Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F59/00—Supports adapted to retain the shape of particular articles being dried, e.g. incorporating heating means
  • D06F59/02—Supports adapted to retain the shape of particular articles being dried, e.g. incorporating heating means for garments

Definitions

• the object of this invention is a device for hanging bathrobes, underwear, garments and the like.
• the object of this invention is a garment hanger provided with means suitable for eliminating or reducing the unpleasant sensation of cold caused by the contact of a user's skin with the cold and/or wet fabric of a bathrobe, or more in general, of garments or the like.
• the term "garments” denotes bath linen, such as bathrobes and towels, underwear but also any other type of clothing for household purpose and not.
• the invention therefore falls within the field of household appliances, in particular in that of devices used for having sufficiently warm garments immediately before they are worn.
• Such field is substantially monopolised by heated towel rail (which, as known, also have the function of room heating) and to a lesser extent, by hangers and supports provided with heating means (generally electrical resistors) for warming and/or drying the garments hung thereon.
• hangers and/or supports for clothes and underwear comprising electrical resistors suitable for yielding heat to an air flow intended for heating and/or drying the hung underwear.
• said hangers and/or supports comprise an integrated fan for drawing said air flow and slots, obtained on the frame thereof, and such as to ensure the passage thereof towards the cold and/or wet underwear.
• towel rails are much more widespread for warming cold and/or wet garments so as to make the use thereof more comfortable, therefore it is not necessary to describe them further.
• said electrical or fluid-circulation towel rails are mainly designed for room heating but they may also support, hanging on the elements thereof or on special handles, towels, bathrobes or garments that therefore benefit from the heat generated thereby.
• hangers and/or supports are more suitable, the use whereof, however, appears to be more difficult both from an aesthetical point of view, as they do not fit well in the room they are used in, and because they require the presence of additional support elements whereon they can be hung, for example hooks and/or tubular elements fixed to the wall or on doors and cabinets of furniture.
• the object of this invention is to obviate at least a part of the drawbacks described above, by providing a device for hanging garments provided with means suitable for the warming and/or drying thereof.
• the object of this invention is a garment hanger suitable for eliminating or at least reducing the unpleasant sensation of cold caused by the contact of the skin with the cold and/or wet fabric of said garments.
• a further object of this invention is to provide a garment hanger provided with low energy consumption heating means.
• a further object is to provide a garment hanger provided with heating means with good aesthetics and easy to integrate with the room it is intended to be used in.
• FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the warming garment hanger according to the invention.
• FIGS. 2a and 2b respectively show an axonometric top and bottom view of the garment hanger according to the invention.
• reference numeral 1 globally denotes the warming device suitable for warming and or drying the garments hung thereon.
• said warming device shall also be referred to as “warming garment hanger” or, equally, “garment hanger”.
• said garment hanger 1 is provided with a first "fixing block” 2, a second “warming block” 3 and an aesthetical cover 4 the components and purposes whereof shall be described in detail hereinafter.
• the fixing block 2 therefore comprises a support 21 fixable to the wall by known fixing means (by way of a non-limiting example, screws inserted in through holes 211 obtained on said support 21 and intended for being received into corresponding wall blocks), a sleeve 22 for the connection thereof to cover 4 and a jointing element 23 (hereinafter, connection 23) between said support 21 and sleeve 22.
• Said connection 23 may be removably connected to support 21, for example by tenon 231 of the inside face 233 thereof and corresponding mortise 212 on support 21 (in figure 1, a T recess).
• Sleeve 22 fits on the opposite face 234 of the same connection 23, for example by interference on neck 232.
• a connector 24 is seated into said connection 23 for the electrical supply of garment hanger 1 and a condenser 25 (schematically shown in figure 1) suitable for dampening voltage fluctuations of the electrical system said connector 24 is connected to (through a power supply cable of the known type, not shown).
• An opening 235 is obtained on the side surface of connection 23 that allows inserting and connecting the above power supply cable to electrical connector 24.
• sleeve 22 of the "fixing block” 2 is connected by welding (or gluing) to cover 4 wherein, as shall be explained in detail, said "warming block” 3 is inserted and positioned, which seats at least the means for the warming and circulation of the air for drying and/or warming garments.
• Said warming block 3 comprises a body 31 on the through cavity 311 whereof there are inserted and fixed one or more electrical resistances 32, an aluminium heat sink 33 and a fan 34.
• said one or more electrical resistances 32 and said heat sink 33 are in close contact with each other and are substantially seated in the lowermost portion of cavity 311 of body 31, whereas fan 34 is inserted and constrained at the top portion of the same cavity 311.
• Said one or more electrical resistances 32 are of the known type, by way of a non- limiting example, armoured or reinforced, whereas heat sink 33 and fan 34 (but also connector 24 described above and the same resistances 32), also known and with low energy consumption, axe of the type already used in several electronic devices and equipment such as personal computers and/or notebooks.
• Body 31 further comprises, on its top face 312, a seat (not shown) for a proximity sensor 5, the purpose whereof shall be explained hereinafter.
• the aesthetical cover 4 wherein said body 31 is capable of being inserted hides the various components contained therein.
• said cover 4 geometrically and dimensionally shaped for seating and connecting to body 31, is provided with a first series 41 of holes obtained on the top face thereof, in the proximity of base 44 and a second series 42 of holes which is instead obtained on the bottom face thereof, in the proximity of the closing cap 43.
• the first series 41 of holes interfaces on the heat sink 33 and on the relative electrical resistances 32, whereas the second series 42 of holes is at fan 34.
• a slot 431 (or any similar opening) is further obtained on the closing cap 43 of cover 4 which leaves the proximity sensor 5 exposed, with body 31 inserted in cover 4.
• Body 31 of the warming block 3 and the corresponding cover 4 whereon it is inserted form the support for the garments to be warmed and or dried.
• the warming block 3 (and the relative cover 4), on the other hand, extends upwards with inclination a relative to the same fixing block 2 (to this end, reference shall be made to figure 2a). In any case, nothing prevents said warming block 3 from developing according to a direction substantially orthogonal to the wall the garment hanger 1 is fixed to.
• connection 23 and support 21 allows quick assembling/disassembling of the garment hanger 1 from said wall while the fact that body 31 of the "warming block" 3 is simply inserted into cover 4 and accessible, once everything has been assembled, by simply opening cap 43 of the same cover 4, simplifies the operations of maintenance and/or replacement of the various components just described.
• the proximity sensor 5 reads its presence through slot 431 of cap 43 of cover 4, and through known means and procedures, it starts the electrical resistance 32 and fan 34 of the "warming block" 3.
• the air drawn by fan 34 by means of the first series 41 of holes (and called “inlet”) of cover 4 enters into cavity 311 of body 31 of the warming block 3 and crosses the heat sink 33 heated by said one or more electrical resistances 32 it is in contact with.
• Said heat sink 33 therefore has as dual function: that of dissipating the heat generated by said one or more electrical resistances 32 when activated by sensor 5, thus preserving the operation thereof, and at the same time that of yielding it to the air touching it.
• cover 4 preferably but not necessarily has an elliptical section so as to maximise the air inlet and outlet surfaces defined respectively by the first 41 and second 42 series of holes. Accordingly, also body 31 of the warming block 3 to be inserted in said cover 4 as well as support 21, connection 23 and sleeve 22 of the fixing block 2 likewise have an elliptical section so as to ensure the assembly thereof. However, nothing prevents said components from having any other section suitable for the purpose, such as by way of a non- limiting example, circular, square, rectangular, hexagonal or the like, or also provided with convex zones (for example at the first series 41 of holes on the cover 41).
• the garment hanger 1 may be made of any material suitable for supporting the weight of the hung garments, resistant to humidity (as it is mainly used in/with wet rooms and/or garments) and sufficiently precious such as to impart a pleasant, modern and elegant appearance thereto.
• said garment hanger 1 may be made of a metal material (such as aluminium, steel or the like) and/or of a plastic material.
• the garment hanger 1 may be of the portable type and/or usable in any room, or dismountable for recharging the batteries, if it is not possible to connect it to the mains when applied to the wall.
• connector 24 placed as seen into said connection 23 may be used, through a known external charger, for recharging said batteries.
• Said charger may be of the known type, already used for example for recharging mobile phones, or it may be integrated into the same connection 23.
• connection 23 may be provided with two plugs that:
• the electrical plug and corresponding slots pair act as alternative fixing means to said tenon 231 and mortise 212.
• sleeve 22 may be connected to cover 4 at base 44 thereof through other known connecting means and systems (not shown) that allow the optional subsequent removal (for example, with no limiting intention, through screws inserted on special eyebolts obtained on base 44 of said cover 4 and capable of tightening on corresponding blocks provided on sleeve 22 or through a flange- counter flange connection). Moreover, nothing prevents sleeve 22 and cover 4 from being made in a single body (especially if the garment hanger is made of a plastic material).
• said electrical resistances 32 may be of any other known type on the market, in particular of the PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) type.
• PTC Positive Temperature Coefficient
• a modular garment hanger 1 is possible, according to which two or more warming blocks 3 (and relative covers 4) are fixed to the fixing block 2, through suitable connections, so as to warm and/or dry multiple garments hanging on each of them at the same time.
• a version (also not shown) of such modular garment hanger 1 is also possible, according to which multiple fixing blocks 2, each one constrained, as seen, to the corresponding warming block 3, are mounted on a special base capable of being, in turn, fixed to the wall.
• the garment hanger 1 of the invention is a constructively simple device, with low energy consumption, usable in any period of the year and that can be aesthetically integrated in any household environment and not, which achieves the desired objects and purposes, in particular the possibility of eliminating or at least reducing the annoying sensation of cold caused by the contact of the skin with the cold and/or wet fabric of the garments hung thereon.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
• Holders For Apparel And Elements Relating To Apparel (AREA)
• Spinning Methods And Devices For Manufacturing Artificial Fibers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=43569588

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2009
  • 2009-12-02 IT ITAN20090042 patent/ITAN20090042U1/it unknown
• 2010
  • 2010-11-25 WO PCT/IB2010/003093 patent/WO2011067662A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2010-11-25 EP EP10805300.0A patent/EP2507428B1/de active Active

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events