Armoire

• US 5,369,892 A
• Filed: 06/04/1993
• Issued: 12/06/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gregory L. Dhaemers
• Original Assignee: Gregory L. Dhaemers
• Inventors: Dhaemers, Gregory L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, Henry A.
• Application Number:
  US08/072,151
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 34/133 J, 34/133 K, 34/133 L, 34/133 M, 34/133 B, 34/133 E, 34/60, 34/73, 34/74, 34/76, 34/82, 34/4, 34/151, 34/202, 34/218, 34/219, 34/220 , 34/221, 34/222, 34/223, 34/224-225, 34/232, 34/275
• US Class Current: 34/275
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/26 Condition of the drying air, e.g. air humidity or temperature
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/10 Drying cabinets or drying chambers having heating or ventilating means
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 11/181 the receptacle being a foraminous, perforated or open-structured drum or drum-like container, e.g. rotating around a substantially horizontal or vertical axis; the receptacle being multiple perforated drums, e.g. in superimposed arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 21/00 Arrangements or duct systems, e.g. in combination with pallet boxes, for supplying and controlling air or gases for drying solid materials or objects F26B9/10 takes precedence; systems for vehicle body drying B60S3/002 ; air conditioning or ventilation in general F24F
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 21/006 the gas supply or exhaust being effected through hollow spaces or cores in the materials or objects, e.g. tubes, pipes, bottles F26B9/003 and F26B9/103 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 21/02 Circulating air or gases in closed cycles, e.g. wholly within the drying enclosure F26B21/08, F26B21/14, F26B23/022 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 21/086 by condensing the moisture in the drying medium, which may be recycled, e.g. using a heat pump cycle
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 9/003 Small self-contained devices, e.g. portable
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 9/006 Removable covering devices, e.g. pliable or flexible
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 9/06 in stationary drums or chambers

Abstract

A dryer has an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles that are subjected to a heated circulating air to remove moisture from the articles. An air mixing chamber contains a first fan for moving air through a heater into the drying chamber. A second fan draws air out of the drying and mixing chambers and discharges air through a filter into the external environment. The heated air in the drying chamber is mixed with fresh air and recirculated through the drying chamber to minimize heat losses and increase drying effectiveness. Ultraviolet lamps within the drying chamber destroy contaminants in the air and articles within the chamber. A boot dryer, located in the drying chamber, has fans that move air through tubes used to support boots, shoes, skates and socks. Ultraviolet light in the boot chamber destroy contaminants in the air in the boot chamber. One modification of the dryer located within a locker room is used to remove moisture and odors from the air in the locker room. The dryer has a dehumidifier for cooling and removing moisture from the air, a heater coil for heating the air, ultraviolet lights for destroying contaminants and a charcoal filter for removing odors from the air flowing out of the dryer. Another modification of the dryer has a portable housing supporting a heater and a fan for moving air through filters and a drying chamber.

Claims

1. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles, door means movably mounted on the housing means for movement to an open position to permit access into the drying chamber and to a closed position to enclose the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having first and second openings to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and out of the drying chamber into the air mixing chamber, heater means located adjacent said first opening for heating air, first fan means located within the air mixing chamber operable to move air through said heater means and first opening into the drying chamber, second fan means located within the air mixing chamber operable to draw air from the drying chamber and air mixing chamber and discharge air through at least one opening to the environment outside of the dryer, charcoal filter means mounted on the housing means covering said opening to remove odors from the air flowing through said filter means, said housing means having at least one opening into the drying chamber to allow outside air to flow into the drying chamber, said filter means extending across said opening into the drying chamber to remove odors from the air flowing into the drying chamber, and control means for the heater means and first and second fan means operable to connect the heater means and first and second fan means to a source of power whereby the first fan means moves air through the heater means so that the air is heated and discharged as hot air into the drying chamber and the second fan means draws air from the drying chamber and air mixing chamber and discharges air to the environment outside of the dryer, said air in the drying chamber circulating and recirculating within the drying chamber to remove moisture from the articles within the drying chamber.

2. The dryer of claim 1 including:

ultraviolet light means within said drying chamber, and control means for connecting the ultraviolet light means to a source of electric power whereby the ultraviolet light means emits ultraviolet light which reduces contaminants within the drying chamber.

