US2298352A - Laundry drier - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 13, 1942. E. J. DQWNES' 2,298,352

LAUNDRY DR I ER F'il d Sept. 6, 1940 //v1 /v 70/? Edward DOW/765 Patented Oct. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ments whereby the capacity of laundry driers may be substantially increased.

One type of drier employed in laundries for dry" ing, deodorizing and like purposes comprises a foraminous cylinder which may be formed of wire screen or the like and which is open at one end and rotatably mounted within a housing. Heated air is passed through the housing an through the cylinder. Access to the interior of the cylinder is gained by opening a door in the side of the housing and through thedoorway with which the open end of the cylinder registers. The interior of the cylinder is provided with a plurality of bailies which extend radially inward from the sides thereof for a comparatively short distance and serve to tumble or agitate the goods placed therein as the cylinder is rotated while the hot air is passed therethrough.

It is customary to dry the customers washes separately and to place but one customer's wash in one of these cylinders at a time. Of course, the volumes of the washes may differ greatly and a cylinder, therefore, must be of such diameter as to accommodate a large volume L work. Hence, when only a comparatively small wash is being dried thereinthere is considerable waste space and a waste of time.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a removable partitioning element which is adapted to be positioned in a cylinder of the character above pointed out and which serves to subdivide the compartment within said cylinder into two separate compartments whereby two comparatively small washes may be simultaneously dried.

I accomplish the foregoing object by means of the novel elements and the combinations and arra'n'gements thereof described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. l is a perspective view of a laundry drier;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my partitioning element;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional elevation view, somewhat enlarged, of the partitioning element taken in about the plane 3-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross sectional view of the foraminous cylinder showing my partitioning element arranged therein.

The cylinder 3 is open at one end, as above indicated but the other end thereof may be closed by means of the end wall 6 as illustrated in Fig. 4. To the sides of the cylinder. 3 are connected a plurality of diametrically opposed baiiies I which extend longitudinally of the cylinder and project radially into the interior thereof In order to subdivide the interior of the cylinder into two smaller compartments, I provide a removable partition, indicated generally at 8, which is generall foraminous and, in the embodiment illustrated, comprises a pair of relatively movable screens 9 and H] which are preferably hinged together. These screens comprise suitable rectangular frames II and I2, respectively, having a width substantially equal to the axial length of the compartment in the cylinder 3 and of such'length that when arranged side by side and in substantially co-planar relationship, as illustrated in Fig. -2, the length of the Referring to the drawing, I indicates generally a laundry drier of the character above referred to comprising a housing 2 through which hot air is adapted to be passed and within which a screen or foraminous cylinder 3 is rotatably mounted. Housing 2 is provided with a doorwaythrough which access may be gained through Within the frames II and I2, respectively, are

arranged screens or like foraminous elements I3 and I4, the frames encompassing the edges of the screens as shown in Fig. 3

The screens 9 and III are hin'gedly connected together by means of hinges I5 and I6 which may be welded or otherwise suitably secured to the frames I I and I2 of the screens.

At opposite ends of the partition, I provide bathe-engaging members I1 and I 8. In the embodiment illustrated, these'members are, generally, U-shaped and they'are preferably pivotally connected to the screens 9 and I0, respectively. The pivotal connections may be accomplished by employing the hinge straps I9 and 20. Hinge straps 9 are fastened to the baflle-engaging members and straps 20 are suitably fastened, as by welding, to the frames of the screens (see Fig. 3). The hinge pin 2| may be welded to the strap I9 and engages the strap 20 to provide pivotal connection between the baffle-engaging elements channel members and, when in engagement with both channel members, prevents relative pivotal movement between the screens.

Preferably, the latch member is provided with an opening 26 so arranged that it will register with an opening 21 in the channel member 24 when the latch member lies in engagement with the channel member 23. A spring 28 is riveted adjacent one end thereof, as indicated at 28, to the channel member 24 and adjacent the other end thereof is secured a stud 38 which is adapted to pass through the opening 21 in the channel 24 and enter the opening in the latch member 25 when in the position illustrated. The spring may be upturned at the end thereof adiacent the stud 38 as indicated at II to provide a means whereby it may be actuated to withdraw the stud from ngagement with the latch member.

