CA2097683A1 - Lint trap unit - Google Patents

Lint trap unit

Info

Publication number
CA2097683A1
CA2097683A1 CA002097683A CA2097683A CA2097683A1 CA 2097683 A1 CA2097683 A1 CA 2097683A1 CA 002097683 A CA002097683 A CA 002097683A CA 2097683 A CA2097683 A CA 2097683A CA 2097683 A1 CA2097683 A1 CA 2097683A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
lint
cabinet
interior
air stream
outlet port
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA002097683A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Keith B. Lewis
Stewart M. Bradford
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority to US08/010,363 priority Critical patent/US5236478A/en
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA002097683A priority patent/CA2097683A1/en
Publication of CA2097683A1 publication Critical patent/CA2097683A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01DSEPARATION
    • B01D46/00Filters or filtering processes specially modified for separating dispersed particles from gases or vapours
    • B01D46/0002Casings; Housings; Frame constructions
    • B01D46/0005Mounting of filtering elements within casings, housings or frames
    • B01D46/0006Filter elements or cartridges installed in a drawer-like manner
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01DSEPARATION
    • B01D46/00Filters or filtering processes specially modified for separating dispersed particles from gases or vapours
    • B01D46/10Particle separators, e.g. dust precipitators, using filter plates, sheets or pads having plane surfaces
    • DTEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06FLAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F58/00Domestic laundry dryers
    • D06F58/20General details of domestic laundry dryers 
    • D06F58/22Lint collecting arrangements

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A lint trap unit for fabric dryers, constructed for passive, slow-flow quiescent-zone precipitation of a majority of lint and other foreign particulates entrained in the exhaust of the dryer, and also providing for secondary filter recovery of possibly unprecipitrated residues at an upper filter that is provided.

