Claims:We Claim:
1. An auto cleaning mechanism in a household appliance(10), said appliance (10) comprising :
- a drum (12) having an opening (14) to receive laundry;
- a lint filter assembly (16) integrated into said drum (12);
said lint filter assembly (16) comprising:
- a lint holder (18) and a frame (20) have a slot (22) for receiving said lint holder (18) ;
said frame (20) comprises multiple openings (24) made on sides of said frame (20) for entry of water into said lint holder assembly(16) during at least one operational event of said appliance (10) to drain lint collected in said lint holder (18).

2. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dimensions of said slot (22) is made corresponding to dimensions of said lint holder (18).

3. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lint holder (18) comprises a lint collecting portion (26), a floating element (28) attached to said collecting portion (26) and an exit flap (30) positioned at bottom side of said lint holder (18).

4. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said floating element (28) and said exit flap (30) is connected by a shaft (32) in such a way that, a movement of said floating element (28) opens/closes said exit flap (30).

5. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said lint holder (18) comprises a mesh portion (34) attached to a rear side of said lint holder (18), such that, said water entered through said openings (24) of said frame (30) is exited through said mesh portion (34) of said lint holder (18).
6. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame (30) comprises a partition wall (36) made in a center portion in said frame (30) for restricting a movement of said water from one side to other side of said frame (30).

7. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame (30) comprises a flexible non-return flap (38) placed at a bottom portion of said partition wall (36) , said non-return flap (38) adapted to cover said lint collecting portion (26) of said lint holder (18) .

8. The appliance(10) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said non-return flap (38) restricts a movement of said collected lint in said lint holder(18) coming out of said lint holder (18).

9. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said the lint filter assembly (10) is attached to said drum (12) in such a way that said collected lint will be released outside said drum (12) and drained along with the drain water through a drain pipe (40) of said appliance (11) for cleaning said collected lint during at least one operational event.

10. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lint filter assembly (16) is made detachable for cleaning said collected lint manually.
, Description:Field of the invention
[0001]This disclosure relates to an auto cleaning mechanism in a household appliance. More particularly, it relates to a lint filter assembly cleaning in the household appliance.

Background of the invention
[0002]Many automatic/semi-automatic clothes washing appliances comprises a filter for collecting the dirt/lint generated during the washing process. Such a conventional washing machine provided with a lint filter filters the foreign matter such as a lint separated from laundry, but there is an inconvenience in that the user has to clean the lint filter directly and periodically. In addition, when the lint filter is left in a contaminated state without being cleaned in a timely manner, there is a hygiene problem such as mold generation and odor. Therefore, the consumer has to continuously observe whether the lint filter is contaminated and have a very troublesome problem.

[0003] A Korean patent application KR20120027819 discloses a washing machine and the washing method.The foreign matters such as seams suspended in the washing water are collected by a filter provided on the circulation passage when the washing water is circulated, and the foreign matter collected in the filter when the washing water is drained. This washing water is discharged to the outside of the washing machine, thereby eliminating the need for cleaning the filter and providing the advantage of maintaining the cleanness.

Brief description of the invention:
[0004]It is an object of the invention to provide an auto cleaning mechanism in a household appliance having a lint filter assembly.

[0005]The objects are solved by the auto cleaning mechanism in a household appliance having the features according to claim 1.

[0006]The invention relates to an auto cleaning mechanism in a household appliance. The appliance comprises a drum having an opening to receive laundry and a lint filter assembly integrated into the drum. The lint filter assembly comprises a lint holder and a frame have a slot for receiving the lint holder. The frame comprises multiple openings made on sides of the frame, for entry of water into the lint holder assembly during at least one operational event of the appliance to drain lint collected in the lint holder.

[0007] A feature of this invention is that, the dimensions of the slot is made corresponding to dimensions of the lint holder.

[0008] Another feature of this invention is that, the lint holder comprises a lint collecting portion, a floating element attached to the collecting portion and an exit flap positioned at bottom side of the lint holder.

