STEAM AIR CABINET FINISHER

• US 3,739,496 A
• Filed: 03/24/1971
• Issued: 06/19/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Norman A. Buckley, Peter D. Rasmussen
• Original Assignee: Norman A. Buckley, Peter D. Rasmussen
• Inventors: Buckley, Norman A., Rasmussen, Peter D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, John J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yuen, Henry C.
• Application Number:
  US05/127,471
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: 34/210,163,219,DIG.13 8/147,149.3,150,142 68/5C,20,18R 312/271,273,321
• US Class Current: 34/210
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 73/02 having one or more treatment chambers

Abstract

A steam air finisher having an enclosure defining cabinet including a door that can be opened to provide access to the enclosure, a garment support rack or holder and means mounting the rack to move between an outer loading and unloading position generally outside the cabinet enclosure and an inner operating position and linkage connecting the door to the rack that causes such rack movement upon movement of the door between its open and closed positions, whereby garments to be finished are typically hung on conventional hangers which in turn are hooked on the rack and carried thereon, shaker mechanism located within the cabinet which cooperates with the rack when the latter is in the inner position to mechanically reciprocate the hanger crosswise to the normal plane of the hung garment, steam inlet means located near the bottom of the enclosure also including an opening for admitting outside air into the enclosure concurrently with and upon the discharge of steam for cooling the steam yet providing a high humidity conditioning atmosphere, means for circulating drying fluid over the garments including a blower having an inlet located near the bottom of the enclosure and an outlet to a passage separate from the enclosure with a heat exchanger in the passage between the blower outlet and the passage return to the enclosure near the top thereof effective for circulating heated fluid, such as air downwardly over and past the garments, and a normally closed bleed damper provided to vent part of the circulating fluid when the blower is operated.

Claims

1. A garment finisher, comprising a walled cabinet having an access opening and a pair of adjacent side hinged doors selectively closing the opening to define an interior enclosure, means to discharge a conditioning fluid in the enclosure, an elongated rack for holding a plurality of garments to be finished in side-by-side relationship within the enclosure each such garment generally being hung on a conventional hanger having a hook and a lower stem, spaced rails extended within the enclosure toward the access opening and antifriction means on the rack engaged with the rails for mounting the rack to move between an inner operating position located within the enclosure and an outer loading or unloading position located generally at the access opening, linkage means connected between the doors and the rack operable upon movement of the doors between the closed and the opened positions automatically to move the rack between its inner and outer positions respectively, and means for circulating drying fluid in the enclosure over and past the garments therein.

2. A garment finisher according to claim 1, wherein said rack includes an elongated element having a top edge defining a plurality of upwardly open narrow spaced slots and inclined edges diverging upwardly from opposite sides of each slot whereby for loading the finisher each hanger hook can be guided by the inclined edges to the respective slot and each slot is adapted to receive and support the hook with little possible hook movement along the rack.

3. A garment finisher according to claim 2, further including means to reciprocate all supported hangers in a direction generally transverse to the normal plane of the garment as hung thereon operable while the rack is located in the inner operating position, each garment thereby assuming a wave of undulating movement which progresses along the garment downwardly from the hanger.

4. A garment finisher according to claim 1, wherein said fluid circulating means includes a passage separate from the enclosure, a blower having a inlet open to the enclosure and outlet open to the passage, a heat exchanger in the passage downstream of the blower but upstream of the passage outlet to the enclousre, and means including a bleed opening from the passage between the blower outlet and heat exchanger to outside the cabinet operable for venting part of the circulating fluid from the enclosure upon operation of the blower.

5. A garment finisher, comprising a walled cabinet having an access opening and a door selectively closing the opening to define an interior enclosure, means to discharge a conditioning fluid in the enclosure, means for holding a garment to be finished within the enclosure such garment generally being hung on a conventional hanger having a hook and a lower stem, means for mounting the holding means to move between an inner operating position located within the enclosure and an outer loading or unloading position located generally at the access opening, means connected between the door and the holding means operable upon movement of the door between its closed and opened positions automatically to move the holding means between its inner and outer positions respectively, means for circulating drying fluid in the enclosure over and past the garments therein means to reciprocate all supported hangers in a direction generally transverse to the normal plane of the garment as hung thereon operable while the holding means is located In the inner operating position, each garment thereby assuming a wave or undulating movement which progresses along the garment downwardly from the hanger, said reciprocating means including an actuator element located at an elevation lower than the holding means and having means to receive and laterally confine the hangers supported on the holding means when the holding means is in the inner operating position to bring the hanger under two point confinement at the holding means and the actuator element, and means to reciprocate the actuator element in a direction generally crosswise to the two point confinement relative to the holding means.