Description

-`:i 2097~83 ~ 5 The present invention relates to lint traps ~or fabric j dryers such as standard household and commercial clothes dryers and, more particularly, to a new and improved lint trap unit which emphasizes drastically reduced air flow within the cabinet o~ the unit preceding an incorporated filter tray, when employed, so as to allow for an ef~ectual precipitation on entrained moieture, lint, and other particles to the bottom of the container even before the air flow, of drastically reduced velocity, approaches the filter tray used in the invention, employed for secondary recovery of foreign particulates.
Clothes dryers and other types of fabric dryers conventionally sel~-contain some type of inexpensive lint trap. These are commonly only coarse filters, inexpensive in construction and very modest in operation effectiveness. It is the ~requent experience of users of clothes dryers in the ~ home and èspecially in commercial establishments, for example, ,~ that the exhaust flex conduit, normally four-inch standard, spiral-wound plastic conduit, frequently becomes filled with lint and other foreign particulates coming from the exhaust of the dryer. The~e hoses must be laboriously cleaned out and ~requently replaced. The problem is compounded by the fact , that moisture entrained with the lint in the outgoing ; airstream from the dryer collects on the in~ide o~ the exhaust conduits or hoses so as to cause the lint to stick to the '`5:1 1~', :, _ Z _ ,-r :i `` 2~7~83 . ~ , interior of walls o~ such hoses. This makes matters worse.
~; Certain prior efforts have been made to have independent filters, separate and apart from the dryers themselves, coupled to the exhaust force of the dryers and used to collect ' 5 lint before the same enters the primary exhaust conduit of the ;I building. Certain U.S. patents are known which bear generally upon khe sub;ect at issue, which patent numbers are given below, as follows:
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1,133,047 3,999,304 2,825,148 3,487,6~4 None of the above patents teach apparatus, sufficiently large and appropriately constructed, allowing for and in fact generating a preliminary precipitation or dropping out of lint ':
and other foreign material from the incoming air stream in an essentially guiescent zone within the unit. This, however, is accomplished by the particular construction of the filter trap unit in the present invention BO that a majority of lint actually falls out within the guiescent zone of the unit to collect at the bottom thereof.
The above U. S. patent, last mentioned, has a vertical exhaust for the air-stream. This, however, only increases the updraft pressure gradient within cabinet structure so as in ~ fact to accelerate the flow of exhaust air with entrained xli¦ moisture particles and lint, thus defeating precipitation of lint before any filter area is reached, and thus tending to ., ~i - 3 -':
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2~97~83 further complicate the lint trap function.
Other disadvantages of tha prior art are inconvenience and maintenance and assembly, a multiplici~y of needed constructions for stacking multiple filters/ and so forth.
At the outset, the invention addresses the central point of the average dryer experiences a rate of flow of its exhau~t approaching 168 to 170 cubic feet per minute. This is exhausted through a standard four inch cylindrical conduik and represents a sub~tantial forae of incoming entrainment air.
.; 10 What therefore i~ needed and which is provided in the present invention i8 a drastic slowing down of the dryer exhauit within the trap unit, this through substantial enlargement, especially vertically, of the unit, and this to provide a sub~tantial zone beneath the filter used 80 that a quiescent dropping-out of lint i8 made possible; to effect this result the filter screen and horizontal cross-section of the unit are v~
¦ suah that their cross-sectlonal area screen is at very least .1 I
ten times the cros~-sectional area of the inlet port accommodating the dryer and, preferably, many more times the cross-sectional area, i.e., perhaps at least 15 to 20 times such area. Where the filter tray forms a horizontal upper-~j j;! intermediate partition in the cabinet, then the volumetric I area below the filter screen is sufficiently large such that ,. 1 incoming air i8 dra~tically slowed down as to velocity and, before upward expulsion through the filter tray, enters an ~ ,.
_ 4 _ 2~97683 essentially quiescent zone that actually permits a dropping ,i out or precipitation of lint and even moisture theretofore entrained in the incoming air for the dryer.
