Drier and method of drying

2,369,366

Sheets-Sheet 1

L. M. O’NEILL

DRIER AND METHOD OF DRYING

Filed Feb. 11, 1941

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Romeys·

Feb. 13, 1945.

L. M. O’NEILL

DRIER AND METHOD OF DRYING

Filed Feb. 11, 1941

2,369,366

Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US2369366A_D0002.tif" />

Feb. 13, 1945.

L. M. O’NEILL

2,369,366

DRIER AND METHOD OF DRYING

Filed Feb. 11, 1941

Sheets-Sheet 3

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<img file="US2369366A_D0004.tif" />

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Patented Feb. 13,1945

2,369,366

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,369,366

DRIER AND METHOD OF DRYING

Leo M. O’Neill, Evanston, Hl.

Application February 11,1941, Serial No. 378,461

Claims.

The invention relates generally to driers and more particularly to a device for drying wet fabrics such as laundry.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel drier for fabric material such as s laundry, which is economical to operate, which is suitable for use in a home, and which does not require any high degree of skill to operate.

It is also a prominent object to provide a novel drier which does not materially change the tern- 10 perature or humidity conditions in the room in which it operates, and which prevents the dissipation into the room of any lint from the articles beingdried.

Another object is to provide a novel drier for drying articles of laundry in a relatively short space of time either to a slightly damp condition for ironing or to a bone-dry condition.

A further object is to provide a novel drier in which the laundry is held in a sterilizing atmosphere during substantially the entire drying period. '

Still another object is to provide a novel laundry drier in which the lint is carried out of the drying chamber and consequently away from the 25 articles being dried, and is prevented from being returned to the chamber so that the articles when ultimately dried are free of lint.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a drier embodying the features of the invention.

Fig.*2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane parallel to the front of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3—3 of Fig. 2. .

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 4—4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a part of the drier.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the drier provided with an air cooling means.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of drier.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, but of the drier shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a part of the drier shown in Fig. 7.

A drier embodying the features of the invention is in its preferred form designed for use in drying laundry, and is particularly constructed and has such capacity that it is adapted for use in a home. In many homes, washing machines are employed for doing the household laundry, (Cl. 34—40) and after the washing is completed, the laundry is passed through a wringer or a centrifugal drier to remove the bulk of the water from the laundry. However, neither wringers nor centrifugal driers as commonly constructed are capable of removing in a reasonable time the amount of water necessary to make the laundry ready for ironing. Further drying is usually effected by hanging the clothes on a line either indoors or outdoors. Drying on a line is a relatively slow and inconvenient process, and the laundry during such drying will accumulate dust from the air.

The present drier is constructed so that the laundry may be placed therein immediately foils lowing the wringing oi; centrifugal drying operation, and in this drier the moisture content of the laundry may be removed in a relatively short space of time either to the point where the laundry is only slightly damp but ready for ironing, 20 or to where it is substantially bone dry. Moreover, during the drying operation, not only is dust prevented from gaining access to the laundry, but also the laundry is sterilized due to the heat to which it is subjected for a substantial period of time. Furthermore, the laundry is in a fluffy relatively non-wrinkled condition when it is removed from the drier, thus facilitating ironing, or, in some instances, avoiding the necessity of ironing.

₃₍₎ The drier in its preferred embodiment comprises generally a chamber in which the laundry is placed. The chamber is provided with an outlet in its bottom but is otherwise substantially closed. While the laundry is in the chamber, it is agitated and heat is applied directly thereto, ^3j preferably in the form of radiant heat as distinguished from passing a current of preheated air through the chamber, so that the laundry is not exposed to the dust in the air and the heat is efficiently utilized. During the operation of the ⁴⁰ machine, the moisture content of the laundry is vaporized and passes out of the chamber under its own pressure through the outlet in the bottom.

In order to prevent discharging the vapor into the room in which the machine is operating, a ⁵ condenser is provided which is in communication with the chamber outlet and causes the vapor as it emerges from the chamber to be condensed and retained within the condenser. A further prominent feature of the invention resides in the fact ⁶⁰ that with the outlet in the bottom of the chamber, the lint which is formed by the agitation of the laundry within the chamber, falls through the opening and into the condenser by gravity and because of the falling of the laundry in the cham®“ ber and of the rotary movement of the drum.

2,869,866

Such lint is relatively light In character and tends to float In the atmosphere within the chamber. However, when it passes through the opening Into the condenser It becomes thoroughly moistened by the condensed moisture and falls to the bottom 5 of the condenser where It Is retained due to its soggy condition.

