US2871576A - Clothes drier - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 3, 1959 1 T. p. RAMEY v 2,871,576.

cLo'mss DRIER Filed on. 24. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 """W v E'L U r a 63 INVENTOR. TOM D. RAMEY AGENT L Feb. 3, 1959 T. RAMEY 7 V CLOTHES DRIER Filed 001:. 24, 1955 4 Sheets-Shani. 2

FIG. 3 2a 4 +1 w 1 i/HM IN VEN TOR.

ran a. RAMEY v W W/fizz I A GENT T. DTR MEY CLOTHES DRIER Feb. 3, 1959 Fil ed Oct. 24, 1955 4 shuts-sheet 3 FIG.6'

I INVENTOR. TOM 0. "ME Y BY @MWMJ AGENT T. D. RAMEY Feb. 3,1959

CLOTHES DRIER j 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fild Oct. 24, -1955 INVENTOR mu 0. FAME Y BY AGENT Unite This invention relates generally to clothes driers and more particularly to a clothes drier adapted to use air heated by the gas or electric burner of a stove.

Clothes driers of various types are known in the art and as a whole, are impractical for use by the great mass of home owners for a number of reasons. Among these are an excessive cost resulting from (1) elaborate in stallations requiring plumbing and electrical alterations and additions, and (2) poor drier design involving the use of unnecessary structural parts, and complicated controls; a lack of convenient operating space for the drier in the average home; and a lack of flexibility in use of the drier.

Accordingly, the chief object of the present invention is to provide an improved clothes drier which will obviate the above and other limitation of known driers.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved clothes drier which may be placed on the top of any ordinary range to fully utilize its heat, by conduction and convection, whether it be a gas, electric or wood burning range.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide an improved clothes drier which has a minimum but adequate number of safety controls which function to positively prevent the scorching or burning of clothes, etc. being dried.

A still further important object is to provide a light weight portable clothes drier which will conform with and may be readily secured to the surface of a range or stove without marring the surface thereof.

Another object is to provide an economical clothes drier which requires no electrical or plumbing changes but may be plugged into the regular 110 volt house circuit, and will not take up any valuable space in the I home.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings I have shown two embodiments of the invention. In this showing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, parts being broken away, of the clothes drier comprising the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view thereof taken on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical, transverse sectional view thereof taken on the line 44 of Figure 3, parts being shown in elevation;

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the solenoid door latch in operative position holding the heat control door open;

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the lint trap forming a part of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the heat conductor comprising a part of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a schematic view of the electrical circuit.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a modification of the in- I vention;

States atet ice Figure 10 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view thereof taken on the line 10--10 of Figure 9; and

Figure 11 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view thereof taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 9.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 designates the clothes drier as a whole which includes a double insulated casing of sheet metal including a curved tumbler receiving portion and a vertical flue portion and provided with a plurality of supporting rubber feet 14. As seen in Figures 2-4 inclusive, the bottom of the drier casing is provided at its right end with an elongated heat inlet opening 16 extending rearwardly so as to be above the front and rear burners of a range R.

A time 17 is defined directly above the heat inlet opening 16 by the casing end wall 18, the front wall '19, a side inner wall 20 and an inclined portion of a rear inner wall 21. The top of the flue 17 includes an open, rearwardly directed grille 23.

The flue 17 is adapted to be closed by a heat control door 24 which is pivoted to the lower edge of the inner wall 20 by means of hinges 25, 26. The door 24 may be swung from the vertical position in which it closes the drying compartment to the flue closing position shown in Figure 3 by means of an exterior handle 27. I

The door 24 is retained in its flue closing position (Figures 3-5 inclusive) by the notched end 28 of a solenoid 29 which is normally held in a retracted position in the wall 21 by means of a spring 30. When the circuit C is connected to a v. source by the plug 32, the solenoid is energized by the closing of a toggle switch 33 which is engaged by the door 24 as it reaches the flue closing position. The door is thus held in this position until the plug 32 is disconnected or until a thermobulb 34 mounted in the top of the drier compartment acts to open the circuit C upon the reaching of a pr-- determined temperature at which the clothes in the drier might become scorched.

Upon the opening of the circuit, the spring 3t? retracts the notched end 28 of the solenoid permitting the door 24 to drop away from the toggle switch 33 and close the drier compartment to the heated air from the range which air passes up the now open flue 17. An aluminum heat conductor 36 comprising a plurality of spaced, parallel, connected tubes 37 is positioned in the base of the drier 10 and extends from the end wall it; over the heat inlet opening 16 and well into the drier compartment. The conductor 36 permits heat to be conducted from a range burner into the drier compartmentto maintain the temperature high enough to continue drying of the clothes even though the heat control door 24 has dropped to the closed position.