3. The dryer of claim 2 wherein:

the ultraviolet light means comprises a pair of light fixtures attached to the wall means, each light fixture having an ultraviolet lamp.

4. The dryer of claim 2 wherein:

the control means includes a first switch operable to connect and disconnect the ultraviolet light means with the power source and a second switch operable in response to the opening and closing of the door means to connect and disconnect the ultraviolet light means with the power source, said ultraviolet light means being connected to the power source when the door means is closed.

5. The dryer of claim 1 wherein:

the control means includes timer means for connecting the heater means and fan means to the power source for a selected period of time.

6. The dryer of claim 5 wherein:

the control means includes a first ON/OFF switch connected to the timer means and heater means, and a second ON/OFF switch connected to the timer means and fan means.

7. The dryer of claim 1 including:

light means attached to the wall means operable to emit light into the drying chamber when the door means is open, and control means associated with the door means operable to connect the light means to an electric power source when the door means is open and disconnect the light means from the power source when the door means is closed.

8. The dryer of claim 1 including:

casing means having an internal chamber located within the drying chamber, tubular means mounted on the casing means open to the internal chamber and drying chamber adapted to accommodate articles to be dried, and third fan means mounted on the casing means operable to move air from the drying chamber through the internal chamber and tubular means to dry the articles thereon.

9. The dryer of claim 8 including:

means having air passages mounted on the casing means for allowing air to flow out of the internal chamber into the drying chamber.

10. The dryer of claim 8 wherein:

the third fan means comprises a plurality of fans operable to move air from the drying chamber into the internal chamber and through said tubular means.

11. The dryer of claim 8 wherein:

the casing means includes a top wall and a side wall, means mounting the tubular means on the top wall, and means mounting the third fan means on said side wall.

12. The dryer of claim 1 wherein:

the housing means has upright walls with inside portions around the drying chamber and members attached to said inside portions for supporting holders for the articles.

13. The dryer of claim 12 wherein:

the members are peg boards.

14. The dryer of claim 1 wherein:

said housing has a back wall with at least one opening open to the drying chamber and the environment outside of the dryer to allow air to flow into the drying chamber.

15. The dryer of claim 1 including:

a boot dryer located within the drying chamber, said boot dryer having a casing with an internal chamber, tube means mounted on the casing means having a passage open to the internal chamber and drying chamber, ultraviolet light means within the internal chamber adapted to emit ultraviolet light into the internal chamber and tube means, and means for moving air through said chamber and tube means to dry articles retained on the tube means.

61. The dryer of claim 5 including:

humidistat means operable in response to selected humidity of the air in the drying chamber to terminate the power to the timer means thereby shutting off the dryer.

16. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles, means to permit access into the drying chamber to allow articles to be placed within the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having a first opening to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and a second opening to allow air to flow out of the drying chamber into the air mixing chamber, heater means for heating air, first means operable to move air through said heater means and first opening into the drying chamber, second means operable to draw air from the drying chamber through the second opening and discharge air to the environment outside of the dryer, said housing means having at least one opening to the air mixing chamber to allow air to be discharged from the air mixing chamber to the environment outside of the dryer.

17. The dryer of claim 16 including:

control means for the heater means and first and second means operable to connect the heater means and first and second means to a source of power whereby the first means moves air through the heater means so that the air is heated and discharged as hot air into the drying chamber and the second means draws air from the drying chamber and discharges air to the environment outside of the dryer, said air in the drying chamber circulating and recirculating within the drying chamber to remove moisture from the articles within the drying chamber.

18. The dryer of claim 17 wherein:

the control means includes a first switch operable to connect and disconnect the ultraviolet light means with the power source and a second switch operable in response to the means to permit access to the drying chamber to connect and disconnect the ultraviolet light means with the power source, said ultraviolet light means being connected to the power source when the drying chamber is closed.

19. The dryer of claim 17 wherein:

the control means includes timer means for connecting the heater means and first and second means to the power source for a selected period of time.

20. The dryer of claim 19 wherein:

the control means includes a first ON/OFF switch connected to the timer means and heater means, and a second ON/OFF switch connected to the timer means and first and second means.

