GB2072501A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

Clothes dryer comprising a base provided at its ends with two doors pivoting about axes, bars being slidably mounted between the two doors for the support of clothing to be dried, the dryer being characterised in that the bars are slidably mounted on a pair of rods, each rod extending over the width of one of the doors and perpendicular to the pivot axis of the door, and these rods having bent end portions substantially coinciding with the pivotal axis of the respective door. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Clothes dryer This invention concerns a clothes dryer The dryer according to the invention is composed of a base provided at its extremities with two doors pivoting on axles, bars being mounted for sliding, between the two doors, for the support of clothing to be dried, the dryer being characterised in that the bars are mounted for sliding on two rods extending over the width of the doors, and perpendicular to the axis about which they pivot, these rods having bent portions at one end, these bent end portions being arranged to coincide sub stantially with the pivotal axes of the doors.

According to another characteristic of the invention, each door may be mounted so that it can pivot on one of the ends of the base by means of an axle portion, at least one of these axle portions being constituted by the bent end portion of the rod.

The invention is shown by way of non limiting example, in the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dryer in the folded position; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the dryer of Fig. 1 in the unfolded position; Figure 3 is a partial view of Fig. 2.

The present invention has, in consequence, as objective the provision of a clothes dryer which, in the storage or non-use position, can be arranged to occupy only a small volume, taking the form of a closed box of small thickness, and neat appearance, and which, in the use position, can have a variable number of parallel bars for supporting clothing to be dried, the spacing of these bars, and thus the amount of clothing on the dryer, also being variable.

This dryer is composed of a base 1, prefera bly of plastics material, which has in section a generally U-shaped form and on which are pivotally mounted at its extremities two doors 2 and 3 which, when folded back against the base, form with the base an elongated box of small thickness which is entirely closed.

In the example shown, the doors 2 and 3, which are preferably also of plastics material, have a U-shaped cross section and are each mounted pivotally on two axle portions 41 and 42 engaged on the legs of the U of the base 1 and the doors 2 and 3.

These doors are pivotable through 90 .

On the internal face of each of the doors 2 and 3 is disposed a rod 5 which extends over the whole width of these doors, while bars 6 are mounted for sliding by means of terminal eyelets 7 between the rods and each of the doors.

These rods 5 extend, for the major part of their length, perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the doors X-X and are fixed by one of their extremities onto these doors at 8.

The other extremity of these rods 5 is bent at 9, this bent part being arranged to coincide with the pivotal axis of the doors X-X in such a way that, in order to arrange the dryer in the storage or non-use position, it is sufficient to push these bars 6 back towards the body 1 of the dryer. The bars 6 by sliding on the rod 5, then become piled up on one another on the end 9 of this rod, so that it is then possible to close the doors 2 and 3 without being hindered by the bars 6 of which the terminal eyelets 7 are disposed along the axles X-X which comprise the end portions 9 of the rods 5.

In order to make the dryer ready for use it is sufficient to perform these movements in reverse, that is to pivot the doors 2 and 3 so that they are perpendicular to the base 1, then to slide the desired number of bars 6 along the rods 5 and to arrange them at the desired spacing, depending on the quantity of clothing to be dried.

In order to arrange the bars in the use position in this way, a pull cord connecting the bars to one another with the desired spacing may be provided.

In the embodiment shown in the attached drawings, the bent end portion 9 of the rod 5 forms at the same time the pivot axle portion 42, each rod 5 being thus fixed to the door at 8 and also at 42, coinciding with pivotal axis of the door relative to the base.

As can be seen particularly from Fig. 3, the eyelets 7, which are slidable on the rods 5, are alternately offset towards opposite sides of the rod 5 on which they are mounted, so that they can become compactly piled up on the bent end of the rod over a reduced height, thus enabling the height of the base 1 to be likewise reduced.

1. Clothes dryer comprising a base provided at its ends with two doors pivoting about axes, bars being slidably mounted between the two doors for the support of clothing to be dried, the dryer being characterised in that the bars are slidably mounted on a pair of rods, each rod extending over the width of one of the doors and perpendicular to the pivot axis of the door, and these rods having bent end portions substantially coinciding with the pivotal axis of the respective door.

