Fabric article drying rack assembly mountable to a support assembly utilizing heated air flow

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a first end cap located substantially outside the elongated tube mounted at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap located substantially outside the elongated tube mounted at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps mounted to extend laterally from the elongated tube;
• a first and second wall bracket capable of being mounted to the support panel and adapted to engage the first and second end caps respectively;
• and
• means for securing the first and second end caps to the first and second wall brackets to prevent release.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having spaced ends, a first end wall at one of the ends, a second end wall at the second end, an interior chamber in the tube substantially closed by the end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and to the plurality of slots;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• the interior chamber having a generally linear longitudinal axis extending from the fan across the plurality of slots, the fan blowing the air along one general path, the one general path being predominately about the generally linear longitudinal axis to force the air to exit the interior chamber through the plurality of slots, and the air impacting the second end wall to further force the air to exit the interior chamber through the plurality of slots;
• and
• an air directing wall located in the interior chamber at the fan, the wall being about the generally linear longitudinal axis and tapering toward the generally linear longitudinal axis away from the fan to direct the air along the one general path to force the air to exit the interior chamber through the plurality of slots.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward, the plurality of slots being elongated slots spaced longitudinally along the elongated tube and varying in length becoming shorter from the first end wall to the second end wall;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article, the fan being adjacent the first end wall;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a divider wall extending longitudinally through the interior chamber toward the second end wall, the divider wall reducing the cross-section of the interior chamber to force the air through the plurality of slots to exit the interior chamber;
• and
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article, the fan being adjacent the first end wall;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• a divider wall extending longitudinally through the interior chamber from the fan toward the second end wall, the divider wall reducing the cross-section of the interior chamber to facilitate forced flow of the air through plurality of slots.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a first end cap mounted at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap mounted at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps mounted to extend laterally from the elongated tube;
• a first and second wall bracket capable of being mounted to the support panel and adapted to engage the first and second end caps respectively;
• and
• the means for securing further comprising:
• each of the first and second end caps having an end cap interior surface, the end cap interior surface defining an interior end cap chamber;
• and
• each of the first and second wall brackets having an exterior surface complementarily configured for allowing the first and second end caps to slide on the respective wall bracket, whereby each of the first and second wall brackets at least partially resides in the respective first and second end cap interior chamber with the respective first and second end cap interior surface engaging the respective exterior surface of the respective wall bracket to prevent release.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a first end cap at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap at the second end wall of the elongated tube;
• a first and second wall bracket mounted to the support panel for securing the first end cap and second end cap to the support panel;
• and
• a pair of pivotable mounts for mounting each of the first and second end caps to the first and second end walls of the elongated tube respectively, the pivotable mounts allowing each end cap to rotate from a first position in which the end cap is locked and positioned laterally from the elongated tube for receiving the wall bracket to a second position in which the end cap is free to slide relative to the elongated tube for removing the end cap.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to a support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a rack bar mounted to the support panel for supporting the rack assembly;
• a top cover having a top exterior surface capable of supporting the fabric article, a first cover end wall and a second cover end wall, each of the first and second cover end walls defining an opening;
• each of the first and second end walls of the elongated tube defining an opening that cooperates with the openings of the first and second cover end walls of the top cover to form openings in the rack assembly, and the rack bar extending longitudinally through the rack assembly and out the openings in the assembly when supporting the rack assembly.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element mounted within said tube for warming the air;
• a fan mounted within said tube for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a first end cap at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps being extendable laterally from the elongated tube and mountable to a support panel for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• a pair of pivotable mounts for mounting each of the first and second end caps at the first and second end walls of the elongated tube respectively, the first and second end walls each defining mounting apertures, the mounting apertures further defining at least one keyway aperture, the first and second end caps each having at least one tab, and the pivotable mounts allowing each end cap to rotate from a first position in which the tab of the end cap is disposed from the keyway to lock the end cap and to position the end cap laterally from the elongated tube to a second position in which the tab of the end cap is located at the keyway for the end cap to slide relative to the elongated tube for removing the end cap.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located within said tube for warming the air;
• a fan located within said tube for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• and
• a first end cap at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps being extendable laterally from the elongated tube and mountable to a support panel for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• a first and second wall bracket capable of being mounted to the support panel and adapted to engage the first and second end caps respectively;
• and
• means for securing the first and second end caps to the first and second wall brackets to prevent release, the means for securing further comprising:
• each of the first and second end caps having an end cap interior surface, the end cap interior surface defining an interior end cap chamber;
• and
• each of the first and second wall brackets having an exterior surface complementarily configured for allowing the first and second end caps to slide on the respective wall bracket, whereby each of the first and second wall brackets at least partially resides in the respective first and second end cap interior chamber with the respective first and second end cap interior surface engaging the respective exterior surface of the respective wall bracket to prevent release.

