Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02674106 2009-08-04
File number: 11616-001
Revision: as filed
Date: 2009/08/04
Title of the Invention
[0001 ] Extendable clothes dryer
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
[0002] There are no cross-related applications.
Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to clothes dryers and, more
particularly, to
a novel open air extendable clothes dryer.
Background of the Invention
[0004] Even if sophisticated automatic cloth dryers exist, there is still
demand for open
air dryers from which any clothes or laundry can be laid flat to dry hung to
dry.
[0005] Many reasons exist to justify the high demand for this type of dryers.
First,
clothes manufacturers often recommend to hang clothes or to lay flat to dry
them instead
of using automatic clothes dryers in order to avoid damages to some types of
fabrics.
Second, as the price of energy is escalating, many are those who are avoiding
the use of
energy-consuming sophisticated automatic clothes dryers to use open air
clothes dryers.
Third, in some areas, such as high density populated regions, clothes-lines
are often
unavailable, impossible to be installed or the coldness of the winter prevents
clothes to be
hung on the exterior clothes lines. Finally, the advent of front load washing
and drying
appliances has left empty and often unused space between the said appliances
and either
the ceiling or the cabinets usually installed over the appliances.
[0006] In some situation, those advantages are eclipsed by inherent
disadvantages such as
the space required to store and use these apparatus. As many open air dryers
can be
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Date: 2009/08/04
folded or collapsed in order to be stored out of sight, their usage still
require considerable
space. Those living in apartments and even homeowners have generally a limited
area to
use for clothes drying. These types of dryers are generally made of a
structure of rigid
material such as plastic, metal or wood and are designed to be placed on the
floor. As a
consequence, these apparatuses require much space when used to dry clothes.
There is
therefore a need for an extendable open air dryer which can be easily
installed and stored
in some unused areas of an apartment or a house and more particularly in the
space
located between the washer and dryer appliances and either the ceiling or the
cabinets
usually installed over the appliances. Also, it should be easy to manipulate
and to be
cleaned. Such a clothes dryer should preferably be simple and inexpensive to
manufacture.
[0007] Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will
be obvious
upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or
will be
indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to
herein will occur
to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practise.
Summary of the Invention
[0008] The aforesaid and other objectives of the present invention are
realized by
generally providing one or more layers of flexible clothes dryers. Each
clothes dryer is
made of a generally rectangular piece of breathable fabric or net like
material attached to
two parallel support bars made of a rigid material. Each support bar is held
by at least one
hook and preferably two hooks to any external structures such as walls,
automatic dryer
or other self-supporting structure.
[0009] The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel
are set forth
with particularity in the appended claims.
Brief Description of the Drawings
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File number: 1] 6 16-001
Revision: as filed
Date: 2009/08/04
[0010] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention
will
become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being
made to
the accompanying drawings in which:
[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dryer in accordance with the
invention
installed with many layers.
[0012] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a dryer in accordance with the
invention
installed with one layer.
[0013] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the unassembled dryer of Fig. I
showing the
hooks portion of the dryer.
[0014] Figure 4A is a front view of another embodiment of a dryer in
accordance with
the invention installed over a top loading washer and dryer appliances.
[0015] Figure 4B is a side view of the middle retaining member shown in Figure
4A.
[0016] Figure 4C is a perspective view of the middle retaining member shown in
Figure
4A.
[0017] Figure 5A is a perspective view of another embodiment of the dryer,
showing the
hooks portion and middle retaining bars.
[0018] Figures 5B to 5E are perspective views of the dryer of Fig. 5, showing
different
ways to install the dryer by folding or not a layer over the middle retaining
bars.
[0019] Figure 6A is a front view of another embodiment of the dryer in
accordance with
the present invention.
[0020] Figure 6B is a top view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 6A.
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Revision: as filed
Date: 2009/08/04
[0021] Figure 6C is a side view showing an embodiment of the middle retaining
member
shown in Figure 6A.
[0022] Figure 6D is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the
retaining
member shown in Figure 6A.
[0023] Figure 6E is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the
retaining
member shown in Figure 6A.
[0024] Figure 7A is a front view of a further embodiment of the dryer in
accordance with
the present invention.
[0025] Figure 7B is a top view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7A.
[0026] Figure 8 is a front view showing a possible way to store the dryer.