[0009]Another feature of this invention is that, the floating element and the exit flap is connected by a shaft in such a way that, a movement of the floating element opens/closes the exit flap.

[0010] Another feature of this invention is that, the lint holder comprises a mesh portion attached to a rear side of the lint holder, such that, the water entered through the openings of the frame is exited through the mesh portion of the lint holder.

[0011]Another feature of this invention is that, the frame comprises a partition wall made in a center portion in the frame for restricting a movement of the water from one side to other side of the frame.

[0012] Another feature of this invention is that, the frame comprises a flexible non-return flap placed at a bottom portion of the partition wall, the non-return flap adapted to cover the lint collecting portion of the lint holder.

[0013]Another feature of this invention is that, the non-return flap restricts a movement of the collected lint in the lint holder coming out of the lint holder.

[0014]Another feature of this invention is that, the lint filter assembly is attached to the drum in such a way that the collected lint will be released outside the drum and drained along with the drain water through the drain pipe of the appliance for cleaning the collected lint during at least one operational event.

[0015]Another feature of this invention is that, the lint filter assembly is made detachable for cleaning the collected lint manually.

[0016]With the above-disclosed household appliance, the removal of lint from the appliance is made easier when compared to the conventional methods. The above disclosed auto cleaning mechanism reduces the human intervention for cleaning the lint filter assembly, as it cleans the collected lint during every drain cycle of the appliance. For further cleaning of the lint filter assembly, the lint holder is made detachable for manual cleaning. The above disclosed mechanism provides a low-cost simple solution. The lint filter assembly is made in such a way that, it can be replaced with much ease when found damaged.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings
An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings;
[0017] Figure 1 illustrates a household appliance, in accordance with an embodiment of this invention, and
[0018] Figure 2 illustrates the lint filter assembly of the household appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments
[0019] Figure 1 illustrates an auto cleaning mechanism in a household appliance, in accordance to one embodiment of the invention. The appliance 10 comprises a drum 12 having an opening 14 to receive laundry and a lint filter assembly 16 integrated into the drum 12. The lint filter assembly 16 comprises a lint holder 18 and a frame 20 having a slot 22 for receiving the lint holder 18. The frame 20 comprises multiple openings 24 made on sides of the frame 20, for entry of water into the lint holder assembly 16 during at least one operational event of the appliance 10 to drain lint collected in the lint holder 18.

[0020] Further, the construction of the household appliance 10 and the components of the household appliance 10 are explained as follows. According to one embodiment of the invention, the household appliance 10 is a washing machine. The washing machine is a top-load washing machine. The appliance 10 comprises an impeller 44 in fluid communication with the drum 12. The impeller 44 and drum 12 are positioned in the appliance 10 in such a way that, a small gap is formed between the drum 12 and the impeller 14. The appliance 10 comprises the lint filter assembly 16 integrated into the portion on at least one side surface of the drum 12. The lint filter assembly 16 is made detachable for cleaning the accumulated lint in the lint filter assembly 16 usually after every operational cycle of the appliance 10. In some of the appliances, the accumulation of the lint in the lint filter assembly 16 is displayed on a control panel of the appliance 10. The lint is the impurities or the threads that comes out of the laundry during washing process. The accumulated lint should be cleaned time to time for efficient washing process of the laundry.

[0021]According to one embodiment of the invention, the lint filter assembly 16 that is positioned on one of the side surface of the drum 12, comprises small holes kind of structure on the front portion 46 to filter the lint that will be generated during the washing process. According to one embodiment of the invention, the front portion 46 of the lint filter assembly 16 is placed facing an inner area of the drum 12. The back portion of the lint filter assembly 16 is positioned facing exterior to the drum 12. According to another embodiment of the invention, the water along with the lint enters the lint filter assembly 16 through the openings 24 made on the frame 20.

