Body dryer
A body dryer which comprises a housing in which a fan assembly is supported at a lower end of the housing. The housing also contains an elongated heating element which extends substantially parallel to an outlet aperture which is in the form of a long slot extending substantially from one end of the dryer to the other end. Hot air is drawn into the housing by a fan assembly through an inlet, over a heating element and forced out of the slot in the form of a thin blade of air surrounded by a buttress of colder air from outside the heater which envelopes around the user's body. The heating element comprises a pair of heating coils supported in a frame and the fan assembly has an inner housing supported within an outer housing and wings for converting a vortex type air flow created by the fan unit into a laminar air flow for flow over the heating element and out of the apertures. Operation of the dryer is by way of actuation which causes light signals supplied by a light conductor to be detected by a circuit board for controlling the dryer. The dryer is mounted on a wall in a vertical disposition with the slot and heating element arranged substantially vertically.
This invention relates to a body dryer for drying a person's body after bathing or showering or the like.
BACKGROUND ARTAs is well known, the conventional technique for drying oneself is by use of towels. Warm air from conventional heaters is also occasionally used, but does not provide an efficient method of drying.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe object of the invention is to provide a body dryer which can efficiently dry a person.
The invention, in a first aspect, provides a body dryer including:
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- a housing defining an air chamber;
- a narrow elongate outlet aperture in the housing;
- heating means for heating air in the housing; and
- an air blower for supplying air into the housing for heating by the heating means and for discharge through the narrow elongate air outlet aperture so as to form a blade of hot air flowing outwardly of the housing for wrapping around a person standing in proximity to the housing to dry the person.
The creation of the narrow blade which wraps around the person provides extremely efficient drying characteristics because the elongate outlet generally confines the discharged air to a narrow blade of air, which is confined in a buttressing layer of cooler air. The hot central blade within the buttress of cooler air wraps around a person's body, thereby efficiently transferring heat to the person's body to dry the wet body with a minimum waste loss of energy to the surrounding air.
Preferably the housing is an elongate housing having a longitudinal axis which is intended to be arranged substantially vertical when the dryer is installed for use, the housing having a length in the direction of the longitudinal axis of between 1000 mm and 2000 mm.
Preferably the length of the housing is about 1500 mm.
Preferably the air outlet aperture comprises a segmented slit extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing.
However, in other embodiments, the outlet aperture may comprise a continuous slit.
Preferably the heating means comprises at least one coiled heating element arranged substantially parallel to the outlet aperture and supported in the housing so that the outlet aperture is spaced from the heating element.
Preferably two coiled heating elements are provided, the coiled heating elements being arranged one behind the other relative to the outlet aperture.
Preferably the air blower comprises a fan, the housing having an air inlet at a lower portion of the housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exits the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of hot air within an envelope of cooler air that then draws a further layer of buttressing cool external air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the housing.
Preferably the dryer includes air flow control means for converting a vortex flow of air created by the fan into a substantially laminar flow of air.
Preferably the air flow control means comprises a pair of wings arranged downstream of the fan, each wing in the pair of wings being curved in a direction generally opposite to one another so that the vortex air flow created by the fan impinges on the wings and is straightened by the wings into a substantially laminar flow of air, which then flows through housing and over the heating means and out through the outlet aperture.
Preferably each heating element comprises a said coil of wire supported on a central insulating strip.
Preferably the heating element includes a plurality of support means arranged along the length of the coiled heating element, for supporting the coiled heating element to prevent the coiled heating element coils from simply collapsing or compacting when the housing is arranged in a vertical disposition for use.
Preferably the fan is arranged within an outer fan housing, an inner fan housing containing a motor for rotating the fan located in the outer housing and spaced from the outer housing, the wings extending from the inner housing to the outer housing, an opening in the inner housing so that air can pass into the opening, a secondary fan within the inner housing for drawing air into the inner housing through the opening to flow over the motor to cool the motor, and an outlet for returning the air from the inner housing to the exterior of the inner housing.
The inner housing may include an abutment adjacent the opening for directing air blown by the fan into the opening, and therefore into the inner housing to thereby facilitate the drawing of air into the inner housing by the secondary fan.