A rack assembly mountable to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element for warming the air;
• a fan for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• and
• a rack bar mounted to a support panel and extending through the rack assembly for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having spaced ends, a first end wall at one of the ends, a second end wall at the second end, an interior chamber in the tube substantially closed by the end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and to the plurality of slots;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to the support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• the interior chamber having a generally linear longitudinal axis extending from the fan across the plurality of slots, the fan blowing the air along one general path, the one general path being predominately about the generally linear longitudinal axis to force the air to exit the interior chamber through the plurality of slots, the air impacting the second end wall to further force the air to exit the interior chamber through the plurality of slots;
• and
• an air directing wall located in the interior chamber at the fan, the wall being about the generally linear longitudinal axis and tapering toward the generally linear longitudinal axis away from the fan to direct the air predominately alone the one general path to force the air to exit the interior chamber through the plurality of slots.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article, the fan being adjacent the first end wall;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to the support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• a divider wall extending longitudinally through the interior chamber from the fan toward the second end wall, the divider wall reducing the cross-section of the interior chamber to facilitate forced flow of the air through the plurality of slots.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward, the plurality of slots being elongated slots spaced longitudinally along the elongated tube and varying in length becoming shorter proceeding from the first end wall to the second end wall;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article, the fan being adjacent the first end wall;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a divider wall extending longitudinally through the interior chamber toward the second end wall for reducing the cross-section of the interior chamber to facilitate forced flow of the air through the plurality of slots;
• a support panel;
• and
• means for mounting the elongated tube to the support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to the support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a first end cap mounted at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap mounted at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps mounted to extend laterally from the elongated tube;
• a first and second wall bracket capable of being mounted to the support panel and adapted to engage the first and second end caps respectively;
• and
• means for securing the first and second end caps to the first and second wall brackets to prevent release.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to the support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a first end cap at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap at the second end wall of the elongated tube;
• a first and second wall bracket mounted to the support panel for securing the first end cap and the second end cap to the support panel;
• and
• a pair of pivotable mounts for mounting each of the first and second end caps to the first and second end walls of the elongated tube respectively, the pivotable mounts allowing each end cap to rotate from a first position in which the end cap is locked and positioned laterally from the elongated tube for receiving the wall bracket to a second position in which the end cap is free to slide relative to the elongated tube for removing the end cap.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an interior chamber located between the first and second end walls, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element located in the interior chamber for warming the air;
• a fan located in the interior chamber for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the interior chamber and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• means for mounting the elongated tube to the support panel at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• the means for mounting further comprising:
• a rack bar mounted to the support panel for supporting the rack assembly;
• a top cover having a top exterior surface capable of supporting the fabric article, a first cover end wall and a second cover end wall, each of the first and second cover end walls defining an opening;
• each of the first and second end walls of the elongated tube defining an opening that cooperates with the openings of the first and second cover end walls of the top cover to form openings in the rack assembly, and the rack bar extending longitudinally through the rack assembly and out the openings in the assembly when supporting the rack assembly.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element for warming the air;
• a fan located within the tube for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• and
• a first end cap located substantially outside the elongated tube at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap located substantially outside the elongated tube at the second end wall of the elongated tube, the first end cap being engaged with the first end wall and the second end cap being engaged with the second end wall, each of the end caps being extendable laterally from the elongated tube and mountable to a support panel for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element for warming the air;
• a fan for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• and
• a first end cap at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps being extendable laterally from the elongated tube and mountable to the support panel for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• and
• a pair of pivotable mounts for mounting each of the first and second end caps at the first and second end walls of the elongated tube respectively, the pivotable mounts allowing each end cap to rotate from a first position in which the end cap is locked and positioned laterally from the elongated tube to a second position in which the end cap is free to slide relative to the elongated tube for removing the end cap.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element for warming the air;
• a fan for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• a first end cap at the first end wall of the elongated tube and a second end cap at the second end wall of the elongated tube, each of the end caps being extendable laterally from the elongated tube and mountable to the support panel for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying;
• a first and second wall bracket capable of being mounted to the support panel and adapted to engage the first and second end caps respectively;
• and
• means for securing the first and second end caps to the first and second wall brackets comprising:
• each of the first and second end caps having an end cap interior surface, the end cap interior surface defining an interior end cap chamber;
• and
• each of the first and second wall brackets having an exterior surface complementarily configured for allowing the first and second end caps to slide on the respective wall bracket, whereby each of the first and second wall brackets at least partially resides in the respective first and second end cap interior chamber with the respective first and second end cap interior surface engaging the respective exterior surface of the respective wall bracket to prevent release.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, an outer surface capable of supporting the fabric article and a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward;
• an electric heating element for warming the air;
• a fan for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube and onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• and
• a rack bar mounted to the support panel and extending through the rack assembly for mounting the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying.

A rack assembly mounted to a support panel for drying fabric articles hung thereover with air comprising:

• an elongated tube having a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, a plurality of slots in the elongated tube and extending through the outer surface for directing the air outward, and a cover, the cover having an exterior surface capable of supporting the fabric article, a first cover end wall and a second cover end wall, each of the first and second cover end walls having an opening;
• each of the first and second end walls of the elongated tube having an opening that cooperates with the openings of the first and second cover end walls of the cover to form openings in the rack assembly, and the rack bar extending longitudinally through the rack assembly and out the openings in the assembly when supporting the rack assembly;
• an electric heating element for warming the air;
• a fan for directing the air over the electric heating element and toward the second end wall over the plurality of slots to force the air to exit the elongated tube onto the fabric article;
• an electric motor for driving the fan;
• a support panel;
• and
• a rack bar mounted to the support panel and extending through the rack assembly at an elevated position for enabling the fabric article to be suspended from the elongated tube adjacent the plurality of slots for drying.