[0022]The lint filter assembly 16 is attached to the drum 12 in such a way that the collected lint will be released outside the drum 12 and drained along with the drain water through the drain pipe 40. The lint filter assembly 16 is protruded outside the drum in such a way that, the collected lint in the lint filter assembly 16 is released into a tub 41 during at least one operational event of the appliance 10 and drained out through the drain pipe attached with the tub 41. This mechanism provides the auto cleaning mechanism of the lint filter assembly 16. At least one operational event of the appliance 10 is chosen from a group of operational events comprising a wash cycle, a rinse cycle, a drain cycle and a spin cycle. When the appliance 10 is switched ON, the laundry undergoes the above mentioned four operational events/ stages of washing process.

[0023]As mentioned above, the lint filter assembly 16 comprises two parts, one being the frame 20 and the other being the lint holder 18. The dimensions of the slot 22 present in the frame 20 part is made corresponding to the dimensions of the lint holder 18. The lint holder 18 is inserted into the slot 22 of the frame 20 and is snapped to the frame 20, thus restricting the movement of the lint holder 18 during the operation of the appliance 10. The lint filter assembly 16 is made of plastic with a mesh structure 34 according to one embodiment of the invention. The multiple openings 24 made on the either side of the frame 20 helps in allowing the water enter into the lint filter assembly 16 for during at least one operational event of the appliance 10.

[0024]The lint holder 18 comprises a lint collecting portion 26, a floating element 28 attached to the collecting portion 26 and an exit flap 30 positioned at bottom side of the lint holder 18. The lint collecting portion 26 comprises a cut-section 48 where the floating element 28 is movably attached using any of the attaching techniques that is known in the state of the art. The lint collecting portion 26 collects the lint during the washing process and the collected lint is cleaned automatically for every operational cycle of the appliance 10. That is, the lint filter assembly 16 will not have any lint accumulated in the collecting portion 26 when the appliance 10 is switched on for the next operational cycle.

[0025]The lint holder 18 comprises an opening 42 at the bottom side, where the exit flap 30 is positioned. The exit flap 30 opens and the closes the opening 42 of the lint holder 18 during collection of the lint and the cleaning of the lint respectively. The floating element 28 and the exit flap 30 are connected by a shaft 32 in such a way that, a movement of the floating element 28 opens/closes the exit flap 30.

[0026] The floating element 28 is made hollow inside for the free movement of the floating element 28 on the collecting portion 26 of the lint holder 18. The exit flap 30 is positioned at the bottom surface of the lint holder 18. An opening (not shown) is made to accommodate the shaft 32 and the other end of the shaft 32 is connected to the rear surface of the floating element 28. The floating element 28 comprises a cut-section 48 for accommodating the shaft 32 formed on the rear side of the floating element 28. The floating element 28 moves in the radial direction (y-axis direction) in the lint holder 18.

[0027] When the floating element 28 is moved in the bottom to top direction, the exit flap 30 along with the shaft 32 moves upwards, thus closing the opening 42 present at the bottom of the lint holder 18. When the floating element 28 moves in the down ward direction, the exit flap 30 along with the shaft 32 is moved downwards, for cleaning the accumulated/collected lint in the collection portion 26 via the exit flap 30.The lint holder 18 comprises a mesh portion 34 attached to a rear side of the lint holder 18, such that, the water entered through the openings 24 of the frame 20 is exited through the mesh portion 34 of the lint holder 10, wherein the lint that entered along with the water will be trapped in the collecting portion 26 of the lint holder 18.

[0028] The frame 30 comprises a partition wall 36 made in a center portion in the frame 30 for restricting a movement of the water from one side to other side of the frame 30. The water thus entered the frame 30 of the lint filter assembly 16 is made to pass into the lint holder 18. The water along with the lint is directed towards the lint holder 18 via the multiple openings 24 of the frame 20 . The frame 20 comprises a flexible non-return flap 38 placed at a bottom portion of the partition wall 36.

[0030] The non-return flap 38 adapted to cover the lint collecting portion 26 of the lint holder 18. The water coming from the openings of the frame 20 (along with the lint) enters the lint holder 18 through the non-return flap 38. The non-return flap 38 restricts a movement of the collected lint in the lint holder 18 coming out of the lint holder 18. The force with which the water flows into the frame 20 through the openings 24 pushes the non-return flap 38 to open into the lint holder 18.

