Household drying center

• US 5,755,040 A
• Filed: 05/09/1997
• Issued: 05/26/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Chan-Chou Ou
• Original Assignee: Chan-Chou Ou
• Inventors: Ou, Chan-Chou
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, Henry A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US08/853,788
• Time in Patent Office: 382 Days
• Field of Search: 34/89, 34/90, 34/138, 34/170, 34/192, 34/194, 34/197, 34/202, 34/204, 34/218, 34/224, 34/225, 34/237, 34/239, 34/240, 211/88, 211/181, 211/204, 312/229, 312/249.9, 312/213
• US Class Current: 34/202
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 23/205 with heating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/10 Drying cabinets or drying chambers having heating or ventilating means
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 25/066 Movable chambers, e.g. collapsible, demountable self-contained mobile devices, e.g. for agricultural produce F26B19/005
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 9/06 in stationary drums or chambers

Abstract

A multipurpose dryer which can serve as a household drying center to provide versatile drying function for a wide variety of clothing, fabric articles and other household goods. A cabinet has a heating chamber located at the bottom of the cabinet for generating forced and heated air as drying medium. There is a heated air chamber to receive and distribute heated air to a drying chamber located below the top wall of the cabinet and above the heated air chamber. There are hollow air ducts attached to the side walls of the cabinet and a perforate heat diffusion plate above the heated air chamber for evenly distributing heated air into the drying chamber. A versatile support means is disposed in the drying chamber for hanging clothes, draping large size or bulky goods, or supporting a wire basket for holding delicate drying goods. The clothes and goods are dried without tumbling, thus avoiding fraying or wrinkles.

Claims

1. A household drying center for drying laundry, fabric articles and household goods, comprising;

a cabinet defined by a top wall, a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls, the top wall having a top opening formed therein, the bottom wall having a plurality of casters disposed thereunder;

a heat diffusion plate slantly located at a lower portion of the cabinet above the bottom wall to form a heated air chamber therebetween;

the heat diffusion plate having a plural number of spaced apertures formed therein and a substantially rectangular side slot formed in each of side edges, a lower side edge being bent upward to form a drain gutter and having a drain outlet with a drain chute disposed therein;

a heating chamber located in the heated air chamber having a blower, a heating means, a heated air outlet, and a chamber side opening adjacent a cabinet side opening formed in one of the side walls of the cabinet;

a drying chamber formed and surrounded by the top wall, the side walls and the heat diffusion plate, the drying chamber including a door mounted on a front side wall and a plurality of hollow air ducts;

each air duct being vertically disposed on an inside surface of the side wall and having an open bottom end engaged with the side slot of the heat diffusion plate for forming a heated air passage to the heated air chamber, a closed top end engaged with the top wall of the cabinet, and a plural number of spaced apertures formed in a lateral wall thereof facing the interior of the drying chamber;

a support means located in the drying chamber including a substantially horizontal frame means secured on a top end of an upright means which is supported at a bottom end thereof by a base bar secured to the side walls of the cabinet;

a control panel located above the top wall of the cabinet including at least one control switches for setting operation condition and time duration of the blower and the heating means; and

a draining means located below the bottom wall of the cabinet including a movable drip tray for receiving dripping water from the drain chute.

2. A household drying center of claim 1, wherein the heat diffusion plate has a plurality of corrugated ridges formed longitudinally thereon along the slant direction, the apertures of the heat diffusion plate being formed on the peak of the ridges.

3. A household drying center of claim 1, wherein the heat diffusion plate has a plurality of semiconical roofs formed thereon, each aperture of the heat diffusion plate being located within the semiconical roof.

4. A household drying center of claim 1 further having a suction fan located above the top opening and a casing located above the top wall for covering the suction fan and the top opening, the casing having a side opening to form an air passage with the top opening of the cabinet.

5. A household drying center of claim 1, wherein the frame means of the support means is spaced from the top wall and the side walls of the cabinet.

6. A household drying center of claim 5, wherein the frame means is substantially rectangular.

7. A household drying center of claim 6, wherein the frame means includes a pair of spaced and transverse bars engaging respectively with a pair of spaced and longitudinal bars.

8. A household drying center of claim 7, wherein at least one of the transverse bars is telescopically structured.

9. A household drying center of claim 1, wherein the upright means includes a pair of spaced struts.

10. A household drying center of claim 9, wherein the struts are telescopically structured.

11. A household drying center of claim 1, wherein a first control switch is for setting the heating means to generate various levels of heat output.

12. A household drying center of claim 1, wherein a second control switch is for setting the blower and the heating means to function at various time duration.

13. A household drying center of claim 1 further having at least one substantially inverted `U` shape side rod means pivotably disposed on the inside surface of the side wall of the cabinet.