Blower assembly with locating features for an appliance
A laundry appliance may include a tub positioned within a cabinet, a wash basket rotatably mounted within the tub, the wash basket defining a chamber for receipt of articles for washing and drying, a dispensing assembly positioned near a top of the cabinet, and a blower assembly coupled to the dispensing assembly. The blower assembly may include a base plate, a blower cover attached to the base plate, a locating pin extending from the base plate, at least one locating knob extending from the base plate, and a blower fan including an exhaust port and defining a plurality of mounting apertures, wherein each of the plurality of mounting apertures are configured to receive one of the locating pin or the at least one locating knob respectively therein to align the exhaust port with the blower cover.
1 . A blower assembly for an appliance, the appliance defining a mutually orthogonal vertical direction, lateral direction, and transverse direction, the blower assembly comprising:
a base plate;
a blower cover attached to the base plate;
a locating pin extending from the base plate;
at least one locating knob extending from the base plate; and
a blower fan comprising an exhaust port and defining a plurality of mounting apertures, wherein each of the plurality of mounting apertures are configured to receive one of the locating pin or the at least one locating knob respectively therein to align the exhaust port with the blower cover,
wherein an internal top plane of the blower cover and an internal bottom plane of the blower cover define a tapered angle,
wherein the tapered angle of the internal top plane is greater than the tapered angle of the internal bottom plane, and
wherein the tapered angle of the internal top plane creates an interference with a top surface of the blower fan.
2 . The blower assembly of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust port of the blower fan is positioned within the blower cover.
3 . The blower assembly of claim 1 , wherein the locating pin is positioned on a lateral edge of the base plate opposite that of the blower cover,
wherein the locating pin prevents the movement of the blower fan in the vertical direction, and
wherein the locating pin serves as a pivot point for the blower fan.
4 . The blower assembly of claim 3 , wherein the at least one locating knob is positioned near a bottom edge of the base plate,
wherein each of the at least one locating knob extend partially into each respective mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures.
5 . The blower assembly of claim 4 , wherein the at least one locating knob is positioned within their respective mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures by rotating the blower fan about the locating pin.
6 . The blower assembly of claim 5 , wherein the at least one locating knob is generally semi-circle shaped.
7 . The blower assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
an attachment component extending from a rear of the base plate.
8 . The blower assembly of claim 7 , wherein the attachment component is configured to be coupled to a dispensing assembly for the appliance.
9 . A laundry appliance defining a mutually orthogonal vertical direction, lateral direction, and transverse direction, the laundry appliance comprising:
a tub positioned within a cabinet;
a wash basket rotatably mounted within the tub, the wash basket defining a chamber for receipt of articles for washing and drying;
a dispensing assembly positioned near a top of the cabinet; and
a blower assembly coupled to the dispensing assembly, the blower assembly comprising:
a base plate;
a blower cover attached to the base plate;
a locating pin extending from the base plate;
at least one locating knob extending from the base plate; and
a blower fan comprising an exhaust port and defining a plurality of mounting apertures, wherein each of the plurality of mounting apertures are configured to receive one of the locating pin or the at least one locating knob respectively therein to align the exhaust port with the blower cover,
wherein an internal top plane of the blower cover and an internal bottom plane of the blower cover define a tapered angle,
wherein the tapered angle of the internal top plane is greater than the tapered angle of the internal bottom plane, and
wherein the tapered angle of the internal top plane creates an interference with a top surface of the blower fan.
10 . The laundry appliance of claim 9 , wherein the exhaust port of the blower fan is positioned within the blower cover.
11 . The laundry appliance of claim 9 , wherein the locating pin is positioned on a lateral edge of the base plate opposite that of the blower cover,
wherein the locating pin prevents the movement of the blower fan in the vertical direction, and
wherein the locating pin serves as a pivot point for the blower fan.
12 . The laundry appliance of claim 11 , wherein the at least one locating knob is positioned near a bottom edge of the base plate,
wherein each of the at least one locating knob extend partially into each respective mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures.
13 . The laundry appliance of claim 12 , wherein the at least one locating knob is positioned within their respective mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures by rotating the blower fan about the locating pin.
14 . The laundry appliance of claim 13 , wherein the at least one locating knob is generally semi-circle shaped.
15 . The laundry appliance of claim 9 , the blower assembly further comprising:
an attachment component extending from a rear of the base plate.
16 . The laundry appliance of claim 15 , wherein the blower assembly is coupled to the dispensing assembly via the attachment component.