In a machine of this construction, -the only heat lost from the chamber is that which is carried out by the vapor and lint. Such heat is much 10 less in quantity than would be carried out of the drying chamber were the latter heated by a current of preheated air. In order to maintain the condenser at a relatively cool temperature so as to operate efficiently, the heat carried thereto is is dissipated through the walls of the condenser. Such heat is preferably carried out of the machine by providing an air current in the path of which the condenser Is located. By means of this air current, the condenser Is maintained at an effi- 20 cient operating temperature so that the vapor entering the condenser from the chamber is immediately condensed. However, none of this vapor enters the room in which the machine is operated, nor can the lint escape from the ma- 25 chine. Moreover, the machine as a whole is not dependent for its rate of drying upon the humidity condition of the outside air.

As shown in the drawings, the machine comprises a base 10 of generally rectangular form 30 constituting a part of a general base structure which also includes upwardly extending walls it. Mounted on the base structure is a chamber of generally cylindrical form having a horizontal axis extending from front to rear of the ma- 35 chine. The chamber is preferably constructed with an inner wall i2 and an outer wall 13 spaced from each other, and insulation 14 is placed in the space therebetween. The front and rear walls of the chamber are similarly constructed and in- 40 sulated. At the bottom of the chamber the peripheral wall is provided with an opening or outlet 15 (see Fig. 2). Preferably this outlet extends from front to rear of the machine and has a length substantially equal to the front to rear 45 dimension of the chamber. The chamber is other- ’ wise closed, the seams between the front and rear walls and the peripheral wall being substantially air tight.

Mounted within the chamber is a means for ⁶⁰tumbling or agitating the laundry during the course of drying. Such means preferably/ comprises a rotatable drum or basket 20 of generally cylindrical form located concentrically with the chamber. The front and rear walls as well as the 55 peripheral wall of the drum 20 are made of foraminous material such as perforated sheet metal, and the drum is provided with a stiffening spider 2i on its rear wall, the spider being provided with a hub rigid with a drive shaft 22 projecting rear- eo wardly from the chamber. To prevent the clothes from being caught on the hub or shaft 22, a guard or cover 23 may be mounted over the inwardly projecting end thereof. The drum 20 is adapted to receive the laundry and to agitate it during the 65 course of drying. To this end, a plurality of vanes or ledges 24 are provided on the inner side of the peripheral wall of the drum to extend radiallyinward. Thus when laundry is placed in the drum and the latter is rotated, the laundry will be lifted 70 up by the ledges 24 and permitted to fall toward the bottom of the drum, thereby spreading out and exposing all parts of the laundry.

To supply heat to the interior of the chamber and thereby produce vaporization of the moisture 75 content of the laundry, heating means is provided. Such heating means is of a type to supply heat directly to the contents of the chamber as distinguished from supplying preheated air to 5 the interior thereof. Thus in the preferred embodiment of the invention; an electrical heating element is provided which comprises a plurality of rods 25 for radiating heat directly on the laundry as it is tumbled and agitated within the 10 chamber. In the embodiment shown herein, the heating rods 25 are bent into a generally arcuate form and are located in the upper part of the chamber in a space between the peripheral wall of the drum and the wall of the chamber. These 15 rods are so constructed and their heating capacity so calculated that sufficient heat is provided without causing any great intensity of temperature at the rods. In practice, it has been found that a temperature at the surface of the rods of 700° to 20 800° F. is suitable. With this temperature, scorching of the laundry is avoided and the production of lint is held to a minimum.

To provide for insertion of laundry within the drum and removal thereof, the front wall of the ₂₅ drum is provided with an opening 2β located centrally of the drum and in alinement with an opening 27 in the front wall of the chamber. A cover 28 for the opening 27 is mounted on the front wall of the chamber and preferably is of 30 sufficient depth to extend into and substantially close the opening 26 in the drum to prevent the laundry as it is tumbled in the drum from falling through the opening 26. The cover 28 is so constructed that when closed it provides a substan35 tially air tight seal for the opening 27.

The laundry is inserted through the opening in the front of the machine and is tumbled by means of the drum and its ledges 24 in the presence of the heat radiated directly on the laundry 40 from the heating element 25. The moisture content of the laundry is thus rapidly converted into vapor which would have a tendency to build up a pressure within the chamber were It not for the opening or outlet IS. Thus as the vapor is 45 generated within the chamber It produces a flow, ’ under its own pressure, out of the chamber through the outlet 15. Moreover, only the heat in the vapor escapes from the chamber, resulting in efficient operation of the machine.

In many driers heretofore constructed, the vaporized moisture content of the laundry is carried directly into the room in which the machine operates. It is obvious that such vapor might cause a considerable rise in the humidity of the 55 room, particularly where the machine is operated in a home where the room may be small. Moreover, the tumbling of the laundry within the chamber produces a certain amount of lint. It is obviously undesirable to permit such lint to 60 remain within the chamber because of the fact that it would be deposited on the laundry, and also because it might catch fire from contact within the heating element 25. Moreover, it is equally undesirable to permit such lint to be dis65 charged into the room in which the machine operates.

