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US 5,570,515 AGranted
Handwear and footwear drying device
OwnerDietmar Schulteinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A light weight, portable, and totally self contained unit for drying footwear, gloves and the like. A motor driven fan is energized by a battery pack by way of a switch to draw in air and through ports in a housing and to direct the air into a Y-divider and through two discharge tubes and into the item requiring drying.
Claims14
A drying device for blowing air into the interior of an item comprising:
- (a) a fan housing having a substantially cylindrical shape and a center axis oriented vertically, said fan housing having a top and a bottom end and having a hollow interior, and said fan housing having a top portion and a top opening and a bottom portion and a bottom opening, and an outside surface;
- (b) a motor housing, said motor housing mounted on the vertical axis over the top portion of said fan housing;
- (c) two or more struts, each strut having a first end and a second end, said struts adapted to engage the motor housing by their respective first ends and the top portion of the fan housing by their respective second ends, whereby said motor housing is fixedly mounted by said struts to said top portion of said fan housing;
- (d) spaces between said struts defining air inlet ports;
- (e) a motor mounted within said motor housing;
- (f) a fan disposed within said fan housing and oriented to rotate on said vertical axis, and sized to substantially span the distance across said hollow interior of said fan housing, thereby producing minimal clearances therebetween, wherein said motor is adapted to driveably engage said fan, whereby said motor drives said fan;
- (g) a bottom plate that covers the bottom opening of said fan housing;
- (h) one or more openings in said bottom plate;
- (i) discharge tubes having open ends, each tube associated with a bottom plate opening, wherein one end of each discharge tube is adapted to engage said bottom plate over its respective bottom plate opening, wherein said tube opening communicates with said bottom plate opening and the hollow interior of said fan housing;
- and
- (j) a power source electrically connected to said motor and integral with said drying device;
- whereby said fan draws air in through said spaces between said struts and directs the air into said discharge tubes and out the ends of said discharge tubes, wherein said combination together produces the required efficiencies to allow the user to carry the device along on excursions into the wilderness.
9 more elements
A drying device comprising:
- (a) a cylindrical fan housing having two opposed open ends and having a bottom plate over one open end;
- (b) a motor housing mounted over the opposite open end of said fan housing;
- (c) two struts extending from said fan housing to said motor housing, said struts, fan housing, and motor housing defining air inlet ports for entry of air into the fan housing;
- (d) a motor mounted in said motor housing;
- (e) a fan mounted in said fan housing, wherein said fan is sized to have minimal clearance between said fan housing, said motor rotatably connected to said fan for driving said fan;
- (f) said bottom plate having two bottom plate openings;
- (g) a discharge tube associated with each bottom plate opening, wherein said discharge tubes are adapted to engage said bottom plate over its respective opening, wherein said discharge tubes communicate with said bottom plate openings, said fan housing, and said air inlet ports;
- and
- (h) a power source in electrical cooperation with said motor comprising a receptacle containing one or more batteries therein and a switch, wherein said power source is integral with said drying device.
6 more elements
A drying device comprising:
- a fan housing having open ends, a motor housing mounted over one open end of said fan housing, struts connecting said motor housing to said fan housing, said struts having air spaces therebetween, said air spaces communicating with said fan housing forming air inlet ports, a fan mounted in and having minimal clearances with said fan housing,
- a motor mounted in said motor housing and adapted to rotate said fan, and discharge tubes extending from the open end of the fan housing opposite the end where the motor is mounted, said discharge tubes communicating with said fan housing, and a DC power pack mounted on the side of said discharge tubes and electrically connected to said motor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.