[0027] Figure 9 is a front view of another way to install the dryer in
accordance with the
present invention, using the available space over the appliances.
[0028] Figure 10 a front view of a further way to install the dryer in
accordance with the
present invention, using the available space beside appliances mounted one
over the
other.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
[0029] A novel extendable clothes dryer will be described hereinafter.
Although the
invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiment(s), it is
to be
understood that the embodiment(s) described herein are by way of example only
and that
the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.
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[001] Referring to Fig. 3, the extendable clothes dryer of the present
invention is
generally indicated at 10. The dryer 10 generally comprises one or a plurality
of layers
100 and at least two retaining members 200 that each retains one longitudinal
extremity
of the layer 100. Each layer 100 comprises at least two support bars 110 and a
laundry
support mesh 120. Each support bar 110 is made of rigid material such as wood,
plastic
or metal and in the embodiment shown is generally shaped as a rectangular
cuboid but
could also have another shape such as a circular rod. The laundry support mesh
120 has a
generally rectangular shape and is typically made of any breathable fabric or
net. The
skilled addresses will note that breathable fabric is used to allow air to
circulate through
the laundry support mesh 120 in order to accelerate the drying of the laundry.
[002] The laundry support mesh 120 is secured to the support bars 110 through
attaching means 115. The skilled addressee will note that the use of non-
permanent
attaching means 115 such as, but not limited to, snap fasteners, hook and loop
fasteners,
buttons or zipper is preferred to permanent attaching means such as glue,
nails or staples
to facilitate the cleaning of the laundry support mesh 120. The attaching
means 115 are
generally secured to the support bars 110 with nails, screws, staples or glue.
The skilled
addressee will note that the attaching means 115 are strong enough to provide
the
required tension to hold the laundry items laid down on the laundry support
mesh 120.
[003] Referring now to Fig. 1, each retaining member 200 embodies one or many
supporting structures 210 comprising at least one hook 220 used to retain one
end of a
layer 100. In the present embodiment, a hook 220 can be made of a folded sheet
of metal
or plastic which forms a square angle. Each hook is secured at a selected
height of the
supporting structure 210 using fasteners (not shown). Typically, permanent
fasteners such
as nails or screws are used but any other non permanent attaching means could
be used
instead. The hooks 220 can also be integral with the retaining member 200. The
hooks
220 could also be attached directly to the wall or other support structure. In
the present
invention, the hooks 220 can be replaced by other holding means such as hook
and loop
fasteners, or clips located on the supporting bar 110 which engage with
attaching means
such as apertures located on the retaining member 200.
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Revision: as filed
Date: 2009/08/04
[004] In the embodiment shown, each retaining member 200 comprises a
supporting
structure 210 generally shaped as bars made of metal, plastic or any other
rigid material.
Even if the present embodiment shows the use of two supporting structures 210
at each
end of the dryer, other embodiments of the present invention could comprise
one or many
said supporting structures 210 at each end. Each supporting structure 210 is
secured to
any external structure such as walls, an automatic dryer or other appropriate
self-
supporting structure using fasteners (not shown) generally through apertures
2301ocated
in the supporting structure 210. The skilled addressee will note that the
supporting
structures 210 facilitate the installation of the dryer 10 and could be
replaced by hooks or
other holding devices directly secured in any such external structure.
[005] Referring now to Fig. 1 to 3, to hold the weight of the laundry items
laid down on
the support mesh 120, any of the support bars 110 must be first downwardly
engaged
with one or many hooks 220 of any retaining member 200 and then the opposite
support
bar 110 must be downwardly pushed into engagement with one or many of the
aligned
hooks 220 of the opposite retaining member 200 while stretching the laundry
supporting
mesh. The skilled addressee will note that the length of the laundry
supporting mesh 120
must be adjusted to the width of the opposite retaining members 200 to
maintain a
sufficient tension to hold the laundry items laid down on supporting mesh 120.
The
length of the laundry supporting mesh 120 is generally adjusted by rolling the
said mesh
120 around one or all the support bars 110. Once layer 100 is installed, the
previous steps
may be repeated to install identical layers 100 to increase the drying surface
as shown in
Fig. 3.