Accordingly, the cabinet incorporating the filter screen 5and the upper portion thereof i5 constructed such that a horizontal level of reduced pres~ure is experienced immediately above the inlet part of the cabinet and substantially beneath the filter tray. Furthermore, to establish the quiescent zone de~ired, the flange of the inlet 10port is dispo~ed very clo~e to the bottom of the cabinet and ~ certainly within the lower one-fourth of the aabinet beneath 6' the filter tray. The outlet port of the unit's cabinet is disposed, of course, above the filter tray incorporated but at a side or end rather than at the top of the unit. In this 15way the exhaust draft pressure gradient is minimized; over-all, essentially clean air i6 exhausted in a horizontal direction from the aabinet.
~¦ The cabinet i8 supplied an acce~s door which serves clean 3l out purposes. The air-~low within the cabinet beneath with 20the filter tray is drastically reduced as to velocity, so as :~
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to effect particulates' precipitation as before mentioned, and ; also produce a subdued air movement near the front of the : cabinet so that the majority of the lint collects proximate the ¢lean-out door 6upplied.
~: 25The fllter tray is a slide in type of tray that is easily ~1 .
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removal for cleaning purposes. The filter mesh used may be either glued or otherwise secured to the tray frame of the filter tray, or a mesh sleeve resembling a lady's stocking material, for example, can be pulled over the horizontal, thin filter tray frame.
Accordingly, the dryer supplied the lint trap unit exhausts its hot moist air there-through and outwardly to conduit leading to the exterior of' the building; in dry climates, the lint trap unit can eiimply exhaust air into a living area.
During the course of dryer operation, the initial moist air produces moisture acaumulations within the lint trap cavity;
t~i these become vaporized when the dryer air remains hot but i becomes progressively mor~ dry. The vaporized moisture and the lint and any slight lint that remains lifts to a secondary filter, i.e. the filter tray, so that essentially totally ~`i;, clean air i8 expressed from the trap unit. Again, the vast ,,~.
ma~ority of lint drops out in the cabinet beneath the filter tray employed even before the lint reaches the filter area.
Any minor portion of lint that remains in the airstream is finally caught by the mesh supplied the filter tray.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved filter trap unit for dryers.
A further ob;ect is to provide a filter trap unit the con~truction of which is ~uch as to enable a dropping out or - 2097~83 precipitation of lint and other ~oreign materials from the incoming air stream of a clothes dryer, ~or example, jUBt before final or secondary removal of any lint as remainE' present in the incoming air stream before it proceeds through a mesh filter tray as provided.
A further object of the invention i8 to provide a new and uE,eful filter trap unit wherein the size and design of the unit is such as to drastically reduce the speed of dryer exhaust, entraining vapor and lint flow, whereby an e~sentially quiescentent zone is established, whereby to permit a dropping out of a majority of lint, moisture, and . other foreign particles in th~ incoming air stream directly to the bottom and preferably to the front of the unit ,, .! provided.
A further obj~ct is to provide a dryer lint trap combination ! wherein the lint trap can be separately serviced and made I su~iciently large so as to accomplish a high efficiency of lint removal without substantially adding to the size of the dryer.
An additional ob~ect is to provide for substantial ;~ removal of both moisture and lint, aEs well a~ other foreign ' particles3s, from the incoming airstream constituting the ;i exhaust o~ the gas dryer, this such that a majority of ~ dropping out or precipitation of lint and other materials is ;~' 25 achieved even pxior to the secondary action of the lint tray ",~
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incorporated in the unit.
An additional object i5 to provide a lint trap cabinet having a convenient access and clean out door as well as a elidable filter tray.
The present i~vention may beet be understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which:
l Fig. l i~ a perspective view, partially broken away, of `l a filter unit constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a clothes dryer provided the filter unit of Fig. l, the latter being ventad to the exterior of a building.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken along ''1 the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, and is shortened and aut away for ~; convenience o~ illustration.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the structure of Fig. 1 and is partially broken away to illustrate the flow path of incoming vapor with entrained lint, the flow path leading upwardly to the filter tray provided the unit.
Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. 4 but illustrates that the filter tray may be constructed as a frame incorporating a sleeve-configured mesh element that slips over the end of the tray.
In Fig. l filter unit 10 includes a container or cabinet ~ .

