BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of clothes dryers, and more specifically relates to accessories for a clothes dryer.

RELATED ART

[0003] Homes frequently include a clothes dryer, and millions are manufactured each year. Clothes dryers are often reliable and affordable. In general, clothes dryers utilize hot air to dry clothes. The basic components of a clothes dryer include a rotating tumbler and a heater. The rotating tumbler holds the clothes and an electric or gas powered heater heats air that is drawn through the wet clothes as they tumble. The hot air passing through the clothes heats up the clothes and the water in them. Typical clothes dryers also include an exhaust vent that passes out of the dryer and out of the house, to permit the water to exit the dryer in the form of steam. [0004] Typical clothes dryers are connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors through a duct hole in a wall of the home. Porting outside the home heat generated by the clothes dryer can be a waste of valuable heat. In the US, an electric dryer typically uses 220 volts of electricity to generate the heat required for the drying process. By way of comparison, electric baseboard heaters also utilize 220 volts of electricity to generate heat for the home. As a result, every time that an electric clothes dryer is run, the consumer is venting to the outside heat generated by the same voltage as that generated by an electric baseboard heater over the same period of time. A suitable solution is desired.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,349 to Richard A. Brunner relates to a heat recovery system for clothes dryer. The described heat recovery system for clothes dryer includes heat recovery unit for a clothes dryer works towards meeting this need. The heat recovery unit may include a housing having a support box and a cover attached to the support box by a hinge. The cover may include an exhaust register and an indicator light cover through which a 'clean filter now' light, a 'low flow' light, and a 'high temperature warning' light may be viewed when lit. The heat recovery unit also may include a controls box positioned in the support box, where the controls box maintains electronic intelligence of the recovery unit. A recovery unit fan may be positioned in the support box to blow room temperature air up through a heat exchanger in the support box. An internal bypass channel may channel clothes dryer air around and outside of the heat exchanger during hot days. A filter in the support box on an inlet side of the heat exchanger may filter out lint and dust and a catch pan located in the support box may catch condensate from a drip pan located in the support box on an exhaust side of the heat exchanger to catch condensate. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known clothes dryer art, the present disclosure provides a novel dryer heat exchanger. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a device for capturing the heat from a clothes dryer exhaust in order to recycle that heat, for example, back into a home to help warm that house.

[0007] A heat exchanger for a clothes dryer, the clothes dryer having an exhaust port configured to discharge a hot air from the clothes dryer is disclosed herein. The heat exchanger includes a dryer-exhaust interface configured to releasably couple with the exhaust port of the clothes dryer and to receive the hot air from the clothes dryer. The device also includes a heat exchanger including an exhaust-air duct pneumatically coupled to the dryer-exhaust interface, a heating-air inlet configured to receive an ambient air, and a heating-air duct pneumatically coupled to the heating-air inlet, the heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from the hot air received from the clothes dryer to the ambient air received via the heating-air inlet. The device further includes an exhaust outlet pneumatically coupled to the exhaust-air duct, a heating-air exhaust pneumatically coupled to the heating-air duct, and a discharge fan configured to assist the discharge of the heated air from the exhaust, where the exhaust outlet is configured to pneumatically couple to an external discharge port, and further configured to discharge the hot air from the heat exchanger via the external discharge port, and where the heating-air exhaust is configured to discharge a heated air from the heat exchanger to a user. [0008] According to another embodiment, a method of recycling exhaust from the clothes dryer is also disclosed herein. The method of recycling exhaust from a clothes dryer includes the steps of: providing a heat exchanger as described above; providing a discharge fan configured to assist the discharge of the heated air from the exhaust, the discharge fan including a power supply and a controller, the power supply electrically coupled to the discharge fan and configured to power the discharge fan, and the controller electrically coupled to the discharge fan and configured to operate the discharge fan; coupling the dryer-exhaust interface of the heat exchanger to the exhaust port of the clothes dryer, and the exhaust outlet of the heat exchanger to the external discharge port; and setting a threshold temperature for operating the discharge fan.

[0009] For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, a heat exchanger device, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the heat exchanger during an 'in-use' condition, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the heat exchanger of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a side view of the heat exchanger device of FIG. 1, showing the heat exchanger in isolation, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a front view of the heat exchanger of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of recycling exhaust from a clothes dryer, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a drying system and more particularly to a heat exchanger device as used to provide a device for capturing the heat from a clothes dryer exhaust in order to recycle that heat back into a home to help warm that house.

[0018] Generally, the device of this disclosure may provide a heat exchanger that removes heat from the exhaust air of clothes dryer and directs the heat into the home. The device may include a fan that draws "cool" ambient air, for example, from the floor, and warms it as the air passes over the dryer exhaust duct. As designed, this may remove heat from the exhausting air in a dryer in order to conserve energy and supplement the home's heating system. The device may also offer a method of utilizing the dryer exhaust without impeding the movement of moist air and lint to the exterior of the building. The present invention may further include a micro switch that activates the fan when the dryer is turned on and deactivates the fan when the dryer stops.

