US2509765A

US2509765A - Drying and tumbling apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2509765A
Application number: US678726A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry D Forse
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-06-24
Filing date: 1946-06-24
Publication date: 1950-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 1967-05-30

Description

May 30, 1950 r D. FORSE 2,509,755

DRYING AND TUMBLING APPARATUS Filed June 24. 1946 s Sheets-Sheet BY y-7% ATTORNEY.

H. D. F ORSE DRYING AND TUMBLING APPARATUS May 30, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1946 MW 0 f/asi 'ENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

May 30, 1950 H. D. FORSE 2,509,765

DRYING AND TUMBLING APPARATUS Filed June 24. 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 6 fiyK'ENTOR.

4 BY $74k.

A TTORNEY.

Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- 8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvement in dry ing and tumblingapparatus, which apparatus is especially adaptable for. use in commercial laundries or like establishments where the material, such as clothes, to be dried is customarily brought to and taken from the drier in nets, bags or other suitable containers.

A procedure followed in some laundries and like establishments is to sort each.customers bundle as it is received, place the articles of each classification in a container, such as a net, and then dispatch the netted articles to variou departments for suitable processing, after which the several classifications are reassembled for inspection, checking and packaging. The processing work in some of the departments may be carried out without removing the articles fromtheir containers. But in. other departments, as for instance, drying and tumbling, the articles must be removed from their containers. Consequently, at the termination of the processing operation, the articles mustbe returned to their container. This returning of the articles to the container from some of the present day drying andtumbling equipment isoften along. drawn out,,piece by piece removal. Quite often some. ofthe articles are'not recovered and, therefore, become intermingled with another customersarticles in a succeeding run. This loss orintermingling of arti cles. results in considerable time. being spent searching forlostarticles and tends to create ill will if the customers bundle. isdelivered with substitute articles or if some of thearticles are missing.

Some of the tumblers now in. use are provided with a centrallylocated door. through. which clothes are deposited in and'removed fromthe drier cylinder.

Devices ofthis kind are readily and easily loaded- The open endiof the net or container is inserted-in the door opening and the bottom of thenet is thenelevated to. empty the net. However, removingthe articles from the tumbler is an entirelydiiferent matter. This operationis usually carried outby. an operator blindly groping or feelingaround in .the darkened tumbler for the various articles. Any attempt on the part of the operator to visually inspect the interior of the tumbler merely puts the operator between the source of outside light and the interior of thedevice, thereby reducing visibility. Moreover, even though lighting i provided for the interior ofthe device,.the task oimanually removing. the articles. is laborious and time consuming. Additionally, the complete emptyingof the tumbler is entirely dependent upon the capriciousness, whimsey or fallibility of an operator;

Accordingly one of the principal objects of. advantage and importance" of the improved drier of this invention resides in the provision of means for economically constructing an-efficient, sturdy and dependable device which may be easily loaded and unloaded and which may be visually in spectedinteriorly thereof when in unloading'position.

Another object of advantage and importanceis the provision of means for agitating or tumbling clothes or other articles when positioned within the. improved drier and of utilizinga currentoi heated air to assist in the tumbling and agitat-iingoperation. i

Still another object of.importance is the pro+ vision of means for. supporting the-door of the drier. inn. horizontalposition to. function as. a receiving table forarticles abouttobe loadedinto the device, and of loadingsthe articles. within the drier by merely movingthedoorthereof .to closed position.

A still further objectofimportance. and ad vantage is the-provision ofmeans for unloading the drier by openin .thedoor whereuponthe article supportinginterior. surface of thedrier is con currently movedinto a position=closely adjacent the door opening where -it. may be. visually inspected byanoperator;

A further object'of importance is the. provision of means forfacilitating thesacking or. netting of articles removed from the: drier.

Anradditional object. of. advantage and..importance is-rthe. provision of power means for un loadingthe improved. drier as well as foropena ing and=closing the loading door. Moreover the movement ofthe-door to open or closed. positions is synchronized with and is in ratio to. the.=move.- mentof the conveyor to and-from its operative position.

Still another andiurther. object of advantage and importance is the. provision of meansyfor automatically disconnecting the. power supply line. to the tumbling and agitating means concurrently with the application of power for emptying the improved device.