[0031] A method of working of the lint filter assembly in the household appliance is explained in detail. The laundry that requires washing is loaded into the drum 12 of the appliance 10. When the appliance 10 is switched ON, the laundry undergoes the four stages of washing process i.e., a wash cycle, a rinse cycle, a spin cycle and a dry cycle. During the above-mentioned cycles, the rotational direction of the impeller 44 and the drum 12 varies based on the type of the appliance 10. For instance, in few appliance, the impeller 44 and the drum 12 rotates in same direction and in some appliances, both (the impeller 44 and the drum 12) rotates in opposite direction. The dirt and the threads (lint) coming out of the laundry during the washing process is redirected to the lint filter assembly 16.

[0032] In the wash cycle, the laundry becomes heavy when soaked in water and gets settles down at the bottom portion of the drum 12. During the rinse and the spin cycles, the laundry rotates in a high speed (along with the drum 12 and the impeller 44). When the laundry is loaded in the drum 12 of the appliance 10, the water level is maintained high. During wash cycle, the impeller 44 rotates in both the direction with the help of a drive mechanism. When the impeller 44 rotates a turbulence in the water is created by the impeller profile. Due to the increase in the water level in the drum 12, the water from the openings 24 of the frame 20 enters the lint filter assembly 16 thus opening the non-return flap 38.

[0033]The water entered inside the lint filter assembly 16 is redirected towards down and pushes the non-return flap 38 to pass through the lint filter holder 18. The lint will be arrested in the lint collecting portion 26 of the holder 18 while the water comes out through the mesh 34 present on the rear side of the lint holder 18. The non-return flap 38 helps to retain the lint inside the lint holder 18 from escaping back into the drum 12. The wash water entered from the openings 24 of the frame 20, exits through the backside of the drum 12 when the bottom exit flap opens. Due to the rise of water in the drum 12, the floating element 28 moves in upwards direction, thus pulling the exit flap 30 for closing the opening 42 of the lint holder 18. The movement of the floating element 28 is due to the buoyancy effect of the water and the floating element 28 being hollow in structure, the movement occurs without much hassle.

[0034] During the drain cycle, water level lowers in the drum 12. When the water is exited through the mesh portion 34 of the lint filter assembly 16, the decrease in the level of the water, brings down the floating element 28, thus opening the exit flap 30. As the water level lowers, the floating element 28 will be slided down, which in turn opens the exit flap 30. The collected lint in the lint holder 18 drained out along with the drain water via the drain pipe 40 in the tub 41. Thus, the lint (which is the dirt and the threads) accumulated/collected in the lint filter assembly 16 is cleaned automatically in every drain cycle.

[0035]With the above-disclosed household appliance 10, the removal of lint from the appliance 10 is made easier when compared to the conventional methods. The above disclosed auto cleaning mechanism reduces the human intervention for cleaning the lint filter assembly 16, as it cleans the collected lint after every operational cycle of the appliance 10. For further cleaning of the lint filter assembly 16, the lint holder 18 is made detachable for manual cleaning. The above disclosed mechanism provides a low-cost simple solution. The lint filter assembly 16 is made in such a way that, it can be replaced with much ease when found damaged. The auto cleaning mechanism disclosed in this invention, can be used in any other household appliance like dishwasher as known to a person skilled in the art.

[0036] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.

List of Reference Signs
10 household appliance
12 drum
14 opening of the drum
16 lint filter assembly
18 lint holder
20 frame of lint filter assembly
22 slot on frame
24 multiple openings on the frame
26 lint collecting portion
28 floating element
30 exit flap
32 shaft
34 mesh portion of lint holder
36 partition wall
38 non-return flap
40 drain pipe
42 opening of the lint holder
44 impeller
46 front portion of the lint filter assembly
48 cut-section on the lint holder