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:, '''' `~ 2~97iS83 11 having top 12 bottom 13, oppo~ite sides 14 and 15, and also front and rear panels 16 and 17 defining an enclo~ure or open interior.
Side 14 is provided an outlet or exhaust port 18 which is formed by aylindrical flange 19. Correspondingly, side 15 is provided with a lower inlet pork 20 defined by cylindrical .;?

i flange 21.
j At this juncture it is important to note that the inlet port is disposed at a ~ide o~ the cabinet which i~ proximate to or very near the bottom 13. In particular, ~uch inlet port is hori20ntally disposed and in its entirety must be confined , to the lower one forth of the vertical dimension of the .ji cabinet beneath the filter tray 22. The purpo~e for this will :;~ be described hereafter. Correspondingly, it is important to note that the outlet or exhaust port 18 is disposed above the ~ilter tray location and proceeds horizontally from the 't',', cabinet. The location of the flange 19 with its associated ;~ exit port 18 ~hould not be found in the top 12 since the vapors and lint proceeding from the dryer and entering into :~ 20inlet port 20 would otherwise experience an updraft leading upwardly to the exit port where the same located on the top i. of the unit. Instead, and to slow down the vapor flow, it is I important that the exit port 18 be disposed beneath the top 12 and proceed outwardly, assentially hori~ontally, from one ~ 25of the sides of the unit or, conceivably, from the back or ;,~,`,1 .,.:
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~097683 I even the front panel. However, for optimum operation, the¦ flange 19 forming exit port 18 should be disposed at a side opposite from the side incorporating the inlet The front panel 16 includes an ~
l 5 selectively closed by slide door 24. Slide door 24 includes 1 a pull handle 25 for selectively lifting the slide door and removing collected lint from bottom 13 of the cabinet 11. A
1 U-shaped inwardly recessed plate 26 is pro~ided, and is secured about the periphery of opening 23 against front panel 16 of the aabinet. A U-shaped groove 27 is provided, proceeds about the inner surface of door ahannel plate 26, and supplies a slide path for slide door 24. Accordingly, the slide door is simply dropped into the U-shaped channel groove 27 for closure of opening 23. When the door is to be opened then the slide door proceeds upwardly and can be conveniently removed, this by actuation of handlP 25. It is possible that the door might comprise a hinged door that is preferably hinged to the bottom of the unit. However, the sllde door 24 shown is much preferred.
Filter tray 22 includes a front drawer panel 28 provided with pull handle 29. Extending forwardly from and attached to panel 28 is a tray frame 30. ~ray frame 30 has is a pair of longitudinal members 31 and 32 and also intermediate cross bars 33-35, see Fig. 3. An alternate filter tray 22A, having ~^ 25 frame 30A, is seen in Fig. 5. The only difference between the i ;
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''-1 20~76~3 two trays is that filter tray 22 in Fig. 1 simply incorporate~
at its top surface a filter mesh or filter screen 26 which can , be glued in place to the upper ~urfaces of the tray ~rameelement~ associated with tray frame 30. Thus, as to tray 22 the longitudinal members 31 and 32 together with the cross bar ~ structure at their upper ~urface~ may supply ~o support in 9 gluing surface for the screen or me~h 36. Relative to filter tray 22A in Fig. 5, a ~leeve of mesh material, which can ; resemble a lady's stocking, can be simply slipped over the ` 10 tray frame 30A, corre~ponding to ~rame 30 in Fig. 1. The ,~! filter ~l~eve i3 identified in Fig. 5 as element 39.
Accordingly, in Fiy. 5 a ~l~eve 39, composed of mesh material, ij .
provides both upper and lower filter-trap surfaces. The ~leeve can be conveniently slipped o~ the ~rame for cleaning . ~ ~
in any convenient manner.
As to the ~ilter mesh or filter screen in Figs. 1 and 5, the same will have mesh or screen sizes of the order of 10 to ~ ;
40 microns, by way of example. The mesh material of such ~l porogity i8 conventionally used in ~ilk screening and ~or ., other purposes, by way o~ example.
In Fig. 2 dryer 40 has an exhaust flange 41 which is l coupled by conduit 42 to inlet port cylindrical flange 21 of .1 the cabin~t 11 of unit 10. Circular ~lange 19, forming outlet or exhau~t port 18 o~ unit 10, is provided with a conventional ! 25 four-inch conduit 43 that leads to an exhaust flange 44.