The front wall 19 of the drier 10 is provided with a pivoted, access door 38 through which clothes ,to be dried are inserted. An open-ended, drum-type tumbler 40 is rotatably mounted in the drier compartment in alignment with the door 38 by means of a shaft 42 passing through the inner rear wall 21 and journalled in a bearing 43 fixed on the rear wall 44 of the casing 10. A motor M is mounted in the upper right rear portion of the casing N on a bracket 45 and is drivably connected with a large pulley 46 fixed to the tumbler shaft 42 by drive belts 47, 48 acting through a pair of intermediate speed reduction pulleys 49, 50.

The tumbler 40 includes a rear perforate wall 52 and a plurality of angularly spaced agitator blades 53 fixed to its inner circumference to effect a turning of the clothes in the tumbler. The entire circumference of the tumbler is provided with a plurality of air scoops 54 formed by stamping adjacent portions of the circumference outwardly with their openings extending in the clockwise direction of rotation of the tumbler.

Patented Feb. 3, 1959 p em T d ier-t sssu sd onrthe .r a as lamb ga ner e T udsp thet rasii sl a ami salts of adjustable straps, d2 terminating in hooks 63 'tvnich are adapted topngage the-edgeilangesof the range R to hold e er fi mly iap ase dut aste The operation of the drier lfl is belieyed to be appar:

with itsflue openip g l positioned over two och. My

.burners and the plugfiz ls connected with a 11!) volt outlet to start rotation of the tumblerAt). The burners are now turned ou andtheheat therefrom passes up the flue 17 and out-the grille-23.

Clothes may now be inserted ,into the tumbler 4th through the access door 38 and the heat control door 24 raised (Figure 3) by the handle-27 to close the flue l7 and cause the heat from the burners to pass into the drier chamber, the door being retained inthe flue closing position by the notched end 28 of the now energized solenoid; 29.

The Warm air from the burners is inducted into the interior oi the clockwise-rotating tumbler by means .of the air scoops 54 on its periphery and passes out of the tumbler by means of the perforate rear wall 52. This warm, moist air is forced by the incoming dry air into the air passage 55 from where it passes into the exhaust passage 57, through the lint-trap 59 and through the opening. 58 and out of the exhaust grille 23. the tumbler 49 are subject d to a continuous and gentle flow of Warm, dry air.

Before the temperature in the drier reaches a point at which the clothes might scorch, the thermobulb 34 opens all but the motor M part of the circuit C to deenergize the solenoid 29 andpermit the temperature control door 24 to close thedrying chamber and open the fine 17. The sameholds true in case .of power failure except that the motor position of the circuit C would also be deenergized.

With the drying chamber closed, the heat from the burners passes directly up the flue 1'7. However, the drying operation may continue as the tumbler 40 continues to rotate andheat is ,still furnished to the drying compartment by meansof the aluminum heat conductor 36. When dry, one load ofclothes may be removed from the tumblerdtlthrough the door 33 and another load of wet clothes inserted.

For convenience, the casing 16 is equipped with a mechaniealbell-ringing ,timerS so as to signal when a predetermined drying period has elapsed. The timer is entirely independent electrically, of the circuit C and,

forms no part ofthe present invention.

The embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figures 9-11 inclusive .is similarin most respects to that already described. However, a generally rectangular heating chamber or passageway as preferably of steel is horizontally arranged in the flue 17 directly over the area covered by theburner onthe range to admit air from theexterior of the casing to the interior of the drying compartment. The interior of the passageway is provided with a plurality of spaced, staggered, baflle plates .63 so that a greater volume of air will be heated byactual contact with thebalfi es orthe sides ofthe passageway 66.

The flue 17 is also provided with aplurality of spaced. staggered, bafile plates 68 so as toensure a maximum of heat transfer from the products of combustion of the range burner to the passageway fiti duringtheir passage up t ffiue. It will be noted that the products of corn- Thus, the clothes in all bustion arethus kept separate from the air'to be heated and passed to the clothes drying compartment.