A prominent feature of the invention resides in the provision of means for condensing at least a part of the moisture as it emerges from the 70 chamber so that it is not carried into the air of the room, and also to collect the lint as it falls through the opening 15. To this end I have provided a means for simultaneously condensing at least some of the vapor and efficiently collecting 75 the lint as they emerge from the chamber. Thus

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I have provided a receptacle which is subetan- . tlally closed except that the Interior thereof is in communication with the outlet 15 so that both the vapor and the lint when they are discharged from the chamber enter the receptacle. Such receptacle is constructed to serve as a condenser for the vapor, thus reducing it to water which thoroughly moistens the lint, thereby preventing the reentry of both the lint and vapor into the chamber and at the same time producing no back pressure which would interfere with the drying operation taking place within the chamber, or which would decrease the discharge of vapor from the chamber.

In the preferred embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the receptacle or condenser is in the form of a drawer, Indicated generally at 30, located in the base structure of the machine and supported so that it may be readily removed to empty any accumulation of water and lint. Thus the drawer comprises a bottom wall 31, side walls 32, a rear wall 33, and a front wall 34. The drawer is preferably wider than the outlet 15 from the chamber and is provided with a top wall 35 over that part of the drawer which extends laterally beyond the outlet 15. The drawer is preferably suspended in the base structure of the machine by having its left-hand side wall 32 flanged, as at 36, and its top wall 35 flanged along its edge, as at 37, to hang on flanges 38 formed on the peripheral wall of the chamber along the side edges of the outlet 15. The rear wall 33 of the drawer is adapted to abut the rear wall of the base structure, while the front wall 34 is adapted to abut against the front face of the front wall of the base structure, thus making a substantially air tight connection except for the communication between the interior of the drawer and the outlet 15.

As mentioned above, the machine in the present Instance also includes means for cooling the drawer 30, which means produces a current of air in the path of which the drawer is located. Thus at one side of the base structure there is mounted a motor 40 supported on the base i0, and mounted on the rear end of the motor shaft is a fan 41 for drawing air into the base structure through a screened opening 42 located in the rear wall. Extending from front to rear within the base structure is a plenum chamber formed by a wall 43 extending upwardly over the motor and thence at an angle downwardly so that its lower right-hand edge, as viewed in Fig. 2, is located adjacent the bottom wall 30 of the drawer but spaced above the base 10. Thus an elongated slot-like opening 44 is provided for the plenum chamber, extending from front to rear of the machine under the drawer, so that the air forced into the plenum chamber by the fan will be discharged through the slot 44 transversely under the drawer. At the opposite side of the machine, the side wall of the base structure is provided with a slot 45 for the discharge of the air flowing under the drawer. To assist in cooling the drawer and to increase the rate of dissipation of heat therefrom, a plurality of fins 46 may be mounted on the bottom of the drawer to extend in the direction of air flow. As shown in the drawings, these fins are perforated.

Preferably the motor which operates the fan also is utilized for driving the drum 20. To this end a small pulley 50 may be mounted on the motor shaft and connected by a belt to a larger pulley 51 mounted on a· stub shaft 52 located centrally of the machine in the lower rear part thereof. On the rear end of the stub shaft 52 is mounted another small pulley 53 connected by a belt 54 to a pulley 65 mounted on the rear end of the drum supporting shaft 22. A. casing 56 is preferably provided at the back of the machine 6 to cover the pulleys 53 and 55 and the belt 54.

The speed of rotation of the drum is such that the laundry will be carried upwardly by the ledges 24 and will slide therefrom before it reaches the top of the chamber so that it will spread out to 10 expose all parts thereof to the heat from the heating element 25 in the hottest zone within the chamber.

When the machine is first started up, the cliamber is filled with air. This air of course 15 expands as the chamber becomes heated. Moreover, this air will obviously be driven out of the chamber as vapor is generated therein. The air will pass into the drawer 30 along with the vapor ana lint, but of course will not be condensed. 20 Therefore, in order to prevent the building up of any pressure due to this air and its expansion, a small opening or vent 60 is provided in the top wall 35 of the drawer so that the air may escape therefrom. The vent 60, however, 25 is not of sufficient size nor is it located closely enough to the outlet 15 to permit any appreciable amount of vapor to escape before being condensed.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a means for insuring 30 sufficient cooling of the drawer 30 to condense the vapor therein. Thus at the rear of the machine adjacent the screened intake 42 for the air, I have mounted a cooling device, indicated at 61, through which the air taken in by the fan has to 35 pass. This cooling device preferably comprises a pair of headers 62 connected by pipes or coils 63 to carry a cooling fluid such as a refrigerant, or merely cool water. The lower header is provided with a connection 64 to receive the cool 40 fluid, while the upper head is provided with a discharge 65 for carrying away the cooling fluid.