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i ~-` 2097683 ~, Flange 44 may proceed through aperture 46 to connect to an outlet vent unit 45, constructed in a conventional manner.
By way of example, the dryer 40 i6 vented through the ~ilter trap unit of the present invention to conduit leading to the ~3 5 exterior of the building.
In aertain in~tances, particularly in dry climates, it may be ~-~3 desirable simply to vent the subject filter unit directly into a living area. In such event, a filter cap 47, see Fig. 4, may be constructed of mesh material and disposed over the ~J 10 flange 19 of the exhaust port.
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Fig. 1 illustrates that the interior of the cabinet is provided with a series of channel elements. Channel elements 48-50 respectively form an interior channel support frame that is secured at its outer surfaces, or is molded relative to the interior of cabinet 11. This channel frame, which is designated in Fig. 1 as 51, is aligned with a slot opening 52 and receives the filtsr tray 22, or 22A that slides into composite channel groove G formed by channel elements 48-50.
To the base of opening 52 i~ a support crossbar 53 which can be secured to or simply molded into the cabinet structur~.
This will support the front end of crossbar portion 35 of the tray frame 30.
~l Accordingly, the filter tray 22 i8 easily inserted into the front or front panel of cabinet 11 and proceede through opening 52 into the composite groove G of the channel r" . ~
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~'' -~ 2~97~83 construction, this for supporting filter tray 22 when the same ~, is in place. The filter tray 22 is easily withdrawn by the user simply pulling the tray out of groove G by use o~ handle 39. Panel 28 shuts off the openlng 52 from the exterior, when the filter tray 22 is in closed position, thereby to prevent ;~1 leakage relative to the upper chamber of the cabinet which is àbove the ~ilter tray.
In operation, and as will be pointed out ~urther hereafter, line A-A will signify a line at which minimum pre~sure will exi~t. As to the cabinet interior, the same I will have a lower chamber B, for use with the ~ilter screen, and an upper chamber F, above the ~ilter screen. Chamber B
`~ provides ahamber portions b, c and E as indicated. Chamber ,~j ~¦ portion c define~ a l~wer portion o~ the cabinet nearest bottom 13 which receives inlet poxt 20, the upper boundary of !'i portion c de~ining e~entially the upper extremity of the ~, aperture of port 20. Portion c is chosen to be one fourth or ; le~s o~ the distance ~rom the bottom of the cabinet to khe filter screen, i. e., one-fourth or le~s of distance B
f,`, 1~; 20 relative to the lower chamber. This is to allow for the ,.~
;; development of an essenti~ally quiescent zone between inlet ~; port 20 and the screen 50 as to allow lint and other foreign 1 matter to settle out o~ the incoming air stream. Chamber i~ portion constitutes the remainder o~ the lower chamber l 25 beneath line A-A.
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The horizontal cross sectional areas of the ~ilter screen and cabinet must at least equal or exceed 10 times the transverse, vertical cross-~ectional opening of inlet port 20.
Both inlet and outlet ports will be supplied a conventional four-inch flexible conduit as commonly associated with the venting of dryer The purpose for dra~tic enlargement of the cros6~sectional area of the screen, and indeed, of the open area of the cabinet interior, is to provide ~or a drastic reduction in flow of incoming heated and moist air, carrying the entrained lint particles, so that the same can follow a :flow pattern as is generally indicated by bottom air~low path arrow H in Fig. 4. Thus, the incoming air proceeds from the inlet port and then progressively loses speed as the same proceeds upwardly along path H to a forward portion of the cabinet. In ~act, it has been seen through experimentation that the motion of the air stream i8 substantially reduced, especially proximate the interior area proximate door 24, so that in fact the lint will slowly swirl and gradually ~orm a lint ball near the slide door 24. Accordingly, the user can easily raise the slide door and reach in to expel the lint ''I
ball and also any other lint accumulations at the bottom of the cabinet. Again, the vertical enlargement of the space enclosure o~ the cabinet and the height of the filter screen j relative to inlet opening, in combination of the horizontal .,, '~ 25exit of the cabinet, provides for an essentially ~uiescent ;d ,i,, ' ':~