The motor M, in addition to rotating the tumbler 40 drives a fan or blower 69 positioned behind the lint trap 59 in the outlet end of an arcuate exhaust passage 60 which connects with the clothes drying compartment as at 63. The fan is of such size as to induce a steady, even flow of air into the casing through the heating chamber or pasageway 66, through the clothes in the perforated tumbler 4 9, through the exhaust duct 60 and the lint trap 59 and out of the casing. The air scoops 54 are omitted from the tumbler and perforations -substitutedtherefor or the tumbler may be formed of stainless steel mesh, etc.

It will be noted that it is impossible for the clothes to become scorched as failure of the motor M will stop both the rotation of the tumbler and the fan 69, the products of combustion from the range merely passing out the flue 17 Without accessv to the drying compartment as before. 7

It will nowbe readily apparentthat the driers comprising the presentinvention are simple in construction and safe and eflicient in use, present no material storage problem and may be economically constructed and of long life in use.

in the shape, size and arrangement of partsrnaybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Iclaim:

1. A portable clothes drier comprising a unitary. casing adapted to be operatively positioned on a kitchen range, a partitionmounted therein and dividing it into two compartments, a clothes receptacle rotatably mounted in one of said compartments, the otherof said compartments comprising a flue open at its top and bottom for thepassage of heated gases therethrough, heat exchange means in said flue, means forming a part of said casing for admitting gas over said heat exchange means, and into said one compartment, and power means mounted in said casing for rotating said receptacle.

2. A device as recitedin claim 1 wherein said admitting means comprises a door formed in said partition.

3. A device as recited in claim 1 wherein said admitting means comprises a duct including bafiles extending through said flue from an outer wall to said partition.

4. A deviceas recited in claim 3 wherein a fan is mounted in said one compartment to ex haust air therefromand is rotated by said power means to induce-air through said duct into said one compartment.

5. A clothes drier comprising a portable unitary casing including a closed drying compartment and an open vertical flue adapted to be positioned over a burner of a range for the passage of heated gasestherethrough, a closed receptacle rotatably mounted in said compartment, means forming a horizontal passageway through said flue for admitting air to be heated therein from the exterior of said casing to said compartment, and power means mounted in said casing for rotating said receptacle. and operating a blower for inducing air through said passagewayinto said compartment.

'6. A clothes drier comprising a portable, unitary casing including a clothes drying compartment and an open flue having a common Wall therewith andadapted to be operatively positioned over a burner of a range, a clothes receptacle rotatably mounted in said compartment, a door pivoted to said common wall of said casing and adapted to alternately close said compartment and said flue to heated gases'from said burner, power :means mounted in said casing for rotating said receptacle and heat conduction means positioned in said casing under said receptacle and extending over said burner to furnish additional heat to said receptacle. v

7. A clothes drier comprising a portable, unitary casing including a clothes drying compartment and an open flue having a common wall therewith and adapted to be operatively positioned over a burner of a range, a clothes receptacle rotatably mounted in said compartment, a door pivoted to said common wall of said casing and adapted to alternately close said compartment and said flue to heated gases from said burner, power means mounted in said casing for rotating said receptacle, and heat conduction means positioned in said casing under said receptacle and extending over said burner to furnish heat to said receptacle when said door closes said compartment to said heated gases.

8. A clothes drier comprising a portable, unitary casing including a clothes drying compartment and an open flue having a common wall therewith and adapted to be operatively positioned over a burner of a range, a clothes receptacle rotatably mounted in said compartment, a door pivoted to said common wall of said casing and adapted to alternately close said compartment and said flue to heated gases from said burner, power means mounted in said casing for rotating said receptacle, and a solenoid mounted in said casing and operative to hold said door in flue closing position, said solenoid upon failure of said power means being deenergized to release said door for movement by gravity to close compartment.

9. A clothes drier comprising a portable, unitary casing including a clothes drying compartment and an open flue having a common wall therewith and adapted to be operatively positioned over a burner of a range, a clothes receptacle rotatably mounted in said compartment, a door pivoted to said common wall of said casing and adapted to alternately close said compartment and said flue to heated gases from said burner, power means mounted in said casing for rotating said receptacle, said receptacle being spaced from said casing, and an arcuate plate fixed to said casing adjacent said receptacle and terminating in said flue to form a heated air exhaust passage with said casing.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,540,600 Cavitch June 2, 1925 2,050,625 Orr Aug. 11, 1936 2,321,124 Bowdoin et al June 8, 1943 2,419,226 Palmer Apr. 22, 1947 2,677,897 Herbster May 11', 1954 2,774,148 Worth Dec. 18, 1956

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