1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a vent for a clothes dryer; and, more particularly, to an exhaust vent adapter for use in venting dryer exhaust air through a preferred wall, selected from one of several alternative dryer exhaust vent exhaust locations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Contemporary clothes dryers are well known and generally comprise a cabinet typically defined by a front wall, rear wall, opposing sidewalls, top wall, and, optionally, a bottom wall. A control panel having electrical, mechanical, or electromechanical controls generally is provided at the junction of the top wall and the rear wall and controls the operation of the dryer. A drum for containing the clothes to be dried is rotatably mounted within the interior of the cabinet. Access is provided to the drum through a door in the cabinet front wall.
Heated air is either forced or drawn through the drum by a fan connected to the drum by a conduit. The air exhausted from the drum is generally passed through a lint trap where it is then exhausted through a vent to the atmosphere.
Traditionally, the dryer vent is a metal conduit with one end connected to the fan and the other end exiting the cabinet through the rear wall. It is becoming more common for the dryer vent to exit cabinet walls other than the rear wall, especially the sidewalls or the bottom wall. Punch-outs, or access panels, are often provided by the dryer manufacturer in the sidewalls or bottom wall for the alternate locations of the exhaust vent. However, dryer manufacturers still provide a fixed internal conduit which exits through the rear wall.
This fixed internal conduit is disadvantageous in that where an alternative exhaust vent exit is desired, the dryer installer must remove or alter the original exhaust vent, resulting in a custom installation that increases the time and expense of installing the dryer. This problem is exacerbated because different dryer manufacturers have different physical locations for the fan, internal conduits, and the punch-outs, prohibiting commonality between alternative installations for the different manufacturers. Heretofore, no single conduit replacement would work for all dryers.
One solution that has been adopted is to utilize a flexible metal conduit for the exhaust vent. The advantage of a flexible metal conduit is that it can be directed to any desired outlet in the dryer easily and without assembly. The disadvantages are that such installations lack durability and compromise safety. Flexible metal conduit is typically thin-walled aluminum that can be easily dented. If, for example, the dryer drum belt breaks, the spring-loaded idler arm that ordinarily maintains the belt in tension can be forcibly thrust upon the exhaust vent, thereby denting flexible conduit and requiring replacement of the exhaust vent. Moreover, flexible conduit is corrugated and prone to build up lint, which can interrupt airflow and be a fire hazard.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds