GB1586934A - Method and electrical appliance for drying and airing clothes - Google Patents

Description

(54) A METHOD AND ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE FOR DRYING AND AIRING CLOTHES (71) I, HAROLD JOHN WALTON PATTMAN, a British Subject, of 31 Argyle Road, London N17 OBE, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a Patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a method and a domestic electrical appliance for drying and airing articles such as clothes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of drying or airing articles such as clothes, comprising suspending a flexible waterproof heating panel vertically from a drying frame or line and draping the articles over the frame or line so as to overlie the heating panel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a domestic electrical appliance for drying and airing articles such as clothes, which appliance comprises a flexible waterproof heating panel and suspension means, including detachable hooks, for suspending such heating panel from a drying frame or line.

Embodiments of the invention provide a drying and airing appliance which is efficient in operation, safe under conditions of prolonged use with delicate fabrics and dissipates heat at relatively low temperatures over a large surface area.

The flexible construction of the heating panel permits the appliance to be rolled or folded up, when not in use, so as to occupy the minimum space for storage.

The appliance may be used in conjunction with a domestic indoor clothes line or drying frame of the "clothes horse" type.

In order that the invention may be readily understood. an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of an electrical appliance embodying the invention, suspended from a clothes horse drying frame; and Figure 2 is a perspective view of a suspension hook for use in suspending the heating panel of the appliance from the drying frame.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, an electrical appliance embodying the invention comprises a flexible, waterproof heating panel 1 having upper and lower edge portions 2 and 3 each provided with five spaced apart eyelets 4. The heating panel 1 is suspended from a top rail 5 of a drying frame 6 by suspension hooks 7 engaged in the eyelets of the upper edge portion 2 of the heating panel. A flex 8 terminated by a plug 9 is provided for connecting the heating panel to a normal domestic electrical outlet 10.

The drying frame is a known frame made of plastics-covered metal rod and is shown in Figure 1 in its normal, free-standing position with two sub-frames 6B and 6C disposed at an angle to a central sub-frame 6A. As shown in Figure 1, the flexible heating panel of the appliance can readily adopt the angular configuration of the drying frame. In use, clothes or other articles may be draped over the top rail 5 of the drying frame 6 so as to overlie the heating panel 1, thereby lying in close proximity to the heat-emitting surfaces of the heating panel. Although the heating panel 1 is shown suspended from the top rail 5 of the drying frame 6 in Figure 1, clearly the panel can be suspended from a lower rail, such as rail 11, in appropriate circumstances, for example for drying large articles draped over the top rail of the drying frame.

The described appliance can equally be used in conjunction with an indoor clothes line, the heating panel then being suspended vertically beneath the clothes line by means of the suspension hooks 7 and the articles to be dried being draped over the clothes line, so as to overlie the panel.

The suspension hooks 7 are shown in more detail in Figure 2 of the drawing. Each hook 7 is constructed from moulded plastics material or plastics-coated wire and comprises a substantially U-shaped member, with the upper ends of the vertically extending limbs 13 and 14 turned over in opposite directions to form two coaxial downward facing hook portions 15, axially spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the clothes line or drying frame rail from which the heating panel is to be suspended. To engage the hook 7, after it has been passed through a respective eyelet of the heating panel, the clothes line or a selected drying frame rail is passed between the hook portions 15 and the hook is rotated through a right angle and lowered so that the portions 15 rest on the line or rail. The heating panel will then be suspended from a base portion 12 passing through the eyelet of the heating panel. It is envisaged that a hook of this configuration will present little likelihood of accidental disengagement of the heating panel when clothes are pulled from the clothes line or drying frame.

The hooks 7 at each end of the heating panel 1 may, with advantage, be so adapted, or replaced by suitable means, for gripping the clothes line or drying frame so as to prevent the ends of the heating panel 1 moving towards one another, particularly when the appliance is used in conjunction with a clothes line, as there will be a tendency for the ends of the panel to move down the catenary slope, if the heating panel and line are not firmly attached to one another at those points.

The internal construction of the heating panel 1 is not shown in the drawings but various constructions of heating panel may be used as follows. The panel 1 comprises one or more flexible electrical heating elements sandwiched between two layers of waterproof material. The or each heating element may be in the form of a wire or in the form of a sheet-like surface heating element.