Additional objects of advantage and importanceswill become apparent as the following detailed description-progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a front elevational view of a drying and tumbling. apparatus. which. embodies the invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section thereof;

Figure 3'is a sectional view'of'a' fragmental portion of the apparatus taken on line 3-45 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is an elevational view of a portion of the apparatus with the door thereof in open position.

Figure 6 is a View showing diagrammatically, the electric circuits for controlling the operation of the improved apparatus.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral as indicates generally the body of an illustrative embodiment of the invention. Ihe illustrated body as comprises a substantially rectangular shell having a relatively flat front surface I! in which a utility opening I2 is formed. The height of the opening l2 may be varied as desired but the width thereof is preferably coextensive with the width of the interior of the body Ill, as is best shown by the dotted lines I3 in Figure 1, for reasons hereinafter more fully disclosed. Adjustable ports I4 located adjacent the top and bottom of the body Ill and connected by link I9 provide means for controlling the admission of dry air into and the expulsion of wet air from the interior of the body.

Hinged as at to the front surface ll of the body is a closure member 46 which in closed position covers the utility opening 52 and in open position, as is best shown in Figure 5, provides a receiving platform for material to be loaded into or expelled from the body it. The central portion of the closure member is is deformed to provide a recess H into which articles of clothes positioned on the horizontal closure l5 tend to gravitate. The bottom of the recess I! is cut away and opposed side edges of the aperture are turned to form flanges 18 which slidably support a panel member 20. A handle 2| secured to the panel member 283 provides a means for operating that member to open and close the aperture in the bottom of the recess 11.

Secured to the flanges H3 in spaced relation is a plurality of securing hooks to which a net 23 or the like, may be detachably secured. The rear hooks 22 are preferably formed and positioned to disengage from the net upon the upward rotation of the closure member H5.

Hingedly secured to the upper portion of the closure member i5 is a pair of supporting legs 25 which upon downward rotation of the closure member provide a supporting abutment for the free end of that member. Upon the upward movement of the closure member if; to its open ing closing position the legs 25 swing inwardly paralleling the surface of the closure member as is best shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Hingedly secured to the interior surface of the closure member I6 is a formed apron member 26. When the closure member is in vertical position the apron member 25 provides a continuation for the curved interior surface thereof as will hereinafter more fully appear. The apron 28 extends the full width of the utility opening I2 and may bear against the interior surfaces of the body it. The apron 25 is biased clockwise by springs, not shown, and upon the opening of the closure l6 rotates slightly in a clockwise direction to provide a protective barrier preventing the overflow of articles positioned on the receiving platform. A pawl 2! engageable with an abutment 28 functions to rotate the apron 26 counterclockwise upon the movement of the closure IE to closed position.

Pivotally positioned within the body ID is an endless belt conveyor indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 3b. The conveyor 35 is fixed to a shaft 3| which in turn is journalled in and extends through the sides of the body Ill. The conveyor 30 comprises two side members 32 positioned in spaced parallel arrangement and extending normally from the front lower portion of the body [0 upwardly and rearwardly, as is best shown in Figure 2 where the upper end is supported by an abutment C94. Suit able rollers 33 are operably positioned at opposite ends of the parallel side members and span the space therebetween. The rollers 33 carry a, pervious endless belt 35, preferably of screen or link construction, and this is driven through a belt 35, pulleys 3'5, and gear reducing unit 38 by a motor 45. Fixed to each side member 32 is an upwardly and outwardly flared guide member 4! the free edge of which may slidably engage a side of the body I0 as is best shown in Figure 3. The guide members 4! function to direct the material being processed onto the moving belt 35 of the conveyor 30.

Secured to the lower ends of the conveyor side members 32 is an apron member 42 upon which the free edge of apron 25 rests when the apparatus is in operating position. The apron member 42 is substantially arcuate in section and functions as an abutment for and a, continuation of the apron 25 for insuring delivery of articles onto the belt 35 at the lower end of the conveyor 35.

In the illustrative embodiment shown a shelf 43 extends rearwardly from. the lower end of the conveyor 30 and the free end thereof is supported by standards 45. Suitably mounted upon the shelf 43 is a blower 45 and a motor 4! which are operably connected by a drive belt 48. A duct 55 extends from the blower 46 upwardly and rearwardly, paralleling the conveyor 38, and terminates in an elongated nozzle 5! directly beneath the pervious belt 35 near the upper end of the conveyor 35. A suitable heater 52 is positioned intermediate the ends of the duct 50 to heat air forced therethrough. Two spaced parallel members 53 secured to the side members 32 provide a duct 55 between the upper and lower portions of the conveyor belt contiguous to the elongated nozzle 5!. The duct 55 prevents the dissemination of the current which is forced upwardly through the upper portion of the conveyor belt 35.

