AU701326B2 - Dryer for footwear, clothing and headgear - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Form PATENTS ACT 1952-1973 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Class: Int. CI: Application Number: Lodged: *.:Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Published: S Priority: Related Art: 17 ScrsyRd S.i, BETON ERE COPEEDRAICANT DEAN ElODRIDGEanMXIELRDE :AddressorSppicen: 40OTH es L.Avenue, CO.aety At.o3149 178 ScereyRdRoi, Vic. 3155 Comlee peifcaio fr hernesponentiely DRYR FR FORETNANDRE ELTHNGADRDEAGR Comle Specoificsationeforithe inventionretioftled: eton nldn tebs eho fpromiginw to me:- Note: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica type face, in an area not exceeding 250 mm in depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good quality and it is to be inserted inside this form.

C. J. TtiomPSON. Comnmonwealth Government Printer. Canberra I I 1 101 This invention relates to clothing drying equipment and relates in particular to drying apparatus in the form of a multi-level segmented stand which incorporates air-flow ducts connected to three-dimensional apertured holders shaped to footwear and clothing for drying such items by passing warm or hot air jets through holes in the holders to dry off articles of clothing such as damp footwear, socks, pullovers, hats and caps which have been placed over an appropiately-shaped holder fixed to the stand.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus for drying items of clothing such as footwear, underclothes, apparel and headgear, to said apparatus comprising a stand with a box-like hollow base fluidly connected to an assembly of separable tubular upright segments forming a plurality of drying air-flow ducts adapted to support item-drying holders on different levels, the assembly including a plurality of item-drying holders each provided with a o* plurality of item-drying forced air-flow outlet apertures in the form of holes to enable drying-air jets to flow inside each item placed on its holder on the stand which has respectively a pair of outer lower tubular upright segments, a pair of outer intermediate tubular upright segments and a pair of outer upper tubular upright segments, the outer, lower upright tubular segment of the stand being a footwear-drying segment which has a pair of outer tubular uprights perman- 2z ently connected by at least one tubular cross member fixed thereto supporting a plurality of footwear holders fixed to and upstanding from the at least one cross member at laterally-spaced intervals, the tubular uprights, the at least one cross member and the holders being in mutual gas flow connection to allow drying air to pass therethrough.

2 6 Preferably, there is positioned between pairs of lower, intermediate and upper outer upright tubular segments, inner upright tubular segments supporting apertured clothing-drying holders, a lower inner upright Ptubular segment being joined to an intermediate inner upright tubular segment, 2 an upper inner tubular upright segment being joined to the intermediate inner upright tubular segment, a plurality of tubular branches being joined to the intermediate inner upright tubular segment, each branch supporting an apertured, clothing-drying holder fixed to the branch, each segment, branch and clothing holder being in fluid flow connection to allow drying air flow therethrough.

Preferably, there is a non-tubular cross member attached to and joining the pair of upper tubular upright outer segments and a plurality of apertured, headgear-drying holders is attached to and along the cross member \o at spaced intervals.

Preferably, apertured, headgear-drying holder is adapted to be attached to a pipe extending above each apertured, clothing-drying holder.

Some non-limiting examples of the drying apparatus of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in I- which: -3- Figure 1 is an isometric view of a fullyassembled embodiment of the drying apparatus of the invention.

Figure 2 is an isometric view an enlarged scale of that part of the apparatus of Figure 1 designated by an encircled 2.

Figure 3 is an isometric view on an enlarged scale of that part of the apparatus of Figure 1 designated by an encircled 3.

10 Figure 4 is an isometric view on an enlarged scale of that part of the apparatus of Figure 1 designated S* by an encircled 4.

Figure 5 is an isometric view on an enlarged scale of that part of the apparatus of Figure 1 designated S15 by an encircled 0 Figure 6 is an isometric view of the apparatus 4 of the invention with item holders and footwear section 0 removed for clarity.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown :20 apparatus for forced-air drying of clothing such as hats and caps, gloves, underwear and apparel outer garments and footwear. The apparatus is constructed in the form of a free-standing stand which can be mobile on wheels, castors or not and which comprises a hollow box-like base preferably formed of aluminium sheet serving as a housing for a heater/fan unit of variable setting and speed, respectively. The base 10 is fluidly connected to a system of warm or hot air flow ducting branched pipes or ducts comprising pairs of segmented separable and -4stacikable outer uprigh~t members 11, 12 preferably constructed in three sections comprising bottom section members A and Al, middle section members B and BI and top section C, the bottom section members A and Al are laterally permanently connected to or by a pair of airflow conducting tubular cross members 13, 14 each of which has upstanding therefrom a plurality of permanentlyconnected air delivery pipes, two drying air outer delivery pipes on the upper pipe are labelled 15, 16 and two drying air outer delivery pipes on the lower pipe 14 are labelled 17, 18. The uprights of top section C and Cl are connected at the top by a top plate 14a. The uprights are adapted to be sleeved together 'by being tapered or by having the tops of segments indented to limit the extent that the bottom of one member slides down 4644the top ot the next member. There is permanently mounted upon each of eight drying air delivery pipes four being labelled 15, 16, 18 respectively and upstanding therefrom an apertured footwear holder two outer ones being labelled 19, 20 of the upper pipe 13 and two outer ones 21, 22 of the lower pipe 14. As shown in Figure 3, the footwear holder 20 has a plurality of apertures providing forced drying air outlet flow jets such as those labelled 20a, 20b. Extending vertically between the uprights 11, 12 there is a segmented separable and stackable branched pipe having a bottom section D, middle section E and a 'top section F. The branched pipe can be of any suitable material such as metal or synthetic polymeric resin material for example PVC. The mid-portion 41 00 '00:4, 00