2. Dryer according to claim 1, characterised in that each door is pivotally attached to one of the ends of the base by means of an axle portion, at least one of these axle portions being constituted by the bent end of the rod.

3. Clothes dryer substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (3)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Clothes dryer This invention concerns a clothes dryer The dryer according to the invention is composed of a base provided at its extremities with two doors pivoting on axles, bars being mounted for sliding, between the two doors, for the support of clothing to be dried, the dryer being characterised in that the bars are mounted for sliding on two rods extending over the width of the doors, and perpendicular to the axis about which they pivot, these rods having bent portions at one end, these bent end portions being arranged to coincide sub stantially with the pivotal axes of the doors. According to another characteristic of the invention, each door may be mounted so that it can pivot on one of the ends of the base by means of an axle portion, at least one of these axle portions being constituted by the bent end portion of the rod. The invention is shown by way of non limiting example, in the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dryer in the folded position; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the dryer of Fig. 1 in the unfolded position; Figure 3 is a partial view of Fig. 2. The present invention has, in consequence, as objective the provision of a clothes dryer which, in the storage or non-use position, can be arranged to occupy only a small volume, taking the form of a closed box of small thickness, and neat appearance, and which, in the use position, can have a variable number of parallel bars for supporting clothing to be dried, the spacing of these bars, and thus the amount of clothing on the dryer, also being variable. This dryer is composed of a base 1, prefera bly of plastics material, which has in section a generally U-shaped form and on which are pivotally mounted at its extremities two doors 2 and 3 which, when folded back against the base, form with the base an elongated box of small thickness which is entirely closed. In the example shown, the doors 2 and 3, which are preferably also of plastics material, have a U-shaped cross section and are each mounted pivotally on two axle portions 41 and 42 engaged on the legs of the U of the base 1 and the doors 2 and 3. These doors are pivotable through 90 . On the internal face of each of the doors 2 and 3 is disposed a rod 5 which extends over the whole width of these doors, while bars 6 are mounted for sliding by means of terminal eyelets 7 between the rods and each of the doors. These rods 5 extend, for the major part of their length, perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the doors X-X and are fixed by one of their extremities onto these doors at 8. The other extremity of these rods 5 is bent at 9, this bent part being arranged to coincide with the pivotal axis of the doors X-X in such a way that, in order to arrange the dryer in the storage or non-use position, it is sufficient to push these bars 6 back towards the body 1 of the dryer. The bars 6 by sliding on the rod 5, then become piled up on one another on the end 9 of this rod, so that it is then possible to close the doors 2 and 3 without being hindered by the bars 6 of which the terminal eyelets 7 are disposed along the axles X-X which comprise the end portions 9 of the rods 5. In order to make the dryer ready for use it is sufficient to perform these movements in reverse, that is to pivot the doors 2 and 3 so that they are perpendicular to the base 1, then to slide the desired number of bars 6 along the rods 5 and to arrange them at the desired spacing, depending on the quantity of clothing to be dried. In order to arrange the bars in the use position in this way, a pull cord connecting the bars to one another with the desired spacing may be provided. In the embodiment shown in the attached drawings, the bent end portion 9 of the rod 5 forms at the same time the pivot axle portion 42, each rod 5 being thus fixed to the door at 8 and also at 42, coinciding with pivotal axis of the door relative to the base. As can be seen particularly from Fig. 3, the eyelets 7, which are slidable on the rods 5, are alternately offset towards opposite sides of the rod 5 on which they are mounted, so that they can become compactly piled up on the bent end of the rod over a reduced height, thus enabling the height of the base 1 to be likewise reduced. CLAIMS

1. Clothes dryer comprising a base provided at its ends with two doors pivoting about axes, bars being slidably mounted between the two doors for the support of clothing to be dried, the dryer being characterised in that the bars are slidably mounted on a pair of rods, each rod extending over the width of one of the doors and perpendicular to the pivot axis of the door, and these rods having bent end portions substantially coinciding with the pivotal axis of the respective door.

2. Dryer according to claim 1, characterised in that each door is pivotally attached to one of the ends of the base by means of an axle portion, at least one of these axle portions being constituted by the bent end of the rod.

3. Clothes dryer substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.