21. The dryer of claim 16 including:

ultraviolet light means within said drying chamber, and control means for connecting the ultraviolet light means to a source of electric power whereby the ultraviolet light means emits ultraviolet light which reduces contaminants within the drying chamber.

22. The dryer of claim 21 wherein:

the ultraviolet light means comprises a pair of light fixtures attached to the wall means, each light fixture having an ultraviolet lamp.

23. The dryer of claim 16 wherein:

the means to permit access into the drying chamber includes door means movably mounted on the housing means for movement between open and closed positions, and light means attached to the wall means operable to emit light into the drying chamber when the door means is open, and control means associated with the door means operable to connect the light means to an electric power source when the door means is open and disconnect the light means from the power source when the door means is closed.

24. The dryer of claim 16 including:

casing means having an internal chamber located within the drying chamber, tubular means mounted on the casing means open to the internal chamber and drying chamber adapted to accommodate articles to be dried, and means mounted on the casing means operable to move air through the internal chamber and tubular means to dry the articles thereon.

25. The dryer of claim 24 including:

means having air passages mounted on the casing means for allowing air to flow out of the internal chamber into the drying chamber.

26. The dryer of claim 24 wherein:

the means mounted on the casing means operable to move air comprises a plurality of fans operable to move air from the drying chamber into the internal chamber and through said tubular means.

27. The dryer of claim 26 wherein:

the casing means has a top wall and a side wall, means mounting the tubular means on said top wall, and means mounting the fans on said side wall.

28. The dryer of claim 27 including:

filter means for removing odors from the air mounted on the casing means covering openings in the side walls adjacent the fans whereby air moved by the fans flows through said filter means to remove odors from the air.

29. The dryer of claim 16 including:

a boot dryer located within the drying chamber, said boot dryer having a casing with an internal chamber, tube means mounted on the casing means having a passage open to the internal chamber and drying chamber, ultraviolet light means within the internal chamber adaptor to emit ultraviolet light into the internal chamber and tube means, and means for moving air through said chamber and tube means to dry articles retained on the tube means.

30. The dryer of claim 16 including:

opening means in the housing means to allow air to flow into the drying chamber, and filter means for removing odors from air covering the opening means whereby when air flows through the opening means and filter means, odors are removed from the air.

62. The dryer of claim 19 including:

humidistat means operable in response to selected humidity of the air in the drying chamber to terminate the power to the timer means thereby shutting off the dryer.

31. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having a drying chamber for accommodating articles, casing means having a top wall, a side wall and an internal chamber located within the drying chamber, tubular means having passages open to the drying chamber and internal chamber for accommodating articles, means securing said tubular means to said top wall, fan means operable to move air through said internal chamber and passages of the tubular means to dry articles located on said tubular means, means mounting the fan means on said casing means, and control means operable to connect the fan means to a power source whereby the fan means operates to move air through said internal chamber and tubular means to dry articles located on said tubular means.

32. The dryer of claim 31 wherein:

housing means having an opening connecting the drying chamber with the environment outside of the dryer, and filter means for removing orders from air covering said opening whereby when air flows through the filter means, doors are removed from the air.

33. The dryer of claim 31 wherein:

the control means includes timer means operable to connect the fan means to the power source for a selected period of time.

34. The dryer of claim 31 including:

heater means for heating air, and means for moving the heated air into the drying chamber.

35. The dryer of claim 31 including:

means having air passages mounted on the casing means for allowing air to flow out of the internal chamber into the drying chamber.

36. The dryer of claim 31 wherein:

the fan means comprises a plurality of fans operable to move air from the drying chamber into the internal chamber and through said tubular means.

37. The dryer of claim 31 including:

ultraviolet light means within said drying chamber, and control means for connecting the ultraviolet light means to a source of electric power whereby the ultraviolet light means emits ultraviolet light which reduces contaminants within the drying chamber.

38. The dryer of claim 37 wherein:

the ultraviolet light means comprises a pair of light fixtures attached to the wall means, each light fixture having an ultraviolet lamp.

41. The dryer of claim 31 including:

ultraviolet light means within the internal chamber for emitting ultraviolet light through the tubular means to destroy contaminants on articles mounted on the tubular means.

39. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having a drying chamber for accommodating articles, filter means for removing odors from air mounted on the housing means, first fan means for moving air from the drying chamber through said filter means externally of the dryer thereby removing odors from the air, casing means having an internal chamber located within the drying chamber, tubular means attached to the casing means having passages open to the drying chamber and internal chamber for accommodating articles, second fan means mounted on the casing means operable to move air through said internal chamber and tubular means to dry articles located on the tubular means, and control means operable to connect the second fan means to a power source whereby the second fan means operates to move air through said internal chamber and tubular means to dry articles located on the tubular means.

40. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having a drying chamber for accommodating articles, casing means having an internal chamber located within the drying chamber, tubular means attached to the casing means having passages open to the drying chamber and internal chamber for accommodating articles, filter means for removing odors from air mounted on the casing means, fan means mounted on the casing means operable to move air through said internal chamber and tubular means to dry particles located on the tubular means and move air through the filter means to remove odors from the air, and control means operable to connect the fan means to a power source whereby the fan means operates to move air through the internal chamber and tubular means to dry articles located on the tubular means and through filter means to remove odors from the air.

42. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles, means to permit access into the drying chamber to allow articles to be placed within the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having a first opening to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and at least one second opening to allow air to flow out of the drying chamber into the air mixing chamber, heater means for heating air, means operable to move air through said heater means and into the drying chamber and drawing air from the mixing chamber and discharging air from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer, said housing means having a first opening into the air mixing chamber to allow air to flow into the air mixing chamber and a second opening to allow air to be discharged from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer, and filter means covering the second opening to allow air to flow from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer, said filter means having material to remove odors from the air flowing through the filter means.

43. The dryer of claim 42 wherein:

the housing means includes flexible side walls, one of said side walls having means to selectively open and close said one of said side walls to allow access to the drying chamber.

44. The dryer of claim 42 including:

duct means for carrying air from the means operable to move air to the drying chamber.

45. The dryer of claim 44 including:

boot dryer means located within the drying chamber for drying articles, said duct means being connected to the boot dryer means to direct air into said boot dryer means thereby drying the articles on the boot dryer means.

46. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles, the housing means includes a top member, a bottom member and flexible side walls secured to the top member and bottom member, hook means attached to the top member for mounting the dryer on a support, means to selectively open and close one of said side walls to allow access to the drying chamber, and to allow articles to be placed within the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having a first opening to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and at least one second opening to allow air to flow out of the drying chamber into the air mixing chamber, heater means for heating air, means operable to move air through said heater means and into the drying chamber and drawing air from the mixing chamber and discharging air from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer, said housing means having a first opening into the air mixing chamber to allow air to flow into the air mixing chamber and a second opening to allow air to be discharged from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer.

47. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles, wheel means for supporting the dryer, a handle secured to the housing means to facilitate movement of the dryer, means to permit access into the drying chamber to allow articles to be placed within the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having a first opening to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and at least one second opening to allow air to flow out of the drying chamber into the air mixing chamber, heater means for heating air, means operable to move air through said heater means and into the drying chamber and drawing air from the mixing chamber and discharging air from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer, said housing means having a first opening into the air mixing chamber and a second opening to allow air to be discharged from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer.

48. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles, means to permit access into the drying chamber to allow articles to be placed within the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having a first opening to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and side walls within said drying chamber having a plurality of openings to allow air to flow from the drying chamber to the mixing chamber, heater means for heating air, means operable to move air through said heater means and into the drying chamber and drawing air from the mixing chamber and discharging air from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer, said housing means having a first opening into the air mixing chamber to allow air to flow into the air mixing chamber and a second opening to allow air to be discharged from the drying chamber into the environment outside of the dryer.

49. A dryer comprising:

a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber, an air inlet open to the first chamber, an air outlet open to the second chamber, filter means having material to remove odors from air located over said air outlet to remove odors from the air flowing through the filter, a dehumidifier located within the housing having a first coil in the first chamber to remove moisture from the air flowing into the first chamber and a second coil in the second chamber to heat the air flowing through the second chamber, first fan means in the first chamber for drawing outside air into the first chamber and second fan means for moving air from the first chamber to the second chamber and through said second coil and filter means to the environment outside of the dryer.

50. The dryer of claim 49 including:

ultraviolet light means in the second chamber for decontaminating the air, second coil and filter means exposed to the ultraviolet light in the second chamber.

