Patent Application
20070011903
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drying apparatus, and more particularly to a drying apparatus for drying an article to be dried.
2. Description of the Related Art
A drying apparatus is used for drying an article (such as the towel, clothing or the like) to be dried. The conventional drying apparatus in accordance with the prior art was disclosed in the Taiwanese Patent Publication No. M243495, M249966 and M251102. The above-mentioned conventional drying apparatus usually comprises a heat source co-operating with a fan to dry the article to be heated. However, the air convection effect produced by the conventional drying apparatus is not sufficient, thereby decreasing the drying effect. In addition, the conventional drying apparatus cannot use the solar rays as its heat source, thereby limiting the versatility of the conventional drying apparatus.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a drying apparatus, comprising a hollow main body having an inside defining a water collection zone located at a lower portion thereof, a heat convection zone located above the water collection zone, and a drying zone located above the heat convection zone for drying an article to be dried.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus having a better heat convection effect to dry an article to be dried.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus, wherein the drying apparatus produces hot air that is formed by a heat convection effect so as to dry the article placed in the drying zone efficiently, thereby enhancing the drying effect of the drying apparatus.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus, wherein the pivotable covers are pivoted outward relative to the main body to open the drying zone of the main body to allow the solar rays directly entering the main body so as to dry the article placed in the drying zone by the solar rays.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings and initially to
The water collection zone 2 has a breach 20 communicating with the drying zone 4 so that the water produced from the dried article by dripping or condensing can pass through the breach 20 into the water collection zone 2.
The heat convection zone 3 has a first side having an air supply port 30 communicating with the ambient environment and a second side having an air convection port 31 communicating with the drying zone 4. The heat convection zone 3 has an upper portion having an air outlet port 32 communicating with the drying zone 4 for mounting a heat source generator 33 and an air driving fan 34 to produce convective hot air in the air outlet port 32.
The drying zone 4 has a periphery having a plurality of air convection ports 45, and the inside of the main body 1 has an air convection channel 40 surrounding the periphery of the drying zone 4 and communicating with the air convection ports 45 of the drying zone 4 and the breach 20 of the water collection zone 2. The drying zone 4 has an upper portion having a plurality of hot air drain ports 41. The drying zone 4 is provided with a plurality of regulating valves 42 to control the draining operation of the hot air drain ports 41, and a controller 5 to control the temperature of the drying zone 4.
When in use, the article to be dried is initially placed in the drying zone 4. Then, the air driving fan 34 is started to carry the ambient air through the air supply port 30 into the heat convection zone 3. Then, the air passes through the air outlet port 32 of the heat convection zone 3 to be heated by the heat source generator 33 to produce convective hot air which is carried into the drying zone 4 to dry the article placed in the drying zone 4. Then, the hot air with moisture in the drying zone 4 is drained outward from the hot air drain ports 41, and the regulating valves 42 are used to control the draining operation of the hot air drain ports 41.
At the same time, partial of the hot air in the drying zone 4 flows through the air convection channel 40 and the air convection ports 45 of the drying zone 4 and the air convection port 31 of the heat convection zone 3 to form a convection action (the cold air is lowered). In such a manner, the hot air in the air convection channel 40 is cooled by the ambient air by the heat convection action so as to produce convection cold air in the air convection channel 40. Thus, the hot air in the air convection channel 40 is condensed by the cooling action to form water drops which are dropped through the breach 20 into the water collection zone 2. Thus, the water produced from the dried article or produced during the condensing process falls down through the air convection channel 40 into the water collection zone 2.
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Accordingly, the drying apparatus produces hot air that is formed by a heat convection effect so as to dry the article placed in the drying zone 4 efficiently, thereby enhancing the drying effect of the drying apparatus. In addition, the pivotable covers 10 are pivoted outward relative to the main body 1 to open the drying zone 4 of the main body 1 to allow the solar rays directly entering the main body 1 so as to dry the article placed in the drying zone 4 by the solar rays.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.
