Patent Application
20100186253
The present invention generally relates to drying apparatus and methods of operating the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to dryers for drying clothes and methods of operating the same. The present invention further relates to coin-operated (pay for use) clothes dryers and making such apparatus more efficient in operation, easier to use while generating additional revenue for the operator of a laundry facility.
In the prior art, clothes dryers are very well known in the art. In particular, coin-operated or pay for use clothes dryers are commonly used so that a person can use the dryer as needed to obviate the need to own one.
Coin operated clothes dryers are typically located in a “Laundromat” or other similar locations. A typical coin operated dryer is shown in
It is well known in the Laundromat and drying industry, that a user employs a dryer by first placing wet clothing into the main basket of the dryer and closes the door. Payment is made for desired amount of drying time by inserting coins into a coin box in the dryer, as is very well known in art, to accumulate drying time. Such a coin box can be either electronic and/or mechanical in construction to accomplish the task of preparing and paying for use of the dryer by the user. Thus, drying time, in general, is paid for by the user. This payment and readying of the dryer can typically be carried out before or after the wet clothes are loaded into the dryer.
When the wet clothes are loaded into the dryer, the drying cycle can begin. This is typically initiated by the user pressing a “start” button, or the like. At this point the heat source of the dryer is turned on and the drying basket, which tumbles the clothes, begins to rotate to dry the clothes. Such heated tumbling continues, typically, for a period of time that has been paid for by the user. It is also possible that this drying cycle can be terminated when the clothes are sensed as being sufficiently dry.
During the aforesaid drying cycle, clothes are subjected to heat and tumbling to effectuate drying. During the course of the drying cycle, the clothes are typically further agitated by vanes that emanate inwardly from the basket to enhance tumbling of the wet clothes therein to avoid “roping” or “balling up” of clothes which prevents heat from contacting all portions of the clothes for effective and complete drying thereof. If clothing experiences roping or balling up, it is often not possible to recover from this condition and the clothes remain roped or balled up for the entire drying cycle regardless of how long the drying cycle is.
This problem is exacerbated in the common situation of where a user buys much more time than is needed to ensure that when they return to the coin-operated laundry facility, their clothes will not be wet and in need of further drying. In this scenario, the outer portion of the clothes are over-dried while the inner portions thereof remain wet. This condition is unacceptable. As a result, there is a need to avoid roping and balling up of wet clothing to ensure an efficient and complete drying cycle.
In the prior art, one way to address the foregoing roping and balling up problem is by reversing the basket of the drying machine to encourage the clothing to stay in a substantially open condition and not rope or ball up. Such a step of reversing the drying basket is generally known in the art, however, this process is not employed in the environment of a coin operated drying machine More specifically, a typical coin operated dryer rotates in a single direction thereby failing to address the roping problem discussed above.
Therefore, there is a specific need to incorporate a reversing basket into coin operated or pay per use drying machines. There is also a need to provide an accounting system to track and receive payment for use of a reversing basket feature. There is a need for a drying machine that enables laundry operators to be able to gain additional revenue if such a reversing operation is employed by the user.
The present invention solves the problems associated with prior art clothes dryers and coin-operated laundry facilities. It provides a clothes dryer with an optional reverse drying cycle to avoid roping and balling up of wet clothes during the drying cycle.
The present invention is a method of drying clothing. The method of drying clothing involves providing a dryer, preferably a coin- operated clothes dryer. A typical coin-operated clothes-drying receives coins that triggers a timer to cause the dryer to operate for a predetermined period of time. The dryer contains a heat source in thermal communication with the dryer.
Next, a user inserts clothes into the dryer and initiates a normal drying cycle to reduce the overall moisture within the clothes. To initiate a normal drying cycle, the user purchases a predetermined period of time that is at least one block of time. The dryer subsequently operates in a normal drying cycle.
To help avoid roping and balling up of their clothes to achieve better drying results, a reverse drying cycle is initiated. The reverse drying cycle can be carried out at any point during the duration of the drying and for any given period of time. In addition, a single payment may be used for both the normal drying cycle and the reverse drying cycle.
To initiate a reverse drying cycle, the user purchases a predetermined period of time that is at least one block of time Subsequently, the dryer operates in a reverse drying cycle. It should be noted that there may be more than one reverse cycle. After the amount of predetermined time purchased for both the normal drying cycle and reverse cycle has elapsed, the heat source and the dryer are turned off.
It is therefore an object of the embodiment to provide a method of drying clothing that prevents roping and balling up of clothes.
It is a further object of the embodiment to provide a method of drying clothing that provides a coin-operated clothes which generates more revenues for the laundry operator.