51. A dryer for articles comprising:

housing means having an internal drying chamber for accommodating articles and first and second openings to the environment outside of the dryer means mounted on the housing means for movement to an open position to permit access into the drying chamber and to a closed position to enclose the drying chamber, wall means within said housing providing an air mixing chamber, said wall means having first and second openings to allow air to flow from the air mixing chamber into the drying chamber and out of the drying chamber into the air mixing chamber, heater means located adjacent said first opening for heating air, first fan means located within the air mixing chamber operable to move air through said heater means and first opening into the drying chamber, second fan means located within the air mixing chamber operable to draw air from the drying chamber and air mixing chamber and discharge air through said first opening to the environment outside of the dryer, first filter means mounted on the housing means covering said first opening to remove odors from the air flowing through said first filter means to the environment outside the dryer, said second opening being open to the drying chamber to allow outside air to flow into the drying chamber, second filter means extending across said second opening into the drying chamber to remove odors from the air flowing into the drying chamber, and control means for the heater means and first and second fan means operable to connect the heater means and first and second fan means to a source of power whereby the first fan means moves air through the heater means so that the air is heated and discharged as hot air into the drying chamber and the second fan means draws air from the drying chamber and air mixing chamber and discharges air to the environment outside of the dryer, said air in the drying chamber circulating and recirculating within the drying chamber to remove moisture from the articles within the drying chamber.

52. The dryer of claim 51 including:

ultraviolet light means within said drying chamber, and control means for connecting the ultraviolet light means to a source of electric power whereby the ultraviolet light means emits ultraviolet light which reduces contaminants within the drying chamber.

53. The dryer of claim 51 wherein:

said housing has a back wall, said back wall having said second opening open to the drying chamber and the environment outside of the dryer to allow air to flow into the drying chamber, and means mounting said second filter on said back wall whereby said second filter covers said second opening.

54. A dryer for articles comprising:

casing means having an internal chamber and at least one opening connecting the internal chamber with the environment outside of the dryer, tubular means attached to the casing having passages open to the internal chamber and environment outside of the dryer for accommodating articles, filter means mounted on the casing means covering said opening to remove odors from air flowing through the filter means, fan means mounted on the casing means operable to move air through said tubular means into the internal chamber and through said filter means to the environment outside of the dryer to dry articles located on the tubular means and remove odor from the air, and control means operable to connect the fan means to a power source whereby the fan means operates to move air through said tubular means into the internal chamber and through said filter means to the environment outside of the dryer to dry articles located on said tubular means and remove odors from the air.

55. The dryer of claim 54 including:

ultraviolet light means within the internal chamber for emitting ultraviolet light through the tubular means to destroy contaminants on articles mounted on the tubular means.

56. The dryer of claim 55 including:

means mounted on said tubular means for reflecting ultraviolet light into the articles mounted on the tubular means.

57. The dryer of claim 54 wherein:

said tubular means having longitudinal passages, ultraviolet light means located within said internal chamber in general alignment with the passages of the tubular means, and mirror means mounted on said tubular means in general alignment with the passages of the tubular means for reflecting ultraviolet light laterally of the passages of the tubular means into the articles mounted on the tubular means.

58. The dryer of claim 54 including:

housing means having a chamber accommodating the tubular means and articles mounted thereon, said housing means having an opening connecting the chamber to the environment outside of the dryer, and filter means for removing odors from air covering said opening in the housing means whereby when air flows through said filter means, odors are removed from the air.

59. A dryer for articles comprising:

casing means having an internal chamber, tubular means attached to the casing means having passages open to the internal chamber and environment outside of the dryer for accommodating articles, fan means mounted on the casing means operable to move air through said tubular means, internal chamber and said opening to dry articles located on the tubular means, said tubular means having longitudinal passages, ultraviolet light means located within said internal chamber in general alignment with the passages of the tubular means, mirror means mounted on said tubular means in general alignment with the passages of the tubular means for reflecting ultraviolet light laterally of the passages into the articles mounted on the tubular means, and control means operable to connect the fan means to a power source whereby the fan means operates to move air through said tubular means, internal chamber and through said opening in said casing means to dry articles located on said tubular means.

60. The dryer of claim 59 including:

filter means mounted on the casing means over said opening to remove odors from air flowing through said filter means.