In conventional type filters, the surface area of the filter fabric is limited by the plastic frame and remains relatively small. The filter fabric is fixed by said plastic frame. However, disposable filters with higher lint removal capacity and higher surface area do not have a plastic piece which enables the fabric to be fixed. Thus, upon the operation of the machine, the filter fabric which hangs down in the normal position billows like a sail and sticks to the surface of the filtering regions such as the front bearing. Due to said sticking problem, the effective surface area of the fabric decreases substantially and the air flow rate cannot reach desired levels. Thus, the problem of the filter fabric not retaining lints homogeneously arises, and the filter fabric is needed to be changed more frequently. As the energy regulations become stricter, the low lint retaining capacity of the filter which decreases the energy efficiency becomes one of the main problems for manufacturers. In the state of the art, larger and longer filters are used to overcome such problems, which adversely affects the ergonomics and increases material costs while decreasing the ease of use.

In the state of the art European Patent Document No. EP2407588, a dryer is disclosed, comprising a filter with increased surface area and improved air passage performance by means of the bellow-like filter net. In the state of the art Korean Patent Document No. KR20130024451, a dryer is disclosed, comprising a filter which is in the shape of a bellow-like structure and which can open / or by being placed into a drawer.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of a dryer wherein the non- homogeneous lint distribution problem encountered in filters is improved and filtration is performed more effectively.

The dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the claims, comprises a body; an air flow path in the body, enabling the flow of air; a filter fabric on the air path and a filter frame which holds the filter fabric; a filter group formed by the filter fabric and the filter frame; and a filter housing wherein the filter group is placed. The filter fabric is generally attached to the filter frame by means of a rubber element provided at the edge thereof. Typically, the filter group is positioned in the front bearing arranged in the section of the dryer under the door so as to allow for the filtering of the fluff and lint in the air flow path.

The dryer further comprises at least one protrusion which is arranged between the filter housing and the filter fabric and which contacts the filter fabric in the vertical direction, thus enabling the filter fabric to be directed towards at least one surface of the filter housing and to take a wavy form. Thus, the filter housing and the filter fabric are prevented from sticking to each other and blocking the air flow in the air flow path such that the lints can be retained far more homogeneously. Consequently, the replacement frequency of the filter fabric is decreased by preventing billowing / swelling. It becomes possible to use filters which are shorter in size, and ergonomics is improved in terms of the user. Furthermore, energy efficiency is improved as the air flow rate is increased.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer comprises the protrusion which extends along the entire length of the filter fabric and prevents the filter housing and the filter fabric from contacting each other. The protrusion enables the filter fabric to take a bellow-like form by extending along the entire length of the filter fabric, and the air flow can be distributed homogeneously to the filter surface by means of the wavy structure. In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer comprises a plurality of mushroom- shaped protrusions arranged separately on the filter housing. By means of this design, the contact with the filter housing is further decreased and the surface area with uninterrupted air flow is maximized. Thus, the sticking and billowing problem of the filter fabric is completely eliminated.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer comprises a filter cage which is disposed in the filter housing so as to form a casing wherein the filter fabric is placed, and which has protrusions in the form of rods facing the side surfaces of the filter fabric. By means of the filter cage, a second recess is formed in the filter housing and homogeneous lint filtering performance is improved by means of the rod-shaped protrusions.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer comprises the rod- shaped protrusion one end of which extends outwards from between the filter frame and the filter fabric. Thus, the filter fabric gets caught on the rod-shaped protrusions in case of billowing and the surface area of the filter fabric is increased, thus indirectly ensuring a homogeneous lint distribution.

A dryer realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the perspective view of the dryer.

Figure 2 - is the schematic view of the dryer.

Figure 3 - is the perspective view of the filter group in the dryer.

Figure 4 - is the top view of the filter group.

Figure 5 - is the perspective view of the filter cage.

Figure 6 - is the perspective view of the filter group in the filter cage.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Dryer

2. Body 3. Air flow path

4. Filter fabric

5. Filter frame

6. Filter group

7. Filter housing

8. Protrusion

9. Filter cage

The dryer (1) comprises a body (2); an air flow path (3) in the body (2), enabling the flow of air; a filter fabric (4) on the air path (3) and a filter frame (5) which holds the filter fabric (4); a filter group (6) formed by the filter fabric (3) and the filter frame (5); and a filter housing (7) wherein the filter group (6) is placed.

The dryer (1) further comprises at least one protrusion (8) which is arranged between the filter housing (7) and the filter fabric (4) and which contacts the filter fabric (4) in the vertical direction, enabling the filter fabric (4) to be directed towards at least one surface of the filter housing (7). Said protrusion (8) interrupts the contact between the filter housing (7) and the filter fabric (4) at intervals and enables the filter fabric (4)to assume a bellow-like form. The filter fabric (4) is generally attached to the filter frame (5) by means of a rubber element provided at the edge thereof. Typically, the filter group (6) is positioned in the front bearing arranged in the section of the dryer (1) under the door so as to allow for the filtering of the fluff and lint in the air flow path (3). As the protrusion (8) is placed between the filter fabric (4) and the filter housing (7), the wet filter (4) is prevented at intervals from sticking to the surfaces. The filter fabric (4) is enabled to be shaped by means of the protrusions (8) instead of shaping the filter fabric (4) itself, which would be complex and costly. Thus, the filter housing (7) and the filter fabric (4) are prevented from sticking to each other and blocking the air flow in the air flow path (3), and the lints can be retained far more homogeneously. Consequently, the replacement frequency of the filter fabric (4) is decreased by preventing billowing / swelling, and the customer satisfaction is improved. It becomes possible to use filter groups (6) which are shorter in size, and ergonomics is improved in terms of the user. Furthermore, energy efficiency is improved as the air flow rate is increased.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer (1) comprises the protrusion (8) which prevents the filter housing (7) and the filter fabric (4) from contacting each other by extending along the entire length of the filter fabric (4). By extending along the entire length, the protrusion (8) creates a channel structure and the wavy form that the filter fabric (4) assumes is strengthened.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer (1) comprises a plurality of mushroom- shaped protrusions (8) arranged separately on the filter housing (7). By means of the mushroom- shaped protrusions (8) which look like bumps, the surface area of the air flow is increased. On the other hand, this can be more costly compared to the rodshaped protrusions (8).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer (1) comprises a filter cage (9) which is disposed in the filter housing (7) so as to form a casing wherein the filter fabric (4) is placed, and which has protrusions (8) in the form of rods facing the side surfaces of the filter fabric (4). The filter cage (9) forms a second recess in the filter housing (7) so as to prevent the filter fabric (4) from billowing and eliminate non-homogeneous lint accumulation, thus, providing an alternative solution. Further ease of use is provided for the user especially while replacing the filter fabric (4).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dryer (1) comprises the rod- shaped protrusion (8) one end of which extends outwards from between the filter frame (5) and the filter fabric (4). Thus, the protrusions (8) are formed without the need for being welded or mounted onto the regions such as the chassis or the front bearing, and thus, ease of manufacturing is provided and the filter group (6) becomes a single piece structure.

The homogeneous filtering can be improved by positioning said protrusions (8) preferably on the front bearing and/or the chassis of the dryer (1). The protrusions (8) can be integrated with the chassis or the front bearing. By means of the dryer (1) of the present invention, by filtering the lints more homogeneously and increasing the air flow rate, more compact and shorter filter fabrics (4) can be manufactured and it becomes possible to use filter groups (6) which are more ergonomic and which can be attached and detached easily.