20~7683 zone wherein th~ alr within khe cabinst moves very, very slowly so as to drop out the lint ev~n be~ore the same reache~
the filter screen.
Should the gently rising air still contain entrained lint, the same is captured by either the ~ilter screen at 36 in Fig. 1 or tha filter screen sle~v~ at 39 in Fig. 5.
It is conceivable that in ~ome applications the ~ilter screen might even be eliminated since the vast ma;ority o~
lint coming into the unit e~sentially ~ettles out, precipitate~, and khu~ drop~ out to th~ bottom before the air even reache~ a ~ilter tray 22. In such event, and e~pecially ~ where the container is to be vented directly in the room, then !, a possible precaution of use o~ the mesh filter cap 27 as in j Fig. 4 is suggested~ The air that proceeds through the filter s`ll 15 ~creen o~ course will b~ exhausted out the flange 19.
Again/ for proper operation o~ the filter trap cabinet, it is essential that incoming moist air from the dryer be introduced into the cabinet ak the bottom, e. g., through a i~ side panel as seen in Fig. 1. Correspondingly, the exhaust ¦ 20 or outlet port at 18 should proceed from the top above the ~ ~ilter area and in a direction horiæontal and not vertical.
,I This is to ensure that there is no updraft to acaelerate the flow of the heated moist air within the cabinet. Also, when the exhauet flow is also horizontal from the cabinet, then the moisture in the air itself within the cabinat tends to drop ."~
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~.,' ~97~3 out and accumulate at the bottom of the cabinet, this with the I lint; as the drying operation proceeds and the incoming air ! becomes less moist and in fact almost dry, and such dry air will tend to vaporize any moisture collecting along the side~
and bottom of the cabinet so a to exhaust the moisture as water vapor for entrainment into the air proceeding upwardly through the screen and out the exhaust port.
Where the use of a tray is eliminated, then the reduced pres~ure area will occur at approximately line A-A. This line of reduced, quiescent condition air pressure within the cabinet will be lowered dimensionally when the filter screen is introduced, since the screen, though porous, will cause a very slight build-up of presiure directly beneath the screen.
~he magnitude of pressura build-up will depend upon the degree of porosity of the screen matarial, i.e. its mesh size and so forth.
Accordingly, tha present invention provides a filter trap unit to be used by commercial and home electric and gas dryers of fabrics, and thiei in a manner so as to increase the life of the dryer and provide a trap for lint such that the conduit ~; proceeding to the exterior of the building, or otherwise, will be almost completely free of lint or other foreign matter~
This eliminates the necessity otherwise present of periodically cleaning conduits leading from fabric dryers.
~ 25 While particular embodiments of the present invention ,.,.il .,i. l .~