In the modified form of the drier shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the construction of the receptacle or drawer, as indicated at 70, is such that 45 vapor may escape therefrom. However, at least part of the vapor emerging from the chamber into the drawer 70 is condensed to moisten the lint and prevent such lint either from being returned from the drying chamber or from passing ⁵⁰ out of the machine. To this end, the drawer 70 is spaced from the base structure 10 of the machine so that a current of air may be passed thereunder to cool the drawer. However, one vertical wall of the drawer, in the present in55 stance the right-hand wail, is provided with an open structure through which the vapor may pass. Thus the upper part of the right-hand wall of the drawer 70 is made of a wire mesh 71. The lower portion of the right-hand wall, indicated 60 at 72, is solid so that sufficient moisture may collect in the drawer to thoroughly moisten the lint.

The air current passing under the drawer is permitted to pass out of the base structure 65 through a slot 73 in the lower right-hand side thereof. The vapor is also permitted to escape from the base structure after leaving the drawer. While such escape for the vapor may be placed at any convenient location, in the present in70 stance the drawer 70 is extended to the righthand side of the base structure so that the wire mesh portion 71 of the drawer coincides with an opening 74 in the side wall of the base structure above the opening 73. Thus the vapor passing 75 out of the drying chamber and into the drawer

3,869,866 may pass through the drawer and its wire mesh portion and thence out of the machine through the opening 74. However, during the passage of the vapor through the drawer at least a portion thereof is condensed by the cooling effect of the drawer itself and the air current thereunder. The lint is thereby prevented from escaping from the drawer due to the wire mesh, and is thoroughly moistened by the condensed water and is retained in the bottom of the drawer. While the drawer may be withdrawn either to the side or the front of the machine, I have herein shown it withdrawable forwardly, the drawer being supported on suitable bars 75.

In operation, the cover or door 28 is opened and the laundry as it comes from the wringer or centrifugal drier is placed in the drum 20. The door 28 Is then closed so that the chamber remains substantially air tight. The motor drive is then started and at the same time the heating element 25 is energized. The rotation of the drum causes the laundry to be tumbled by being lifted up on the ledges 24 and allowed to fall and spread out within the chamber to present all areas of the laundry to the effect of the heat. Thus the moisture content of the laundry is vaporized. The air initially in the chamber is permitted to escape through the outlet 15 and through the drawer 30 to the vent 60 to avoid any back pressure. The vapor as it is generated would tend to build up a pressure within the chamber, were it not that it may freely pass through the outlet 15 into the drawer 30. The drawer 30, being maintained at a relatively low temperature by the current of cool air from the fan, causes condensation of the vapor, and the resultant water is collected in the bottom of the drawer. At the same time the lint produced through the tumbling of the laundry will fall through the outlet i5 into the drawer 30. The lint is thoroughly moistened by the condensed vapor and falls to the bottom of the drawer so that it will not reenter the chamber.

The fan provides sufficient current of air under the drawer and around the fins 56 to maintain the drawer at a condensing temperature. However, if the temperature of the outside air is too high to maintain sufficient cooling of the drawer, the air may be pre-cooled by means of the cooling device 61 illustrated in Fig. 6. The air flowing under the drawer 38 and discharged through the slot 45 is not humidified in any respect so that it will not change the moisture condition of the .room in which the machine is operated. Moreover, the lint is prevented from being dissipated therein.

In the operation of the drier shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the generation of vapor within the chamber takes place in a similar manner to that in the form shown in Fig. 1, and such generated vapor is forced out through the outlet (5 and into the drawer 70. The vapor thereupon flows through the drawer and its wire mesh portion 71 to escape from the machine through the side wall opening 74. However, during such flow of the vapor, the lint carried along therewith is prevented by the screen from passing out of the drawer, and enough vapor is condensed by the cooling of the bottom surface of the drawer to thoroughly moisten the lint and retain it in the bottom of the drawer in a soggy condition.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a novel drier for material such as laundry, which is economical to operate and is particularly suitable for use in a home. The drier is so constructed that no great increase In temperature or humidity is occasioned in the room in which it operates, and also any lint β created during the drying operation is collected and thereby prevented from being dissipated throughout the room. The machine is capable of drying laundry in a much shorter space of time than it may be dried by hanging on a line, and •0 during the course of the drying the laundry is prevented from collecting dust from the air and is also maintained in a sterilized atmosphere within the drier so that when the drying is completed the laundry may be taken out in a clean 14 sterilized condition.