Preferably each support means for supporting the coiled element comprises a first card portion having a profiled edge, a second card portion having a profiled edge, so that when the first card portion and second card portion are brought together, the profiled edges define apertures through which both the coil and the central support strip can extend, and with the card portions adjacent the apertures forming support surfaces for holding the coiled element to prevent the coiled element from collapsing vertically under its own weight when the body dryer is installed in a vertical position for use.
Preferably the card portions, and therefore the coiled heating element, is supported in a support frame fixed in the housing.
Preferably the support frame comprises a generally U-shaped section in which the card portions and heating element are received, and a lid section for coupling to the U-shaped section and for holding the card portions, and therefore the heating elements within the frame.
Preferably the dryer includes a control panel section, the control panel section comprising at least one light conductor, a interface at one end of the light conductor, against which the user's fingers can locate, so as to change the nature of light reflected from the interface back through the light conductor to thereby provide a control signal for operating the dryer. This therefore enables the device to be operated without the user coming into contact with any component to which electricity is supplied, so as to eliminate any possibility of a wet body contacting an electrically charged component of the dryer.
A further aspect of the invention is concerned with the provision of a fan assembly for providing air into a body dryer.
This aspect of the invention may be said to reside in a body dryer including:
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- a housing;
- heating means in the housing for heating air in the housing;
- an outlet aperture for discharge of air from the housing; and
- a fan assembly for supplying air to the housing, including:
- (a) a fan;
- (b) a motor for driving the fan; and
- (c) at least one pair of air flow control wings downstream of the fan for converting vortex or rotating flow of air created by the fan into a laminar flow of air.
Preferably the heating means comprises at least one coiled heating element arranged substantially parallel to the outlet aperture and supported in the housing so that the outlet aperture is spaced from the heating element.
Preferably two coiled heating elements are provided, the coiled heating elements being arranged one behind the other relative to the outlet aperture.
Preferably the housing has an air inlet at a lower portion of the housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exit the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of air which draws a buttressing layer of cooler air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the housing.
Preferably the fan is arranged within an outer fan housing, an inner fan housing containing a motor for rotating the fan, the wings extending from the inner housing to the outer housing, an opening in the inner housing so that air can pass through the opening, a secondary fan within the inner housing for drawing air into the inner housing to flow over the motor to cool the motor, and an outlet for returning the air from the inner housing to the exterior of the inner housing.
This aspect of the invention also provides a body dryer including:
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- a dryer housing;
- heating means in the housing for heating air in the housing;
- an outlet aperture for discharge of air from the housing; and
- a fan assembly for supplying air to the dryer housing, including:
- (a) a primary fan;
- (b) an outer fan housing;
- (c) an inner fan housing for defining an air chamber with the outer fan housing through which the primary fan can blow air;
- (d) a fan motor arranged in the inner fan housing for driving the primary fan;
- (e) a secondary fan in the inner fan housing; and
- (f) an opening in the inner housing so that air can flow from the chamber through the opening and into the inner housing under the influence of the second fan to cause an air flow over the motor for cooling the motor.
Preferably the dryer housing has an air inlet at a lower portion of the dryer housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exit the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of air which draws the buttressing layer of cooler air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the dryer housing.
Preferably the dryer includes air flow control means for converting a vortex flow of air created by the fan into a substantially laminar flow of air.
Preferably the air flow control means comprises a pair of wings arranged downstream of the fan, each wing in the pair of wings being curved in a direction generally opposite to one another so that the vortex air flow created by the fan impinges on the wings and is straightened by the wings into a substantially laminar flow of air, which then flows into the dryer housing and over the heating means.
Preferably each heating element comprises a said coil of wire supported on a central insulating strip.
Preferably the heating element includes a plurality of support means arranged along the length of the coiled heating element, for supporting the coils of the coiled heating element to prevent the heating element coils from simply collapsing when the dryer housing is arranged in a vertical disposition for use.
A further aspect of the invention provides a body dryer, including:
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- an elongate housing defining an air chamber, the elongate housing being intended to be mounted so that the longitudinal axis of the housing is arranged substantially vertically;
- an elongate narrow outlet opening extending substantially the entire length of the housing;
- a heating element in the housing and extending substantially parallel to the outlet aperture for substantially the entire length of the outlet aperture; and
- means for pressurising the housing with air so that the air flows over the housing element and out through the outlet aperture.
