Patent Application
20110253651
This invention relates to outdoor drying racks used to air dry clothes, towels, garments and other damp or wet textiles. More particularly, this invention relates to an outdoor drying rack that includes a wrap-around cover that facilitates drying.
A common task in daily living is that of washing and drying clothes, towels, linens, garments and other textiles. Most people use automated machines such as a washer and dryer to reduce the time necessary to perform this task. However, there still exists a need to air dry particular items instead of using a drying machine. A person may choose to air dry particular items for several reasons such as: to save energy costs, to reduce garment wear, or to abide by garment care instructions.
The most common way to air dry laundry items is to hang the items from a clothesline in an outdoor area such as a backyard. However, this drying technique is disadvantageous for several reasons. First, due to the common construction of known backyard clotheslines a considerable amount of space is required to hang wet laundry items for drying. Additionally, for people living in apartments or condominiums, there simply may not be enough space on a porch or balcony for a clothesline. Second, drying clothes and textiles in open air and directly exposed to sunlight frequently causes color fading and UV damage. Third, merely hanging a wet textile on a clothesline takes a considerable amount of time to dry, especially if there is little to no airflow around the items. Such as on a calm day with no breeze. Fourth, the items frequently dry in a manner that leaves the garments stiff and rough to the touch. Finally, having clothes, towels, linens, and other garments open to public view is not visually appealing. Moreover, hanging these items in public view may be in violation of various housing rules imposed by governing organizations such as homeowners associations and may result in fines and penalties.
Efforts to provide a drying rack that are devoid of the above-noted disadvantages have not met with success to date.
The present invention generally comprises a drying rack having a wrap-around cover which is devoid of the above-noted disadvantages and which substantially facilitates the drying process.
In one aspect, the invention provides a drying rack having a support frame, an upper shelf, a lower shelf, an intermediate shelf and a cover. The support frame includes at least one support member having a first end and an opposing second end. The upper shelf is pivotally coupled to the at least one support member adjacent an upper portion of the drying rack, where the upper portion is substantially adjacent the second end of the support member. The lower shelf is pivotally coupled to the at least one support member adjacent a lower portion of the drying rack, where the lower portion is substantially adjacent the first end of the support member. The lower shelf is spaced apart from the upper shelf. There is at least one intermediate shelf pivotally coupled to the at least one support member and positioned between the upper shelf and the lower shelf. The cover has a top edge, an opposing bottom edge, an outwardly facing surface and an opposing inwardly facing surface. The top edge of the cover is releasably coupled to a perimeter edge of the upper shelf and the bottom edge of the cover is positioned adjacent to the lower shelf. An internal volumetric space is defined by the inwardly facing surface of the cover as the cover wraps-around the drying rack.
In another aspect, the invention provides a drying system having a drying rack and a wrap-around cover. The drying rack has a support frame, an upper shelf, a lower shelf, an intermediate shelf and a cover. The support frame includes at least one support member having a first end and an opposing second end. The upper shelf is pivotally coupled to the at least one support member adjacent an upper portion of the drying rack, where the upper portion is substantially adjacent the second end of the support member. The lower shelf is pivotally coupled to the at least one support member adjacent a lower portion of the drying rack, where the lower portion is substantially adjacent the first end of the support member. The lower shelf is spaced apart from the upper shelf. There is at least one intermediate shelf pivotally coupled to the at least one support member and positioned between the upper shelf and the lower shelf. The cover has a top edge, an opposing bottom edge, an outwardly facing surface and an opposing inwardly facing surface. The top edge of the cover is releasably coupled to a perimeter edge of the upper shelf and the bottom edge of the cover is positioned adjacent to the lower shelf. An internal volumetric space is defined by the inwardly facing surface of the cover as the cover wraps-around the drying rack.
In other various aspects, the invention provides a drying rack and wrap-around cover that further includes several additional enhancements. First, the drying rack may include spaced-apart shelf slats coupled to the upper, intermediate and lower shelves. Second, the drying rack may include at least one vertical rack having a plurality of slats. The vertical rack pivotally coupled to the intermediate shelf such that the vertical rack extends between the intermediate and upper shelves. There may also be a vertical rack pivotally coupled to the lower shelf such that the vertical rack extends between the lower and intermediate shelves. Third, the cover may be fabricated from a heat absorptive material and have graphical designs applied upon the outwardly facing surface. Fourth, the drying rack includes an air exhaust and an air intake such that air intake is larger in cross-sectional area than the air exhaust. Finally, the drying rack includes a support frame that may be anchored to a ground surface and is configured to expand from a collapsed state to an expanded state, such that when the support frame is in a collapsed state the upper, intermediate and lower shelves are substantially co-planer.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
The present invention relates to a drying rack which includes a wrap-around cover. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features and processes have been indicated although not described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
Referring to the figures,
Shelves 200, 202, and 204 each comprise a generally rectangular two-piece frame hinged at respective center points 200h, 202h, 204h and pivotally coupled to support members 206, 208, 210, and 212 at pivot points 200p, 202p, 204p adjacent to center points 200h, 202h, 204h. As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the actual location of pivot points 200p, 202p, 204p may be empirically determined. It is contemplated that each shelf hinge located at center points 200h, 202h, 204h be configured to lock and retain the respective shelf in a horizontal position when drying rack 100 is in an expanded state (described in greater detail below). In an exemplary embodiment, shelves 200, 202, and 204 increase in size from the upper shelf 200 to the lower shelf 202 to thereby define a generally taper-shaped drying rack 100. For example, upper shelf 200 may have an approximate width “W” and length “L” of about 30″ by 50″, intermediate shelf 204 may have an approximate width “W” and length “L” of about 30″ by 60″, and lower shelf 202 may have an approximate width “W” and length “L” of about 30″ by 70″ In an alternate embodiment, the perimeter profile shape of shelves 200, 202, and 204 may be circular, oval, square or other geometric configuration.