[0019] The device may comprise a tubular channel having a fan assembly and separate ports for distributing heat exhaust claimed from the clothes dryer into a residence or building without including any of the lint or residual moisture. The fan assembly may include a micro switch and power adapter that turns the fan on and off when the dryer stops and starts. Additional fittings and accessories may be included for allowing the device to be retrofitted to a plurality of dryer units and room configurations. The exact specifications may vary. [0020] Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in FIGS. 1-4, various views of a heat exchanger 100.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a heat exchanger 100 during an 'in-use' condition 50, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the heat exchanger 100 may be beneficial for use by a user to provide a device for capturing the heat from a clothes dryer 10 exhaust in order to recycle that heat back into a home to help warm that house. As illustrated, the heat exchanger 100 may include a heat exchanger 120 configured transfer heat from the hot air received from the clothes dryer 10, an exhaust outlet 130, a heating-air exhaust 140, and a discharge fan 150. The exhaust outlet 130 may be configured to pneumatically couple to an external discharge port and further configured to discharge the hot air from the heat exchanger via the external discharge port. The heating-air exhaust 140 may be configured to discharge a heated air from the heat exchanger to a user or within a home. To assist with that, the heat exchanger 100 may use a discharge fan 150 configured to assist the discharge of the heated air from the exhaust.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the heat exchanger 100 may be arranged as a kit 105. In particular, the heat exchanger 100 may further include a set of instructions 107. The instructions 107 may detail functional relationships in relation to the structure of the heat exchanger 100 such that the heat exchanger 100 can be used, maintained, or the like, in a preferred manner. [0023] FIG. 2 shows the heat exchanger 100 for a clothes dryer 10 of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As above, the heat exchanger 100 for a clothes dryer 10 having an exhaust port 15 configured to discharge a hot air from the clothes dryer 10 may include a dryer-exhaust interface 110 including a substantially right angle duct 127, wherein the dryer-exhaust interface 110 may be configured to releasably couple with the exhaust port 15 of the clothes dryer 10 and to receive the hot air from the clothes dryer 10. The heat exchanger 100 may also include a heat exchanger 120 having an exhaust-air duct 121 pneumatically coupled to the dryer-exhaust interface, a heating-air inlet 122 configured to receive an ambient air, and a heating-air duct 123 pneumatically coupled to the heating-air inlet 122. The heating-air inlet 122 may include a plurality of apertures 128. The heat exchanger 120 may include a filter member 126 configured to direct debris from the clothes dryer, along with an external insulation layer 124 that may feature decorative indicia 125. As shown, the heat exchanger 100 may also include an exhaust outlet 130, a heating-air exhaust 140 pneumatically coupled to the heating-air duct 123, and a discharge fan 150 configured to assist the discharge of the heated air from the exhaust.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a side view of the heat exchanger 100 of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As above, the heat exchanger 100 may include an external insulation layer 124 that may include a decorative indicia 125. The discharge fan 150 of the heat exchanger 100 may include a power supply 151 and a controller 152, where the power supply 151 may be electrically coupled to the discharge fan 150 and configured to power the discharge fan 150, while the controller 152 may be electrically coupled to the discharge fan 150 and configured to operate the discharge fan 150. The power supply itself may include a plug 154 configured for use in a standard home AC electrical outlet to help power the heat exchanger 100.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a front view of the heat exchanger 100 of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here again, the heat exchanger 100 may include a heat exchanger 120 having a filter member 126, an exhaust-air duct 121 pneumatically coupled to the dryer-exhaust interface 110 and a heating-air inlet 122 with a plurality of apertures 128, wherein the heating-air inlet 122 may be configured to receive ambient air. The heat exchanger 100 may also include a mounting fastener 131 for coupling with the exhaust port 15 (FIG. 2) of the clothes dryer 10 (FIG. 2). As illustrated, the heat exchanger 100 may include a heating-air exhaust 140 and a discharge fan 150 having a controller 152 including a temperature sensor 153, wherein the controller 152 may be electrically coupled to the discharge fan 150 and configured to operate the discharge fan 150.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 500 of recycling exhaust from a clothes dryer, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In particular, the method 500 of recycling exhaust from a clothes dryer may include one or more components of the heat exchanger 100 as described above. As illustrated, the method 500 of recycling exhaust from a clothes dryer may include the steps of: step one 501, providing a heat exchanger including a dryer-exhaust interface configured to releasably couple with the exhaust port of the clothes dryer and to receive the hot air from the clothes dryer, a heat exchanger including an exhaust-air duct pneumatically coupled to the dryer-exhaust interface, a heating-air inlet configured to receive an ambient air, and a heating-air duct pneumatically coupled to the heating-air inlet, the heat exchanger configured transfer heat from the hot air received from the clothes dryer to the ambient air received via the heating-air inlet, an exhaust outlet pneumatically coupled to the exhaust -air duct, the exhaust outlet configured to pneumatically couple to an external discharge port, and further configured to discharge the hot air from the heat exchanger via the external discharge port, and a heating-air exhaust pneumatically coupled to the heating-air duct, the heating-air exhaust configured to discharge a heated air from the heat exchanger to a user; step two 502, providing a discharge fan configured to assist the discharge of the heated air from the exhaust, the discharge fan including a power supply and a controller, the power supply electrically coupled to the discharge fan and configured to power the discharge fan, and the controller electrically coupled to the discharge fan and configured to operate the discharge fan; step three 503, coupling the dryer-exhaust interface of the heat exchanger to the exhaust port of the clothes dryer, and the exhaust outlet of the heat exchanger to the external discharge port; and step four 504, setting a threshold temperature for operating the discharge fan. According to one embodiment, the method 500 may further include a step 505, decoupling the heat exchanger from the clothes dryer and the external discharge port.

[0027] It should be noted that step 505 is an optional step and may not be implemented in all cases. Optional steps of method of use 500 are illustrated using dotted lines in FIG. 5 so as to distinguish them from the other steps of method of use 500. It should also be noted that the steps described in the method of use can be carried out in many different orders according to user preference. The use of "step of" should not be interpreted as "step for", in the claims herein and is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). It should also be noted that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods for heat exchanger 100, are taught herein.

[0028] The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.