Drain pump and a clothes dryer having a drain pump

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9982384-B2
Application number	US-201514793991-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2015
Priority date	Jul 8, 2014
Publication date	May 29, 2018
Grant date	May 29, 2018

Abstract

A drain pump and a clothes dryer having a drain pump are provided. The drain pump may include a pump motor; an impeller including a hub, an impeller shaft that extends from a center of the hub and is connected to a rotational shaft of the pump motor, and at least one blade that extends from an outer circumferential surface of the impeller shaft; a housing including an impeller hole, through which the impeller may pass, and a space in which the pump motor may be accommodated; and a pump case coupled to a bottom surface of the housing. The pump case may have a suction hole to suction in cleaning water. The suction hole may be defined at a position corresponding to the impeller, and the pump case may include a shaft shield that extends from an edge of the suction hole in a central direction of the suction hole or toward a central portion of the suction hole to cover a lower end of the impeller shaft.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A drain pump, comprising:
a pump motor;
an impeller including:
a hub;
an impeller shaft that extends from a center of the hub and is connected to a rotational shaft of the pump motor; and
at least one blade that extends from an outer circumferential surface of the impeller shaft;

a housing including:
an impeller hole, through which the impeller passes; and
a space in which the pump motor is accommodated; and

a pump case coupled to a bottom surface of the housing, wherein the pump case includes:
a suction hole to suction in cleaning water, wherein the suction hole is defined at a position corresponding to the impeller; and
a shaft shield that extends from an edge of the suction hole toward a central portion of the suction hole to cover the impeller shaft, wherein a width of the shaft shield becomes narrower as the shaft shield extends closer to the central portion of the suction hole.

2. The drain pump according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a pump motor seat stepped from a bottom of the housing, such that the pump motor is seated thereon; and
a discharge port that extends from a predetermined position which is spaced apart from the pump motor seat.

3. The drain pump according to claim 2 , further comprising a flow guide rib that extends from the bottom surface of the housing to guide the cleaning water suctioned through the suction hole to the discharge port, wherein the flow guide rib has a close-loop shape that surrounds the suction hole and the discharge port.

4. The drain pump according to claim 3 , wherein, when the pump case is coupled to the bottom surface of the housing, the flow guide rib is closely attached to a bottom of the pump case.

5. The drain pump according to claim 3 , wherein the impeller is accommodated in a space defined by the flow guide rib and the pump case.

6. The drain pump according to claim 5 , wherein a point at which a first end of first and second ends of the flow guide rib that defines the discharge region meets a portion of the flow guide rib that defines the rotation region is defined as a rotation start point, wherein a point at which the second end of the first and second ends of the flow guide rib that defines the discharge region meets a portion of the flow guide rib that defines the rotation region is defined as a discharge start point, and wherein a portion of the flow guide rib, which extends from the discharge start point to define the discharge region, extends along a tangent line that passes through the discharge start point.

7. The drain pump according to claim 3 , wherein the pump case has substantially a same shape as the flow guide rib, and wherein a size of the pump case is greater than a size of the flow guide rib, such that when the pump case is coupled to the bottom surface of the housing, the flow guide rib is covered by the pump case.

8. The drain pump according to claim 2 , wherein the impeller hole is defined inside of the pump motor seat.

9. The drain pump according to claim 8 , wherein a space defined by a coupling of a flow guide rib and the pump case includes:
a rotation region defined by a portion of the flow guide rib that extends along an edge of the impeller hole; and
a discharge region that communicates with the rotation region, wherein the discharge region is defined by a portion of the flow guide rib that extends from the rotation region to the discharge port, and wherein the cleaning water suctioned in through the suction hole is rotated in the rotation region by a centrifugal force to move into the discharge region and is guided to the discharge port.

10. The drain pump according to claim 9 , wherein a point at which a first end of first and second ends of the flow guide rib that defines the discharge region meets a portion of the flow guide rib that defines the rotation region is defined as a rotation start point, wherein a point at which the second end of the first and second ends of the flow guide rib that defines the discharge region meets a portion of the flow guide rib that defines the rotation region is defined as a discharge start point, and wherein a portion of the flow guide rib, which extends from the discharge start point to define the discharge region, extends along a tangent line that passes through the discharge start point.

11. The drain pump according to claim 9 , wherein the impeller is accommodated in the rotation region.

12. The drain pump according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one blade includes a plurality of blades that extends from the impeller shaft to an edge of the hub, and wherein the plurality of blades is disposed to be spaced a predetermined angle from each other in a circumferential direction.

13. The drain pump according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one blade comprises a single blade spirally wound from the impeller shaft in a direction of an edge of the hub, and wherein a winding direction of the blade is opposite to a rotational direction of the impeller.

14. The drain pump according to claim 1 , wherein the suction hole is defined in a bottom portion of the pump case.

15. A clothes dryer comprising the drain pump according to claim 1 .

16. A clothes dryer, comprising:
a cabinet;
a drying drum accommodated in the cabinet and into which an object to be dried is placed;
a suction passage that supplies hot wind into the drying drum;
a heater disposed at a predetermined position in the suction passage to heat air introduced into the suction passage to a high temperature;
an exhaust passage, through which the hot wind discharged from the drying drum flows;
a blower mounted in the exhaust passage to forcibly blow the air within the drying drum;
a lint filter mounted in the exhaust passage; and
a lint filter cleaner that removes lint attached to the lint filter, wherein the lint filter cleaner includes:
a cleaning case that accommodates the lint filter;
a cleaning water supplier disposed outside of the cleaning case to spray the cleaning water onto the lint filter; and
the drain pump according to claim 1 , wherein the drain pump is disposed at one side of the cleaning case to drain the cleaning water flowing along the lint filter together with foreign substances attached to the lint filter.

17. A drain pump, comprising:
a pump motor;
an impeller including:
a hub;
an impeller shaft that extends from a center of the hub and is connected to a rotational shaft of the pump motor; and
at least one blade that extends from an outer circumferential surface of the impeller shaft;

a housing including:
a bottom wall having:
a pump motor seat stepped downward to allow the pump motor to be seated; and
an impeller hole, through which the impeller passes, defined inside the pump motor seat;

a side wall that upwardly extends from an edge of the bottom wall to accommodate the pump motor; and
a discharge port that upwardly extends from the bottom wall at a position which is spaced apart from the pump motor seat; and

a pump case coupled to a bottom surface of the housing, the pump case including:
a suction hole to suction in cleaning water, wherein the suction hole is defined at a position corresponding to the impeller; and
a shaft shield that extends from an edge of the suction hole toward a central portion of the suction hole to cover the impeller shaft, wherein a space defined by a coupling of a flow guide;
a rotation region defined by a portion of the flow guide rib that extends along an edge of the impeller hole; and
a discharge region that communicates with the rotation region, wherein the discharg

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Shin Jinhyouk
• Kang Woocheol
• Kim Minseong
• Kim Sungjun

Classifications

• F04D29/708

  specially for liquid pumps · CPC title

• F04D29/628

  especially adapted for liquid pumps · CPC title

• F04D29/426

  especially adapted for liquid pumps · CPC title

• F04D29/2216

  Shape, geometry (F04D29/2211 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F04D1/00

  Radial-flow pumps, e.g. centrifugal pumps; Helico-centrifugal pumps (adapted for pumping specific fluids F04D7/00; priming or boosting F04D9/00) · CPC title