A plurality of shelf slats 216 are coupled with shelves 200, 202, and 204 and extend across a width “W” of each respective shelf. Slats 216 are generally spaced about 3″ apart and may be press-fit, welded, bolted or formed as an injection molded piece coupled with the shelf frame. Shelf slats 216 provide structure from which to hang clothes, linens, garments or other textiles for drying. In alternate embodiments, one or more slats may be replaced with a structure such as a perforated plate or netting (not shown) for holding small items such as socks, handkerchiefs and the like.
In an exemplary embodiment, a vertical rack 218 is pivotally coupled to lower shelf 202. A plurality of slats 220 are coupled with vertical rack 218 and extend across a width “W” thereof. Slats 220 are generally spaced about 3″ apart and may be press-fit, welded, bolted or formed as an injection molded piece coupled with the vertical rack 218. Vertical rack 218 is shown in
The presently preferred method of fabricating shelves 200, 202, 204 is by bending tubular stock to form a U-Shaped frame. Alternatively, the shelves 200, 202, 204 and frame 104 may be formed by other well known manufacturing processes. Some examples of various processes are: injection molding, thermal forming, vacuum forming, composite lay-up, casting, extrusion or machining. These manufacturing processes are well known and not described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
An alternate embodiment provides cover 102 that has a lower edge 102b that extends below lower shelf 202 such that a lower skirt (not shown) is formed that facilitates air flow into the interior volumetric space 112. In another alternative embodiment, cover 102 includes an upper edge 102a that extends above upper shelf 200 such that an upper collar (not shown) is formed that facilitates air flow out of the interior volumetric space 112. Additionally, outwardly facing surface 102c, may have various graphic and visually appealing designs applied thereon. For example, the outwardly facing surface 102c may have scenic, floral, abstract, color gradient, symbols, emblems, logos or other artistic designs applied to surface 102c. It is contemplated that these artistic designs be printed, painted, embroidered or silk-screened directly to surface 102c. Alternatively, the artistic designs may be applied to a secondary piece of fabric which is then coupled (such as by sewing or gluing) to outwardly facing surface 102c. In one alternative embodiment, outwardly facing surface 102c has a color gradient progressing from dark to light, in which the dark portion is adjacent to lower shelf 202 and transition to a light portion adjacent to upper shelf 200. This color scheme of dark-to-light color gradient facilitates air flow within the interior volumetric space 112 of drying rack 100.
In one exemplary embodiment, cover 102 is preferably fabricated from a heat absorptive and UV resistant high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic fabric. A characteristic of HDPE plastic fabric is the ability to absorb solar energy and convert solar energy to heat energy. HDPE plastic fabric is commonly referred to as a solar heating drape which absorbs solar energy and redirects this solar energy into an adjacent area in the form of radiative heat. One suitable choice for HDPE plastic fabric is a solar heating drape code “CDSHDLG” available from BetterEarthProducts.com of San Diego, Calif. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, cover 102 may be fabricated from materials such as canvas, nylon, polyester or other known textiles which thereby form a wrap-around cover.
Reference is now made to both
An alternate embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
Additionally, outwardly facing surface 502c, may have various graphic and visually appealing designs applied thereon. For example, the outwardly facing surface 502c may have scenic, floral, abstract, color gradient, symbols, emblems, logos or other artistic designs applied to surface 502c. It is contemplated that these artistic designs be printed, painted, embroidered or silk-screened directly to surface 502c. Alternatively, the artistic designs may be applied to a secondary piece of fabric which is then coupled (such as by sewing or gluing) to outwardly facing surface 502c. In one alternative embodiment, outwardly facing surface 502c has a color gradient progressing from dark to light, in which the dark portion is adjacent to lower portion 510 and transition to a light portion adjacent to upper portion 508. This color scheme of dark-to-light color gradient facilitates air flow within the interior volumetric space 512 of drying rack 500.
In this exemplary embodiment, cover 502 is preferably fabricated from a heat absorptive and UV resistant high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic fabric. A characteristic of HDPE plastic fabric is the ability to absorb solar energy and convert solar energy to heat energy. HDPE plastic fabric is commonly referred to as a solar heating drape which absorbs solar energy and redirects this solar energy into an adjacent area in the form of radiative heat. One suitable choice for HDPE plastic fabric is a solar heating drape code “CDSHDLG” available from BetterEarthProducts.com of San Diego, Calif. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, cover 502 may be fabricated from materials such as canvas, nylon, polyester or other known textiles which thereby form a wrap-around cover.