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~ have been shown and described, it would be obvious to thoFie ,. . .
skilled in the art that various changes and modifications will be made without departing from the essential aspects of this invention and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is cover all such changes and modifications as follows in the ',' !
;~3 true spirit and scope of the invention.

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Claims (4)

1. A passive lint trap for capturing lint entrained in an incoming air stream, said lint trap comprising: upstanding structure having a top and a bottom and having an open interior, said structure having an essentially horizontal inlet port proximate said bottom and communicating with said interior for receiving said air stream and an essentially horizontal outlet port communicating with said interior proximate said top for expelling said air stream which is essentially free of lint from said structure, said structure being dimensioned such that the transverse horizontal cross-section of said interior beneath said outlet port is in excess of ten times the transverse cross-section of said inlet port, whereby to cause the lint entrained in said air stream to settle and precipitate out, in an essentially quiescent zone within said enclosure and beneath said outlet port, and thereby produce an air stream passing through said outlet port which is essentially lint-free.
2. A passive lint trap for capturing lint entrained in an incoming air stream, said lint trap comprising: an upstanding cabinet having a top, bottom, and sides defining an open interior, and also a clean-out access opening proximate said bottom, said cabinet having a door removably exposing said access opening for clean-out purposes, and cabinet having an essentially horizontal inlet port proximate said bottom, separate from said access opening and communicating with said interior, for receiving said air stream and an essentially horizontal outlet port communicating with said enclosure proximate said top for exhausting said air stream which is essentially free of lint from said structure, said cabinet having a horizontal slot, nearer to said outlet port than said inlet port, and also interior filter tray support structure beneath and contiguous with said slot, a mesh-provided filter tray means removably positioned through said slot to rest upon said support structure and thereby defining a porous partition within said interior of said cabinet, said cabinet being dimensioned such that the transverse horizontal cross-sections of at least a portion of said cabinet interior and said filter tray means beneath said outlet port are in excess of ten times the transverse cross-section of said inlet port, whereby to cause a majority of lint entrained in said air stream to settle and precipitate out, in an essentially quiescent zone within said cabinet interior at said portion and beneath said outlet port and filter tray means, said filter tray means effecting the capture of any remaining lint, to thereby produce an air stream above said filter tray means and passing through said outlet port which is essentially lint-free.
3. A passive lint trap for capturing lint entrained in an incoming air stream, said lint trap comprising: an upstanding cabinet having a top, bottom, and sides defining an open interior, and also a clean-out access opening proximate said bottom, said cabinet having a door removably exposing said access opening for clean-out purposes, and cabinet having an essentially horizontal inlet port proximate said bottom, separate from said access opening and communicating with said interior, for receiving said air stream and an essentially horizontal outlet port communicating with said enclosure proximate said top for exhausting said air stream which is essentially free of lint from said structure, said cabinet having a horizontal slot, nearer to said outlet port than said inlet port, and also interior filter tray support structure beneath and contiguous with said slot, a mesh-provided filter tray means removably positioned through said slot to rest upon said support structure and thereby defining a porous partition within said interior of said cabinet, said filter tray means comprising a open frame and a filter-mesh sleeve disposed over said frame, said cabinet being dimensioned such that the transverse horizontal cross-sections of at least a portion of said cabinet interior and said filter tray means beneath said outlet port are in excess of ten times the transverse cross-section of said inlet port, whereby to cause a majority of lint entrained in said air stream to settle and precipitate out, in an essentially quiescent zone within said cabinet interior at said portion and beneath said outlet port and filter tray means, said filter tray means effecting the capture of any remaining lint, to thereby produce an air stream above said filter tray means and passing through said outlet port which is essentially lint-free.
4. A passive lint trap for capturing lint entrained in an incoming air stream, said lint trap comprising: an upstanding cabinet having a top, bottom, and sides defining an open interior, and also a clean-out access opening proximate said bottom, said cabinet having a door removably exposing said access opening for clean-out purposes, and cabinet having an essentially horizontal inlet port proximate said bottom, separate from said access opening and communicating with said interior, for receiving said air stream and an essentially horizontal outlet port provided a porous cover and communicating with said enclosure proximate said top for exhausting said air stream which is essentially free of lint from said structure, said cabinet having a horizontal slot, nearer to said outlet port than said inlet port, and also interior filter tray support structure beneath and contiguous with said slot, a mesh-provided filter tray means removably positioned through said slot to rest upon said support structure and thereby defining a porous partition within said interior of said cabinet, said cabinet being dimensioned such that the transverse horizontal cross-sections of at least a portion of said cabinet interior and said filter tray means beneath said outlet port are in excess of ten times the transverse cross-section of said inlet port, whereby to cause a majority of lint entrained in said air stream to settle and precipitate out, in an essentially quiescent zone within said cabinet interior at said portion and beneath said outlet port and filter tray means, said filter tray means effecting the capture of any remaining lint, to thereby produce an air stream above said filter tray means and passing through said outlet port which is essentially lint-free.
CA002097683A 1993-01-28 1993-06-03 Lint trap unit Abandoned CA2097683A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/010,363 US5236478A (en) 1993-01-28 1993-01-28 Lint trap unit
CA002097683A CA2097683A1 (en) 1993-01-28 1993-06-03 Lint trap unit

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/010,363 US5236478A (en) 1993-01-28 1993-01-28 Lint trap unit
CA002097683A CA2097683A1 (en) 1993-01-28 1993-06-03 Lint trap unit

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2097683A1 true CA2097683A1 (en) 1994-12-04

Family

ID=25676254

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002097683A Abandoned CA2097683A1 (en) 1993-01-28 1993-06-03 Lint trap unit

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US5236478A (en)
CA (1) CA2097683A1 (en)

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SE9304305L (en) * 1992-12-30 1994-07-01 Hyundai Motor Co Ltd Air cleaner device for vehicles
US5399180A (en) * 1993-12-06 1995-03-21 Kopp; John G. Modular filter assembly
US5435837A (en) * 1993-12-06 1995-07-25 Lewis; Keith B. Ion generation structure in environmental systems
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