Preferably the means for pressurising the housing comprises a fan mounted in a lower portion of the housing, the housing having an air inlet adjacent the fan.
Preferably the length of the housing is about 1500 mm.
Preferably the air outlet aperture comprises a segmented slit extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing.
Preferably the heating element comprises at least one coiled heating element arranged substantially parallel to the outlet aperture and supported in the housing so that the outlet aperture is spaced from the heating element.
Preferably two coiled heating elements are provided, the coiled heating elements being arranged one behind the other relative to the outlet aperture.
Preferably the dryer includes air flow control means for converting a vortex flow of air created by the fan into a substantially laminar flow of air.
Preferably the air flow control means comprises a pair of wings arranged downstream of the fan, each wing in the pair of wings being curved in a direction generally opposite to one another so that the vortex air flow created by the fan impinges on the wings and is straightened by the wings into a substantially laminar flow of air, which then flows through housing and over the heating means and out through the outlet aperture.
Preferably each heating element comprises a said coil of wire supported on a central insulating strip.
Preferably the heating element includes a plurality of support means arranged along the length of the coiled heating element, for supporting the coiled heating element to prevent the coiled heating element coils from simply collapsing or compacting when the housing is arranged in a vertical disposition for use.
Preferably the fan is arranged within an outer fan housing, an inner fan housing containing a motor for rotating the fan located in the outer housing and spaced from the outer housing, the wings extending from the inner housing to the outer housing, an opening in the inner housing so that air can pass through the opening, a secondary fan within the inner housing for drawing air into the inner housing through the opening to flow over the motor to cool the motor, and an outlet for returning the air from the inner housing to the exterior of the inner housing.
Preferably each support means for supporting the coiled element comprises a first card portion having a profiled edge, a second card portion having a profiled edge, so that when the first card portion and second card portion are brought together, the profiled edges define apertures through which both the coil and the central support strip can extend, and with the card portions adjacent the apertures forming support surfaces for holding the coiled element to prevent the coiled element from collapsing vertically under its own weight when the body dryer is installed in a vertical position for use.
Preferably the card portions, and therefore the coiled heating element, is supported in a support frame fixed in the housing.
Preferably the support frame comprises a generally U-shaped section in which the card portions and heating element are received, and a lid section for coupling to the U-shaped section and for holding the card portions, and therefore the heating elements within the frame.
Preferably the dryer includes a control panel section, the control panel section comprising at least one light conductor, a interface at one end of the light conductor, against which the user's fingers can locate, so as to change the nature of light reflected from the interface back to the light conductor to thereby provide a control signal for operating the dryer. A further aspect of the invention relates to the manner in which a heating element is supported in the dryer.
This aspect of the invention provides a body dryer including:
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- a housing defining an air chamber;
- an outlet aperture in the housing;
- an air blower for supplying air into the housing for discharge through the outlet aperture; and
- a heating element supported in the housing for heating the air in the housing prior to discharge of the air through the outlet aperture, the heating element having:
- (a) at least one coiled wire supported on a central strip;
- (b) a first card having a profiled edge defining part of a first slot and part of a second slot, and an edge section defining one edge of a transverse slot located between the first and second slots;
- (c) a second card having a profiled edge defining second portions of the first and second slots, and a second edge of the transverse slot;
- (d) the coiled wire of the heating element and the strip being supported by the first and second cards when the cards are brought into side by side relationship, so that the coiled wire passes through at least one of the first and second slots, and the strip passes through the transverse slot.
Preferably a plurality of said first and second cards are arranged along the length of the coiled heating element to support the coiled heating element.
Preferably two coiled heating elements are supported by each first card and second card in substantially parallel relationship with respect to one another, and wherein the first card has a second profiled edge defining part of a first slot and part of a second slot, and an edge section defining one edge of a transverse slot located between the first and second slots, the second card having a second profiled edge defining second portions of the first and second slots and a second edge of the transverse slot, and wherein one of said two coiled wires passes through one of the first and second slots and the respective strip passes through the transverse slot of the profiled edge defined by the first and second cards, and the other of the coiled wires passes through the first and second slots, and the respective strip passes through the transverse slot of the second profiled edges defined by the first and second cards.