An air intake 514 is formed at the lower portion 510 and an air exhaust 516 is formed at the upper portion 508 of the drying rack 500. In one exemplary embodiment, in order to facilitate air flow through the internal volumetric space 512 of drying rack 500, the cross-sectional area of air exhaust 561 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of air intake 514.
Shelves 600, 602, and 604 each comprise a generally circular two-piece frame hinged at respective shelf pivot points 600p, 602p, 604p and pivotally coupled to central support member 606. It is contemplated that each shelf pivot points 600p, 602p, 604p comprise a mechanical such as pin or other structural feature coupled therewith such that the respective shelf may be locked and retained in a horizontal position when drying rack 500 is in an expanded state. In an exemplary embodiment, shelves 600, 602, and 604 increase in size from the upper shelf 600 to the lower shelf 602 to thereby define a generally conical-shaped drying rack 500. For example, upper shelf 600 may have an approximate diameter of about 12″-18″, intermediate shelves 604 may have approximate diameters of about 18″-28″, and lower shelf 602 may have an approximate diameter of about 28″-36″. In an alternate embodiment, the perimeter profile shape of shelves 600, 602, and 604 may be circular, oval, square or other geometric configuration.
A plurality of shelf slats 612 are coupled with shelves 600, 602, and 604 and extend across of each respective shelf. Slats 612 are generally spaced about 3″ apart and may be press-fit, welded, bolted or formed as an injection molded piece coupled with the shelf frame. Shelf slats 612 provide structure from which to hang clothes, linens, garments or other textiles for drying. In alternate embodiments, one or more slats may be replaced with a structure such as a perforated plate or netting (not shown) for holding small items such as socks, handkerchiefs and the like.
The presently preferred method of fabricating shelves 600, 602, 604 is by bending tubular stock to form a C-Shaped frame. Alternatively, the shelves 600, 602, 604 and central support member 606 may be formed by other well known manufacturing processes. Some examples of various processes are: injection molding, thermal forming, vacuum forming, composite lay-up, casting, extrusion or machining. These manufacturing processes are well known and not described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
Illustrated in
In operation, the drying is deployed from a collapsed state to an expanded state with respect to the two exemplary embodiments as describe above. Once the drying rack is deployed, the wrap-around cover is installed by coupling the top edge of the cover to the upper shelf of the drying rack. Upon completion of installing the cover, the drying rack is ready for use by placing damp/wet clothes, towels, linens, garments or other textiles on the slats of the drying rack shelves. In use, drying is facilitated by the cover absorbing solar energy and then radiating this solar energy in the form of heat energy into the interior volumetric space of the drying rack. As the cover radiates this heat energy, the temperature of the air within the interior volumetric space increases. The heated air then rises and is exhausted through the an air exhaust formed by the upper portion of the drying rack. In response to the heated air rising, cooler air is drawn into the interior volumetric space through the air inlet formed by the lower portion of the drying rack, thereby inducing a dynamic airflow within the interior volumetric space of the drying rack. As a result of the induced dynamic airflow, heat and mass transfer rates are substantially increased within the drying rack which facilitates drying of damp/wet clothes, towels, garments and other textiles. In one experiment, there was a twenty degree temperature increase of the interior volumetric space as compared to a surrounding ambient temperature.
The drying rack disclosed herein provides several advantages not found in known outdoor/backyard drying systems or clotheslines. Firstly, the invention provides a compact drying rack having a reduced footprint due to the vertical stacking of the shelves, thus the drying rack does not require a considerable amount of floor space for drying clothes, linens, towels, and other textiles. The vertical configuration of the drying rack is most beneficial for people living in apartments or condominiums, where there simply may not be enough space on a porch or balcony for a traditional clothesline. Secondly, the invention reduces the chances of damage to clothes and textiles caused by direct sunlight. For example, UV damage and color fading are substantially reduced during the drying process because the cover shields the textiles from sunlight and UV radiation.
Thirdly, the invention substantially reduces the time required to air dry clothes and textiles. Due to the induced dynamic airflow within the drying rack, the increased heat and mass transfer rates cause the clothes and textiles to dry in a more expedient manner and correspondingly reduce the time required to sufficiently dry the items. Additionally, as result of the dynamic airflow and increased heat/mass transfer rates, clothes and textiles dried in the drying rack of the present invention are left soft and supple to the touch after the drying is complete.
Finally, the invention is well suited for eliminating the unpleasant visual appearance of air drying clothes and textiles because the items being dried are substantially shielded from public view by the wrap-around cover. Consequently, a person may avoid potential fines and penalties from governing organizations, such as homeowners associations, with the use of the present invention.
Although the above provides a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications, alternate constructions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the support frame may be configured as a hanging frame that permits the drying rack to be suspended from the ceiling. Additionally, the support frame may be configured as a wall mounted unit having a plurality of shelves coupled to a wall. Therefore, the disclosure should not be construed as limiting the invention, which is defined by the claims.