A stop element 32 (see Fig. 3) is secured to one of the screens as, for example, to the frame H of screen 9 and is adapted to engage the frame of screen 8 when the screens are positioned substantially in co-planar relationship. The partition 8 may, therefore, be folded or the screens may be relatively pivoted until they occupy substantially the same plane but, due to stop 32, further pivotal movement thereof beyond this position cannot occur.

To position the above described partitioning element within the cylinder 3, the screens 8 and 9 are pivoted relative to each other in order to collapse the partitioning element. When the partition is so collapsed it may be readily inserted through the open end of the cylinder'and thereafter expanded. After the partition is so inserted, the baffle-engaging element I! may be positioned over one of the bailles l and the other baffle-engaging member i8 thereafter positioned over a diametrically opposed baiiie after the screens have been pivoted relative to and away fromeach other. When the baille-engaging members are so positioned in engagement with a pair of diametrically opposed baflles and the screens 8 and ill have been pivoted to a substantially coplanar relationship, the latch member 25 may be moved through the channel member 24 and into engagement with the channel member 23. When, of course, the stud 30 on spring 28 registers with the opening in the latch member 25, it will enter and lock the latch member in position. Upon actuation of the latch member to the position above described, relative movement between the screens will be prevented, and, with the partition element so positioned, the interior of the cylinder will be subdivided into two compartments.

To remove the partitioning element, it is merely necessary to unlatch'the screens 9 and I and to collapse the partition by pivoting the screens relative to each other as in a folding operation. The partitioning element may then be readily withdrawn from the cylinder.

It will beunderstood that though I have described my invention as applied to a laundry drier of one type, the partition may be employed in other type driers and the invention may be .used for cleaning, deodorizing and other purthe sides thereof, said partition comprising a plurality of screens connected together but relatively movable whereby said partition may be collapsed and expanded, means disposed at opposite ends of said partition and adapted to engage the baffles in said cylinder, and means for -holding said partition in expanded condition.

2. A removable partition for the cylinder of a laundry drier having a plurality of radiallydisposed bailles therein extending inwardly from the sides thereof, said partition comprising a plurality of screens hingedly fastened together whereby said partition may be collapsed, means disposed at opposite ends of said partition and adapted to engage the battles in said cylinder,

nected to opposite ends of said partition and adapted to engage the bailles in saidcylinder, and means for holding said screens in substantially co-planar relationship.

4. A removable partition for the cylinder of a laundry drier having a. plurality of radially-disposed baliies therein extending inwardly from the sides thereof, said partition comprising a pair of screens hingedly fastened together whereby said partition may be collapsed, means pivotally connected to opposite ends of said partition and adapted to engage the baffles in said cylinder, and means for holding said screens in substantially cc-planar relationship.

5. A removable partition for the cylinder of a laundry drier having a plurality of radiallydisposeci baiiies therein extending inwardly from the sides thereof, said partition comprising a plurality of screens hingedly fastened together whereby said partition may be collapsed, generally U-shaped members connected respectively to opposite ends of said partition and adapted to engage the battles in said cylinder, and means for holding said screens in substantially coplanar relationship.

6. A removable partition for the cylinder of a laundry drier having a plurality ofradiallydisposed bailies therein extending inwardly from the sides thereof, said partition comprising a plurality of screens hingedly fastened together whereby said partition may be collapsed, generally U.-shaped members pivotally connected respectively to opposite ends of said partition and adapted to engage the bailies in said cylinder, and means for holding said screens in substantially co-planar relationship.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with the cylinder of a laundry machine, of a removable partition for subdividing the interior of said cylinder into two compartments, said partition comprising a plurality of screens connected together but relatively movable whereby said partition may be collapsed and expanded, th e interior of said cylinder and said partition being provided with means adapted to engage each other for supporting said partition when expanded in operative, cylinder-subdividing position, and means for holding said partition in expanded condition.

EDWARD J. DOWNES.

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