The waterproof material may be a suitable plastics material which may be reinforced with a woven fabric for increased strength. The layers of waterproof material are bonded together at their periphery by any suitable method, for example by the use of adhesive or welding in the case of plastics materials, to prevent the ingress of moisture to the heating element or elements. The upper and lower edge portions 2 and 3 of the panel 1 may be reinforced by additional thicknesses of flexible material to provide suitable anchorage for the eyelets 4. The entry of the power supply flex 8 into the heating panel 1 is sealed to prevent the entry of moisture. One or more "breathers" of a suitable kind may be incorporated in the waterproof layers to allow air to vent from the interior of the panel during rolling up or folding, whilst not allowing moisture to enter the panel.

The heating element or elements may be of any suitable form and may, for example, be an insulated resistance wire following a sinuous path extending over the area to be heated and supported on or between layers of woven fabric within the waterproof layers.

A second suitable form of heating element comprises a bare resistance wire arranged to follow a sinuous path and sandwiched between two layers of flexible material suitably bonded together. The layers of material may be silicone elastomer sheet bonded together over their surface by heat resistant adhesive.

A third example of a suitable heating element is a flexible sheet of an electrically conducting silicone elastomeric material, which sheet may be supported on a fibrous or woven insulating support material or may simply comprise an unsupported sheet of the elastomeric material. A conducting layer may comprise a relatively thin coating of the elastomer on a fibrous support which may, for example, be woven glass cloth. An additional layer or layers of non-conducting silicone elastomer may be applied to cover the conducting surface or surfaces and be secured with a suitable adhesive.

The heating element or elements are electrically dimensioned and physically arranged so as to ensure a limited dissipation of heat allowing safe prolonged use without fear of damage to delicate fabrics.

The heating element or elements may be so arranged that the heating effect of the element increases from the top edge 2 of the panel to the bottom edge 3 in order to produce a more uniform temperature distribution over the surface of the panel, when in the vertical operating position. This may be achieved, for example in a heating element using a resistance wire by winding the wire so that horizontal portions of the sinuous path come closer together towards the lower edge of the heating panel.

Although the above described appliance is designed to operate directly from a domestic source of mains electricity, it is envisaged that the appliance may be designed to operate from a different voltage source such as a transformer or battery.

It is envisaged that a temperature indicator and/or a thermostatic device may be incorporated in the appliance to indicate the operating condition and/or provide control of the panel temperature.

Claims (16)

WHAT I CLAIM lS:

1. A method of drying or airing articles such as clothes, comprising suspending a flexible waterproof heating panel vertically from a drying frame or line and draping the articles over the frame or line so as to overlie the heating panel.

2. A domestic electrical appliance for drying and airing articles such as clothes, comprising a flexible, waterproof heating panel and suspension means, including detachable hooks, for suspending such heating panel vertically from a drying frame or line.

3. An appliance according to claim 2, wherein the heating panel comprises one or more flexible electrical heating elements sandwiched between two layers of waterproof material which are sealed at their edges.

4. An appliance according to claim 3, wherein the waterproof layers are made of plastics material.

5. An appliance according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the or each heating element comprises a resistance wire arranged to follow a plane sinous path.

6. An appliance in accordance with claim 5, wherein the or each heating element comprises an insulated resistance wire supported on or between layers of woven fabric.

7. An appliance according to claim 5, wherein the heating element comprises a bare resistance wire disposed between two layers of flexible insulating material bonded together over their surface.

8. An appliance according to claim 7, wherein the bare resistance wire is disposed between two silicone elastomer sheets bonded together with heat resistance adhesive.

9. An appliance according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the or each heating element comprises a surface heating element in the form of an electrically conducting flexible sheet.

10. An appliance according to claim 9 wherein the surface heating element comprises a flexible sheet of electrically con ducting silicone elastomeric material.

11. An appliance according to claim 10, wherein the surface heating element com prises a relatively thin coating of the silicone elastomer on a fibrous support.

12. An appliance according to any one of claims 2 to Ii, wherein the heating power per unit surface area of the heating panel increases from a top edge to a bottom edge of the panel.

13. An appliance according to any one of claims 2 to 12. wherein the suspension means comprises eyelets in an edge portion of the panel and hooks adapted to pass through the eyelets and engage the drying frame or line.

14. An appliance according to claim 13, wherein each suspension hook comprises a U-shaped member having two limbs extending from a connecting base portion, the free ends of the limbs being turned over in opposite directions to form co-axial hook portions which face towards the base portion and are axially spaced apart.

15. A method of drying or airing articles such as clothes substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A domestic electrical appliance substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.