VOW,

*04 incorporates three hollow, rigid and apertured garment (singlet, T-shirt etc.) drying holders 23, 24, 25 which can be made of glass fibre-reinforced resin, each with a plurality of air flow holes two being labelled 25a and shown on the detail of Figure 2. In each air delivery pipe below and supporting the garment drying holder there is a butterfly air flow control valve or dampers V shown more clearly in the detail of Figure 5. (There are fourteen valves or dampers in the illustrated embodiment).

Above the garment holders and detachably and stackably connected to each respectively there is a rigid and preferably spherical headgear drying holder 26, 27, 28 each being provided with a plurality of air-flow holes two being labelled 26a and 26b in Figure 3. Each of the 15 holders is hollow and relatively three dimensional being shaped so that air can be delivered inside an item to be dried which has been placed an a holder so that warm drying air can pass through the garment via the holes which form drying Jets.

Each upstanding footwear air flow delivery and support pipe 15, 16 17, 18 is provided with an airflow control valve such as a butterfly valve V or damper installed in an air delivery pipe as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Similarly, there is an air-flow control valve V in each supporting and air delivery pipe supplying the headgear- drying top members 26, 27, 28 as shown in detail in Figures 4 and b.

The footwear, clothIng and laeadgear drying holder units of the apparatus of the invention can be used -6a. 9 a *9 .49.

p (4 a.

a.

.4 independently on the base or stacked for use collectively as required.

There is also an umbrella-drying, open-top receptacle 29 on the outside of the base unit which contains contains provision for making use of warm or hot air from a central heating air outlet register and for this purpose may be provided with a rectangular cut out in the bottom of the base but off-set from the bottom of the ducts. Alternatively, there may be incorporated within 10 the base a fan/heater unit or heater/blower unit each respectively with a timer and thermostat or instead heat lamps may be installed in which case a fan or blower without a heater may be incorporated for forced convection of hot air from the heat lamps. On/off and temperaturesetting and timer setting switches or controls are preferably installed and a neon operating condition indicating lamp or light is also provided.

To avoid condensation from the ducts falling onto an electric fan/heater unit the unit is off-set with *20 respect to the lower end of the pipes or ducts.

A hinged door 30 is provided in a side wall of the base 10 for service access and replacement of the fan/heater unit and other items and this door is provided with fixed or movable air inlet or venting louvres also serving to cool the fan or blower motor.

Alternatively the unit can be solar heated.

The apparatus of the invention can have heated oil or hot water passed through it from respective separate external heat-generating units.

a.

4* Pt 4-

P

0( Pa..

Claims (4)

1. Apparatus for drying items of clothing such as footwear, under- clothes, apparel and headgear, said apparatus comprising a stand with a box-like hollow base fluidly connected to an assembly of separable tubular upright segments forming a plurality of drying air-flow ducts adapted to support item-drying holders on different levels, the assembly including a plurality of item-drying holders each provided with a plurality of item-drying forced air-flow outlet apertures in the form of holes to enable drying-air jets to flow inside each item placed on its holder on the stand which has respectively a pair of outer lower tubular upright segments, a pair of outer intermediate tubular upright segments and a pair of outer upper tubular upright segments, the outer, lower upright tubular segment of the stand being a footwear-drying segment which has a pair of outer tubular uprights permanently connected by at least one 9. tubular cross member fixed thereto supporting a plurality of footwear holders fixed to and upstanding from the at least one cross member at laterally-spaced 9 intervals, the tubular uprights, the at least one cross member and the holders are in mutual gas flow connection to allow drying air to pass therethrough.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there is positioned between pairs of lower, intermediate and upper outer upright tubular segments, .°oo. inner upright tubular segments supporting apertured clothing-drying holders, a lower inner upright tubular segment being joined to an intermediate inner upright tubular segment, an upper inner tubular upright segment being joined to the intermediate inner upright tubular segment, a plurality of tubular branches being joined to the intermediate inner upright tubular segment, each branch supporting an apertured, clothing-drying holder fixed to the branch, each segment, branch and clothing holder being in fluid flow connection to allow drying air flow therethrough.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there is a non-tubular cross member attached to and joining the pair of upper upright outer segments and a plurality of apertured, headgear-drying holders is attached to and along the cross member at spaced intervals.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein each apertured, headgear-drying holder is adapted to be attached to a pipe extending above each apertured, clothing-drying holder. Apparatus for drying footwear, clothing, undergarments, apparel and headgear substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 30th day of November, 1998 DEAN ELDRIDGE and MAXINE ELDRIDGE By Our Patent Attorney JOHN L.DAVIES CO 0 0