Pivotally secured to the floor of the body I0 is .a pressure motor 55 the piston rod 51 of which is suitably secured to the shelf 43. The pressure motor 55 is connected to a pressure supply line 54 in which a solenoid actuated threeway control valve 59 is positioned. A normally closed pressure switch 54 is connected in the supply line 54 downstream of the control valve 59. In the illustrative embodiment shown, the pressure motor 55 functions to rotate the entire conveyor unit including the blower 46, duct 55, and heater 52 from operating position as shown in full lines in Figure 2 to discharge position as shown in broken lines. However, it will be apparent that the piston rod 5'! may be connected to the conveyor 30 so that the blower, heater and duct remain stationary when the conveyor is rotated.

As previously stated the shaft 3! extends beyond the sides of the body It), and secured to the protruding ends of shaft 3| and rotatable therewith are gears 58 which through idler gears acemes '5 68 drive-gears 6 I --tooperate closure member" I 5. "This gear-train; which maybe enclosed in'housing 62, rotates t-heelosure at-a-i-nore-rapid rate thaw-the conveyor tii is rotated, so that movement of the .-conveyor through its 45 degrees, i

Operation .The improyed .drieri and tumbler Of-lllhisillvention may .be operated.substantially-as viollows:

Assume for instance that: the. device is 1 cold :and .thatthe closure in. is invvertical positionias shown in Figures. land.2. Operation is initiated *by closing the. circuit. 613: .to .the -heater fizz-as :by depressing the properpushibutton on .the.-con- .trol boxxfil. .Eollowingthisaction, or concurrently therewith ...and. whileuthe energizedheater rcisewarming up, thecircuit i-iii r110 the. .solenoid valve 59 is energized by operating-a second push button on the control box 6?. The closing of circuit-W energizes the solenoid valve fad-arid admitsoperating-prcssure tofiow into the pressure motor 5% thereby forcing the piston rod 5'! upwardly to rotate the conveyor 36 clockwise and through the gear train, gears 53, 50 and 6!, rotates the closure 55 from its vertical position, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, to its horizontal position as shown in Figure 5. The admission of pressure to the downstream side of solenoid valve 59 in addition to supplying operating pressure to the pressure motor 55 also operates the pressure actuated cut-out switch 64 and thereby opens circuit tit. It is to be noted that provision is also made for controlling circuit 56 through control box 6?.

The closure member 55 is now in horizontal position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 where in it functions as a receiving platform and the conveyor 3!} is in vertical position immediately to the rear of the utility opening 12 where it may be visually inspected, as for stray articles or the like. However, the movement of the conveyor to its vertical position usually discharges all of the articles on the conveyor onto the descending closure member is. With the closure member H5 in this position articles, such as garments, to be processed are deposited thereon. This may be done by emptying a net or other container onto the platform. Now, with the platform loaded, the proper push button on the control box is operated to deenergize the solenoid actuated valve 59 to exhaust lifting pressure from the pressure motor 56 whereupon the conveyor and the closure member I5 concurrently move to the full line positions as shown in Figure 2. While this movement may be accomplished by gravity alone it is to be understood that biasing or pressure means may be employed where it is so desired.

Upon the counterclockwise rotation of the conveyor and closure members, the articles on the closure slide toward the apron 26 and as the pawl 21 of that member engages the abutment ZBj-the apron is rotated toprecipitatathe articles ontoithe ib'e'ltr35 ofwthe conveyor 30. Theapron 42 which isffixedl' to the conveyor 230 :alsowassists in: assuring proper delivery-of the articles.

-As the closure: and conveyor members :move

toward their: operating positions the push but- ..ton, on the control box which controlscircuitfifi "may 'be' operated: to energize :the: conveyor and blower motorsdfl and, respectively, whenx'the pressure in: the switch 66 has been reducedsui- 'ficientlyto close the circuit. Or the operation of the push button controlling circuit 66 maybe operated after the closure and conveyor members reach their operating positions.