6. A garment finisher, comprising a walled cabinet having an access opening and a door for selectively closing the opening to define an interior enclosure, means to discharge a conditioning fluid into the enclosure and including a tube communicating between the enclosure and the outside ambient air and a steam nozzle located with clearance within the tube whereby steam discharge from the nozzle into the enclosure draws outside ambient air throuth the tube for admixture and common discharge with the steam into the enclosure, mans for holding garments to be finished within the enclosure such garments being hung on conventional hangers each having an upper hook and a lower stem, means for circulating drying fluid downwardly from above the holding means and over and past garments in the enclosure and including means defining a passage separate from the enclosure and a blower having an inlet open to the lower portion of the enclosure and an outlet open to the passage which in turn communicates with the upper portion of the sure, a heat exchanger in the passage downstream of the blower but upstream of the discharge to the enclousre, means including a bleed opening from the passage between the blower and heat exchanger to outside the cabinet and having a normally closed damper that opens upon blower operation for venting part of the circulating fluid from the enclosure means to shake all supported hangers and move the garments hung thereon in a direction generally crosswise to the plane of the garment as freely suspended on the hanger, means supporting the holding means to move between an inner operating position centrally located in the enclosure and an outer loading and unloading position located generally outside of the enclosure at the access opening, and wherein the shaking means includes means to engage and confine each hanger on the holding means when the latter is in the inner position but which engaging and confining means become disengaged from the hanger when the holding means is in the outer position.

7. A garment finisher according to claim 6, wherein means are connected between the door and the holding means operable upon movement of the door between its closed and the opened positions automatically to move the holding means between its inner and outer positions, respectively.

8. A garment finisher comprising a walled cabinet generally defining an interior enclosure, means to discharge a conditioning fluid in the enclosure, a rack for holding a plurality of garments to be finished within the enclosure each such garment generally being hung on a hanger having an upper hook portion and a lower stem portion and the hook portion being confined on the rack, means to shake each hanger and garment thereon in a direction transverse to the garment as it is hung on the hanger whereby the garment assumes a wave or undulating pattern that progresses from the hanger downwardly along the garment, said shaking means being located below the rack and having means to engage and confine the stem portions of the hangers against movement in the direction tran verse to the garments as hung on the hangers, whereby each hanger is under the two point confinement of the rack and the shaking means, and means to reciprocate the shaking means relative to the rack in a direction generally transverse to the garments as hung on the hanger.

9. A garmEnt finisher according to claim 8, wherein the cabinet has an access opening and closure means therefor, and further including support means for the rack suitable for moving the rack between an inner operating position within the enclosure and an outer loading or unloading position located generally at the access opening, and wherein the engaging and confining means of the shaking means operates only on the hanger stem portions only when the rack is in the inner position and becomes disengaged from the hanger stem portions when the rack is in the outer position.

10. A garment finisher according to claim 9, wherein said engaging and confining means includes an elongated element having an edge located adjacent the rack at a level to line up with the stem portions of the carried hanger, said edge having a plurality of narrow slots spaced apart corresponding to the spacing of the confined hook portions on the rack and further having inclined edges diverging away from the opposite sides of each slot, whereby the diverging edges guide the stem portions of the hangers to each respective confining slot during the movement of the rack to its inner operating position.

11. A garment finisher according to claim 10, wherein the shaking means includes a shaft supported to rotate about an axis generally parallel to the movement of the rack into and out of the cabinet, means to rotate the shaft, means supporting the elongated element for reciprocation parallel to the rack, and linkage means between the shaft and the elongated element operable upon rotation of the former to reciprocate the latter.

12. A garment finisher according to claim 9, wherein the closure means includes a pair of doors hinged along vertical outer edges to the cabinet, and linkage means connected between each door near its inner edge and the rack operable upon movement of the doors between the closed and open positions to move the rack automatically between its inner and outer positions, respectively.

13. A garment finisher according to claim 12, wherein the rack includes spaced side elements extended forwardly of the confined hook portions of the hanger, and wherein the closure means includes a front plate which moves with the rack and extends across and closes the upper part of the access opening.