[006] To store the dryer, one must simply upwardly displace any support bar
110 of any
layer 100 installed to get it out of the hook 220. The skilled addressee will
note that one
may generally either engage the removed support bar 110 with the opposite set
of hooks
so to leave the laundry supporting mesh 120 dangling underneath as shown in
Fig. 8, or
roll the laundry supporting mesh 120 around the removed support bar 110 before
engaging it with the opposite set of hooks 220. Alternatively, both support
bars may be
disengaged from the hooks and the supporting mesh 120 may be wrapped around
one or
both of the support bars.
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Date: 2009/08/04
[007] Referring now to Fig. 4A to 4C, in a second embodiment 300, an
extendable
clothes dryer 10 is generally installed over a top loading washing machine 400
and an
automatic cloth dryer 410. The skilled addressee will note that, in the
present
embodiment, the space located between the washer and dryer appliances and
either the
ceiling or the cabinets usually installed over the appliances is limited by
the top loading
washing machine which require a higher clearance to open the door.
[008] In the second embodiment, the extendable clothes dryer 10 comprises at
least two
retaining member 200 fixed to any external structure 320 on each end of the
dryer using
fasteners (not shown), one or many middle retaining member 310 fixed to any
external
structure 330 positioned perpendicularly to the external structures 320 using
fasteners
(not shown) and one or a plurality of layers 100 supporting the laundry laid
down to dry.
The middle retaining member 310 typically comprises one or many supporting
bars 311
and one or many supporting structure 312, as shown in Fig. 4B and 4C. A
supporting bar
is generally made of plastic, metal or any other rigid material and is secured
to the
supporting structure 312 using fasteners such as nails, screws or any other
securing
means. The supporting bar 311 can also be integral with the supporting
structure 320.
[0030] To hold the weight of the laundry items laid down on the support mesh
120, one
of the layer support bars 110 must be first downwardly engaged with one or
many hooks
220 of one of the retaining members 200. Then the opposite layer support bar
110 must
moved over a first supporting bar 311. Next, the said layer support bar 110
must be
moved over another supporting bar 311, located over or under the first
supporting bar
311. Finally, such opposite support bar 110 must be engaged with one or many
of the
aligned hooks 220 of the opposite retaining member 200 while stretching the
laundry
supporting mesh 120. The skilled addressee will note that the length of the
laundry
supporting mesh 120 must be adjusted to maintain a sufficient tension to hold
the laundry
items laid down on supporting mesh 120. This second embodiment allows one
supporting
mesh 120 to be configured as at least two levels of drying layers.
[0031 ] Figs 5A to 5E show that a layer 100 may be folded over middle
retaining bar 310
to create smaller drying sections.
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Revision: as filed
Date: 2009/08/04
[0032] Fig. 6A and 6B shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the
layers
are extended in a different direction due to the orientation of the hooks. In
this case, the
layers are extended from the rear to the front of the appliances or vice versa
instead of
from a side to another side. To hold the weight of the laundry items laid down
on the
support mesh 120, one of the layer support bars 110 must be first downwardly
engaged
with one or many hooks 520 of one of the first retaining members 500. Then the
opposite
layer support bar 110 must moved over a supporting bar 511. Finally, such
opposite
support bar 110 must be engaged with one or many of the aligned hooks 560 of
the
second retaining member 550 while stretching the laundry supporting mesh 120.
It is to
be noted that the layers may be extended from front to rear also.
[0033] Fig. 7A and 7B shows an embodiment similar to the one disclosed in Fig.
6A and
6B, the layer having a larger width.
[0034] Fig. 6C shows another embodiment of a middle retaining member 510
comprising
one or many supporting bars 511 and one or many supporting structure 512. Fig.
6D
shows another embodiment of a retaining member 550 having hooks 560. Fig. 6E
shows
another embodiment of a retaining member 500 having hooks 520.
[0035] Fig. 9 discloses an installation wherein there are no storage over the
appliances
and all the available space is used to hang on clothes using the dryer in
accordance with
the present invention. Fig. 10 shows another installation wherein the dryer is
installed
beside appliances mounted one over the other. It is to be noted that the user
may adapt the
dryer to the available space he has by using different length of layers.
[0036] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment(s) of the
invention have
been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the
inventive concepts
may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims
are
intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited
by the prior
art.
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