*The operation of the blower 46 nowcauses-a strong current oi'heated air to-be discharged =-from-the-nozzle 5i upwardly throughtheduct 55 and conveyor belt 35. And the operation of the conveyor 30 rotates the articles deposited'on the lower end thereof and carries the lowermost ones upwardly and rearwardly into the stream of "heated air. The-current-of heated air strips the articles from the conveyor belt and carriesthem forwardlyandasit dissipates the articles drop upon the moving conveyor belt to continue the circulating process.

' This circulating process continues as" desired and theports l4 may beadjusted to permitadesired dischargeof moist air from the upper' port and topermit an intake -ofdry airthrough-=the "lower port. I hus the circulation-of -used-air may be controlled.

Atthe termination of theprocessing period the'pushbutton controlling circuit 143 is operated to energize the solenoid orvalve-59 andas- -pressure is admitted to the pressure motor 56 and pressure actuated cut-out switch 64, circuit 66 is deenergized stopping

motors

4 and 41 and starting the opening movement of the conveyor and closure members. The clockwise rotation of the closure and conveyor members cause the articles to slide over the apron 25 and onto the closure member IS. The length of the apron 26 and the span of the guide members 4| are coextensive with the width of the opening l2 so that no articles remain in the body Ill or drop to the floor during the opening operation. Now, with the articles deposited on the horizontal closure member l6 and a net 23 secured to the hooks therebeneath the panel 253 may be withdrawn, as shown in Figure 5, to drop the articles into the container. After the closure has been cleared of articles the panel 2!) is replaced and upon a new batch of articles being placed upon the horizontal closure the above operation may be repeated.

It will be apparent that herein is provided an efiicient and practically automatic drier and tumbler of improved design which may be mechanically loaded and unloaded. Moreover the most remote article supporting portion of the device is, when in discharging position, within easy reach or visual inspection of an operator.

As it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the improved device of this invention anpertains that numerous changes and widely different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that the embodiment shown in the drawings and the description thereof shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

I claim:

1. A drying and tumbling apparatus comprising, a body having an opening therein, closure means for said opening, an endless belt conveyor operably mounted therein so that articles placed thereon may be carried from one end toward the other, motor means for driving said conveyor, means for controlling the operation of said motor means, duct means disposed to direct a flow of air to remove articles from one end portion of the conveyor and deposit them on the opposite end portion of said conveyor, and means for movin said conveyor toward a vertical position adjacent the opening for the discharge of said articles.

2. The structure of claim 1, including driving means connecting said closure and said conveyor and operable for moving said closure concurrently with the movement of said conveyor.

3. The structure of claim 1, including driving means connecting said closure and said conveyor whereby the movement of the conveyor from operating to discharge positions moves the closure from the closed position to a substantially hori zontal position for the reception of the articles to be discharged.

4. The structure of claim 1, including means for stopping the travel of the conveyor as it approaches the discharge position.

5. The structure of claim 1, wherein said endless belt is pervious and including means for directing a flow of air through articles on said pervious conveyor, and means for heating said air.

6. The structure of claim 1, including means for creating said flow of air.

7. The structure of claim 1, including means for creating said flow of air and additional means for heating said flow of air.

8. The structure of claim 1, including means for stopping the flow of air as the conveyor approaches the discharge position.

HARRY D. FORSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 490,171 Spencer Jan. 17, 1893 605,025 Spencer May 31, 1898 709,966 Curtiss Sept. 30, 1902 1,133,208 Winkler Mar. 23, 1915 1,169,682 Sargent Jan. 25, 1916 1,445,078 Freeman Feb. 13, 1923 1,476,424 Sargent Dec. 4, 1923 1,543,525 Shiras Jan. 23, 1925 1,567,709 Carroll Dec. 29, 1925 1,641,716 Welles Sept. 6, 1927 1,720,537 Barthel et a1 July 9, 1929 1,778,318 4 Haas Oct. 14, 1930 1,791,054 Dalton Feb. 3, 1931 1,800,228 Peirce Apr. 14, 1931 1,881,974 Skitt Oct. 11, 1932 1,907,089 Pabst, Jr May 2, 1933 2,045,813 Waterbury June 30, 1936 2,101,417 Waldvogel Dec. 7, 1937 12,253,047 Purkett Aug. 19, 1941 2,348,631 Keehnel May 9, 1944 2,397,091 Davis Mar. 26, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,092 Australia Apr. 22, 1932