Clothes dryer

Abstract

A clothes dryer includes a body having a filter opening at a front side of the body; a drum disposed in the body; a heat exchanger disposed in the body to exchange heat with air; a filter unit detachably mounted in the body through the filter opening; and a filter cover configured to be positioned between an open position where the filter unit is accessible through the filter opening and a closed position where the filter opening is covered by the filter cover. The filter cover includes a first coupling member. The filter unit includes a filter, a casing to support the filter, a front cover disposed at a front side of the casing, and a second coupling member disposed at the front cover. When the filter unit is mounted in the body the filter cover is maintained in the closed position by coupling the first and second coupling members.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A clothes dryer comprising:
 a body having a filter opening at a front side of the body;   a drum disposed in the body to accommodate clothes;   a heat exchanger disposed in the body to exchange heat with air;   a filter unit detachably mounted in the body through the filter opening; and   a filter cover configured to be positioned between an open position where the filter unit is accessible through the filter opening and a closed position where the filter opening is covered by the filter cover,   wherein the filter cover comprises a first coupling member,   the filter unit comprises a filter, a casing to support the filter, a front cover disposed at a front side of the casing, and a second coupling member disposed at the front cover, and   when the filter unit is mounted in the body the filter cover is maintained in the closed position by coupling the first and second coupling members.   
     
     
         2 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the first coupling member is disposed on a rear surface of the filter cover. 
     
     
         3 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the filter cover is coupled to the body by a rotation member formed on a lower portion of the filter cover. 
     
     
         4 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a front panel provided with a door to open/close the drum, and
 the filter cover, the front panel and the door form an external appearance of the front surface of the body.   
     
     
         5 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the filter unit further comprises an installation unit and a fixation member formed in the installation unit to fix the filter unit to the body,
 wherein the fixation member is configured to move between a locked position where the filter unit is fixed to the body and the installation unit is open, and an unlocked position where the filter unit is not fixed to the body and the installation unit is closed.   
     
     
         6 . The clothes dryer of  claim 5 , wherein the filter cover further comprises a check member corresponding to the installation unit and the fixation member, the check member being configured so that the check member can only be inserted into the installation unit when the installation unit is open and the filter unit is fixed to the body. 
     
     
         7 . The clothes dryer of  claim 6 , wherein the fixation member is disposed at a front side of the filter unit, and
 the check member is disposed at a rear side of the filter cover.   
     
     
         8 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the filter unit is disposed on one side of the heat exchanger when the filter unit is installed in the body. 
     
     
         9 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , further comprising a circulation fan disposed on a moving path of the air to circulate the air between the drum and the heat exchanger. 
     
     
         10 . The clothes dryer of  claim 1 , further comprising a primary filter unit to filter air to be introduced to the filter unit.