Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
  • A47K10/00—Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
  • A47K10/04—Towel racks; Towel rails; Towel rods; Towel rolls, e.g. rotatable
  • A47K10/06—Towel racks; Towel rails; Towel rods; Towel rolls, e.g. rotatable combined with means for drying towels

Definitions

• the present invention concerns a warming device for drying towels comprising support means on which the towel is laid on after use, and warming means so as to warm and dry the towel after use.
• These devices consist of heating tubolar elements in which hot water flows and which are usually connected to a heating system within the building.
• the device must be simple, easy to install and use, cheap and, above all, able to be installed also in existing buildings.
• a warmthing device of the type initially indicated that is a warmthing device for towels comprising support means and warming means for said towel, characterized in that said warming means are resistive means and said support means include a container sheet inside which said resistive means are housed and said towel is laid on said container sheet after use, so that said resistive means dry said towel.
• the device may be easily used by laying the container sheet over an arm or shelf of any towel support and electrically connecting the resistive means to any electric socket avaible. It is obvious that it is possible to use this device in any building wherein the installation of this type of device has not been previously considered. Moreover, this operation may be easly executed by any person and specialized workers are not required.
• the resistive means are contained inside a closed watertight envelope, electrically insulated and contained inside the container sheet.
• the resistive means are not in contact with dampness, which could possibly pass through the container sheet and, furthermore, they are electrically insulated, so absolutely avoiding any accidental electric contact with the user.
• the resistive means consist of an electric resistance supplied by an electric energy source, preferably of low voltage, so further excluding any possibility of dangerous electrical contact with the user.
• the insulating envelope extends over the whole surface of the container sheet and the resistive means contained in the insulating envelope are distribuited in a substantially uniform manner over the entire surface, so warming and drying the towel over its entire surface.
• - figures 1 and 2 represent in a perspective view a warming device according the present invention, respectively applied to a standard towel support with a mobile arm and a fixed rail;
• - figure 3 is a perspective view of the device of figures 1 and 2 wherein an edge of the container sheet has been raised;
• - figure 4 is a perspective view of me insulating envelope housed in the container sheet of figure 3 wherein one of its edges is raised;
• FIG. 5 is a tranverse view of the device
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the device according to a variant.
• a warming device for towels is represented with number 10, the device is applied respectively to a towel support 12 of a column type 12a with a rotating arm 12b, and to a towel support with a fixed rail 13 mounted on a wall.
• the device 10 as better illustrated in figure 3, comprises a container sheet 14 composed of a lower sheet 16 and an upper sheet 18 made for example of a tissue of polyethylene or cotton fibres. Both the sheets 16 and 18 are rectangular with edges respectively identified with 16a,16b,16c,16d and 18a,18b,18c,18d.
• the lower sheet 16 and the upper sheet 18 are permanently joined, for example by sewing, along their three edges: the edges 16b, 16c e 16d of the lower sheet 16 respectively with the edges 18b, 18c e 18d of the upper sheet 18; otherwise, the edges 16a e 18a respectively of the lower sheet 16 and of the upper sheet 18 are joined in a detachable way by Velcro strips 20 and 22 applied respectively on the inner surface of the lower sheet 16 at the edge 16a and on the inner surface of the upper sheet 18 at the edge 18a. In such a way it is easy to open and close the container sheet 14 along the edges 16a,18a.
• the insulating envelope 24 comprises a lower lamina 24a and an upper lamina 24b of the same dimension which are permanently joined to each other all along their peripheral edges, for example by radio-frequency welding.
• an electric wire resistance 26 arranged like a serpentine all over the surface, as represented in figure 4 wherein, for exposition purposes, an edge of the upper lamina 28 is raised up.
• the electric wire resistance 26 is connected to an electric wire 28 which comes out from the insulating envelope 24, at the free end of which there is an electric plug 30 to be connected to an electrical energy supply, preferably at a low voltage like 12V or 24V.
• a pair of strips 32 are permanently fixed at the edge 18c of the upper sheet 18, at the free ends of which there are snap fasteners 34 which couple with conesponding snap fasteners 36 mounted on the edge 16c of the lower sheet 16.
• FIG 5 a first variant of the device according to the present invention is represented, wherein the electric resistance 26 is directly inserted in the container sheet 14, so eliminating the insulating envelope 24.
• the container sheet 14 must be constructed with electrically insulating material.
• the assembly of the device 10 simply occurs by placing the edges 16c, 18c of the device 10 near the rotating arm 12a of the towel support 12 or the fixed rail 13, by passing the pair of Velcro strips 32 around the rail or arm, closing the snap fasteners 34,36 and, at last, connecting the electric plug 30 to a supply socket. From the above description, the semplicity is evident of both the construction and the installation of such a device which makes it cheap and versatile.
• the serpentine-like electric resistance 26 covers the entire surface of the container sheet 14, the towel is warmed and dried all over its surface. Furthemore, there is no electrical risk because the electric resistance 26 is electrically insulated and the supply voltage is preferably of a low voltage.
• the strip 32 used for mounting the device 10 may be fixed with the Velcro instead of the snap fasteners 34,36.
• an alternative to the wire resitance 26 is a PTF-type resistance (polymer thick film) composed of a plastic lamina on which, by a paint- brush, printing or silk-screen process, a resistive ink layer is deposited in strips connected therebetween by conductive tracks made by the same depositing techniques too.
• the resistance may have PTC characteristics (positive temperature coefficient), that is, as the temperature increases, the resistance value increases, so as to limit the electric current intensity, thus avoiding possible overheating.
• the se ⁇ entine-like electric resistance 26 concentrating its coils in the central part of the envelope 24, so as to obtain warmthing exactly in the zone where the towel is damper or wetter.
• the strips 32 may be attatched to the middle of the container sheet 14 so that the sheet is laid down on the rotating arm 12a or on the fixed rail 13 in the centre line.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Body Washing Hand Wipes And Brushes (AREA)
• Confectionery (AREA)
• General Preparation And Processing Of Foods (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11461038

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (4)

• 2001
  • 2001-01-29 IT ITVE20010005 patent/ITVE20010005A1/it unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-01-11 WO PCT/IT2002/000009 patent/WO2002060309A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (4)

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