1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laundry dryer, and more particularly, to drum supporting assembly that can allow a drum to be supported on a cabinet, thereby maintaining a horizontal state.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a drum-type laundry dryer is designed to perform the drying operation while rotating laundry loaded in a dry drum. The laundry rotates and drops by the rotation of the laundry drum. High-temperature dry air introduced into the dry drum is mixed with the laundry to vaporize the moisture soaked in the laundry. The laundry dryer may be classified into a condenser-type dryer and an exhaust-type dryer. The former is designed such that the air in the dry drum is directed to a condenser and a heater and is then returned to the dry drum. That is, the air circulates in the dryer without being exhausted out of the dryer. The latter is designed such that the air in the dry drum is directed to the condenser so that the moisture contained in the air can be eliminated and is then exhausted out of the dryer.
The exhaust-type dryer can be further classified into a gas-type and an electric-type. The former has a heater comprised of a funnel, an igniter and a flame sensor. The gas is burnt in the funnel to generate heat, thereby heating air introduced into the dry drum. The latter has a heater formed of a plurality turns of heat wire to heat the air introduced into the dry drum. When the electric power is applied, the heater generates heat transmitted to the air passing through the heater to change the air into high temperature air. The high temperature air is introduced into the drum to dry the laundry.
In the prior dryer, a front inner circumference of the drum is seated and supported on the front cover while a rear surface of the drum is provided at a center with a bearing connected to and supported on a back cover of the dryer.
In the prior drum supporting assembly, however, as the drum is rotated and vibrated, the bearing can be effectively absorbs the vibration. Accordingly, the vibration generated when the drum rotates is transmitted to the cabinet of the dryer, thereby vibrating the cabinet on the flour.
In addition, the lubricant for the bearing may be leaked to the outer side, the rear surface of the drum becomes dirty. Sometimes, the leaked lubricant may stain the laundry.
Furthermore, by the leakage of the lubricant for the bearing, frictional force between the drum and the bearing is increased, thereby damaging the bearing and deteriorating the effective rotation of the drum.