Dryer appliance with slide bearing assemblies including wear detection features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10988893-B2
Application number	US-201916515285-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 18, 2019
Priority date	Jul 18, 2019
Publication date	Apr 27, 2021
Grant date	Apr 27, 2021

Abstract

A dryer appliance including a slide bearing assembly mounted to a top bearing for supporting a rotating drum and including a wear indication device is provided. The slide bearing assembly includes a contact circuit including two electrical leads positioned on a top bearing of the dryer appliance. A slide bearing is positioned over the contact circuit for supporting a drum during rotation and maintaining an open circuit between the two electrical leads. A controller monitors the resistance across the two electrical leads, determines that a slide bearing failure has occurred when the resistance drops (e.g., due to worn slide bearings), and notifies the user accordingly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dryer appliance comprising:
a cabinet;
a drum rotatably mounted within the cabinet, the drum defining a chamber for receipt of clothes for drying;
a top bearing positioned proximate a front of the drum; and
a slide bearing assembly positioned between the drum and the top bearing, the slide bearing assembly comprising:
a contact circuit comprising two electrical leads; and
a slide bearing positioned over the contact circuit for supporting the drum during rotation.

2. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the two electrical leads terminate in flat metal plates.

3. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the two electrical leads form an open circuit while the slide bearing is positioned between the two electrical leads and the drum, and wherein the drum contacts the two electrical leads and forms a closed circuit when the slide bearing fails or is worn away.

4. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the contact circuit comprises:
a push button or pressure sensor communicatively coupled to a controller through the two electrical leads.

5. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the slide bearing assembly is positioned proximate a front lip of the drum.

6. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the slide bearing assembly is mounted to the top bearing.

7. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the slide bearing is formed from an insulating plastic or rubber material.

8. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , wherein the dryer appliance comprises a plurality of slide bearing assemblies spaced apart along a circumferential direction around the top bearing.

9. The dryer appliance of claim 1 , further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the contact circuit, the controller being configured for:
detecting the failure of the slide bearing; and
notifying a user when the failure of the slide bearing occurs.

10. The dryer appliance of claim 9 , wherein detecting the failure of the slide bearing comprises:
measuring a resistance between the two electrical leads; and
determining that the two electrical leads have been electrically shorted when the resistance decreases.

11. The dryer appliance of claim 9 , wherein notifying the user of the failure of the slide bearing comprises illuminating an indicator light or displaying a warning message on a display of the dryer appliance.

12. The dryer appliance of claim 9 , wherein notifying the user of the failure of the slide bearing comprises sending a notification to the user's mobile device.

13. A slide bearing assembly for a dryer appliance, the slide bearing assembly comprising:
a contact circuit comprising two electrical leads and being positioned on a top bearing of the dryer appliance;
a slide bearing positioned over the contact circuit for supporting a drum during rotation; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the contact circuit, the controller being configured for:
detecting the failure of the slide bearing; and
notifying a user when the failure of the slide bearing occurs.

14. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the two electrical leads terminate in flat metal plates.

15. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the two electrical leads form an open circuit while the slide bearing is positioned between the two electrical leads and the drum, and wherein the drum contacts the two electrical leads and forms a closed circuit when the slide bearing fails or is worn away.

16. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the contact circuit comprises:
a push button or pressure sensor communicatively coupled to the controller through the two electrical leads.

17. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the slide bearing is formed from an insulating plastic or rubber material.

18. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the dryer appliance comprises a plurality of slide bearing assemblies spaced apart along a circumferential direction around the top bearing.

19. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein detecting the failure of the slide bearing comprises:
measuring a resistance between the two electrical leads; and
determining that the two electrical leads have been electrically shorted when the resistance decreases.

20. The slide bearing assembly of claim 13 , wherein notifying the user of the failure of the slide bearing comprises illuminating an indicator light or displaying a warning message on a display of the dryer appliance.

Assignees

• Haier Us Appliance Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Taylor Alexis Christina
• Herschler Brad

Classifications

• D06F34/18

  Condition of the laundry, e.g. nature or weight · CPC title

• D06F58/08 Primary

  Driving arrangements · CPC title

• D06F58/04 Primary

  Details  (controlling or regulating devices D06F34/00) · CPC title

• D06F58/50

  Responding to irregular working conditions, e.g. malfunctioning of blowers · CPC title