Another object of the embodiment is to provide a method of drying clothing that provides better drying for clothes.
The novel features which are characteristic of the method of drying clothing are set forth in the appended claims. However, the method of drying clothing, together with further embodiments and attendant advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention solves the problems associated with prior art methods of drying clothes and, in particular, drying clothes using a dryer. The present invention solves the problems associated with prior art clothes dryers and coin-operated laundry facilities. It provides a new and novel method for drying clothing by providing a clothes dryer 10 with a reverse drying cycle to avoid roping and balling up of wet clothes during the drying of clothes.
In accordance with the present method for drying clothes, a pay operated, such as a coin-operated, clothes dryer 10 of the type shown in
As schematically depicted in
Still referring to
Now referring to
Once at least one block of time is purchased, the dryer 10 is turned on, the heating source 20, such as a burner, is fired, and the normal drying cycle begins. During operation of the normal drying cycle, the controller 22 directs the motor 20 to rotate the basket 16 in a first direction 34, 38. If no time has been purchased for a reverse drying cycle 32, the normal drying cycle executes 38. When the time purchased for the normal drying cycle expires, without a reverse drying cycle, the heat, motor, and dryer are turned off 40.
To help avoid roping and balling up of clothes to achieve better drying results, the user may purchase additional time for the reverse drying cycle or a the reverse cycle may be purchased for a flat amount. The reverse drying cycle can be carried out any point during the duration of the normal drying cycle and for any given period of time To further explain, the reverse drying cycle may be initiated before, during, or after the normal drying cycle. In addition, the reverse drying cycle may operate without the normal drying cycle. In an alternative embodiment, the reverse drying cycle may alternate between a normal drying cycle and back again during the purchased time.
To purchase the reverse drying cycle, the user purchases a predetermined period of time 30 by inserting payment into the second payment interface 26 for the purchase of blocks of time. A block of time may be purchased in increments similar to the normal drying cycle above. In an alternative embodiment, a single payment may be used for to purchase a block of time for both the normal drying cycle and the reverse drying cycle. Many other options are possible, such as two separate payments, one for the normal cycle and a second for the reverse drying cycle. It is even possible that the second payment for the reverse cycle can be made while the normal cycle is running to add a reverse cycle on the fly.
Once the reverse drying cycle is purchased, the dryer operates in the normal drying cycle in a first direction 34. In one embodiment, the normal drying cycle executes by rotating the basket in a first direction. However, in another embodiment, the normal drying cycle may execute before, during or after the reverse drying cycle. Next, the reverse drying cycle executes 36. During the reverse drying cycle, the basket rotates in a second direction. The second direction of the basket is in the opposite direction of the first direction of the basket. It should also be noted that there may be more than one reverse cycle.
The rotational speed of the basket 16 is determined by the controller 22. The rotational speed in the second direction may be the same or different than the rotational speed in the first direction depending upon the desired effect of preventing the balling or rolling up of the wet clothes.
In an alternative embodiment, the basket 16 may rotate in the first direction before, during, or after it rotates in a second direction. For example, the basket 16 may rotate in the following sequence depending upon the remaining time purchased for the normal drying cycle (first direction) and the reverse drying cycle (second direction): second direction, first direction, second direction, first direction, and finally second direction.
After the amount of predetermined time purchased for both the normal drying cycle has elapsed and reverse drying cycle time has elapsed or the reverse drying cycle has completed, the heat source, motor, and the dryer are turned off 40. Once the dryer is turned off, a user then retrieves the clothes 14 from the clothes dryer 10.
In view of the foregoing, a new and novel method is provided for drying clothes which provides the clothes dryer 10 with the reverse drying cycle. The reverse drying cycle prevents roping and balling up of wet clothing during the drying cycle. The user is billed extra money or credits for use of the reverse cycle, preferably in blocks of time but the user may buy a reverse cycle for a flat amount to have that cycle be executed regardless of time. As a result, the user, at their discretion, can add one or more reverse cycles to their drying cycle to help avoid roping and balling up of their clothes to achieve better drying results. Moreover, the laundry operator will receive additional revenue from the added feature of a reverse drying cycle while providing an overall better drying operation.
It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be covered by the present invention and appended claims.
This application is a continuation application of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/838,595, entitled “METHOD OF DRYING CLOTHING WITH REVERSE CYCLE AND BILLING THEREOF,” filed on Aug. 14, 2007, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application is related to and claims priority from earlier filed provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/822,435, filed Aug. 15, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60822435 | Aug 2006 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11838595 | Aug 2007 | US |
| Child | 12699089 | US |