Preferably the first and second cards are supported by a frame.
Preferably the frame includes a first U-shaped frame section having opposed first and second walls and a base wall joining the first and second walls, and the first card has first and second tabs for engaging in apertures in the first and second walls, and a third tab for engaging in the base wall.
Preferably the frame is completed by a cover and the second card has a tab which engages in an aperture in the cover, and tab which engages in the apertures of the first and second walls of the U-shaped frame.
Preferably at least one of the first and second cards includes a prong on the edge which defines the transverse slot, and the strip includes an opening for receiving the prong for securing the strip and therefore the coiled heating element to the said one of the cards.
Preferably the air blower comprises a fan, the housing having an air inlet at a lower portion of the housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exit the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of air which draws a buttressing layer of cooler air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the housing.
Preferably the dryer includes air flow control means for converting a vortex flow of air created by the fan into a substantially laminar flow of air.
Preferably the air flow control means comprises a pair of wings arranged downstream of the fan, each wing in the pair of wings being curved in a direction generally opposite to one another so that the vortex air flow created by the fan impinges on the wings and is straightened by the wings into a substantially laminar flow of air, which then flows through housing and over the heating means and out through the outlet aperture.
Preferably the fan is arranged within an outer fan housing, an inner fan housing containing a motor for rotating the fan located in the outer housing and spaced from the outer housing, the wings extending from the inner housing to the outer housing, an opening in the inner housing so that air can pass through the opening, a secondary fan within the inner housing for drawing air into the inner housing through the opening to flow over the motor to cool the motor, and an outlet for returning the air from the inner housing to the exterior of the inner housing.
This aspect of the invention also provides a method of forming a heating element including the steps of:
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- providing a coiled heating element having a coiled wire and a strip located in the coiled wire for supporting the coiled wire;
- providing a first card having a profiled edge defining part of a first slot and part of a second slot, and an edge section defining one edge of a transverse slot located between the first and second slots;
- locating the first card in a support member;
- locating the coiled wire and the strip relative to the first card so that the coiled wire winds through the one of part of the first slot and the part of the second slot, and the substrate is adjacent the edge defining the transverse slot;
- locating a second card having a profiled edge defining second portions of the first and second slots, and a second edge of the transverse slot, so that the part of the first and second slots of the second card register over the coiled wire so the coiled wire coils through one of the first and second slots defined by the first and second cards when the first and second cards are brought together, and the strip is located in the slot defined between the transverse edge portion of the first card and the transverse edge portion of the second card.
Preferably the method includes the step of securing the second card to the support member by a cover member which attaches to the support member.
Preferably the support member comprises a generally U-shaped channel frame member.
A further aspect of the invention relates to the on/off control of the body dryer.
This aspect of the invention may be said to reside in a body dryer including:
-
- a housing defining an air chamber;
- an outlet aperture in the housing;
- heating means for heating air in the housing;
- an air blower for supplying air into the housing for heating by the heating means and for discharge through the outlet aperture;
- a light transmitting conductor having a first end forming an on/off control and a second end arranged adjacent a light source for launching light into the light conductor;
- a detector at the second end of the light conductor for detecting light reflected from the first end for providing a control signal; and
- wherein when a user locates his or her finger on the first end, the nature of light reflected from the first end back to the second end alters, to thereby change the control signal for turning on or off the dryer.
This aspect of the invention enables control over the dryer without the user having to come into contact with any component or switch of the dryer to which electricity is connected. Thus, the user, likely being wet at the time of operation of the dryer, is insulated from electronic componentry by the light conductor to avoid any possibility of electrocution.
Preferably the light conductor has a first branch along which light travels to the first end from the light source, and a second branch along which light travels after reflection from the first end to the detector.
Preferably the light conductor has a third branch extending between the first and second ends, and a light source at the second end of the third branch which is activated upon operation of the heater so light travels along the third branch to the first end to provide a visual indication of the operation of the dryer.
The invention also provides a fan assembly including:
-
- a fan;
- a motor for driving the fan; and
- at least one pair of air flow control wings downstream of the fan for converting vortex or rotating flow of air created by the fan into a laminar flow of air.
The invention also provides a fan assembly including:
-
- a primary fan;
- an outer fan housing;
- an inner fan housing for defining an air chamber with the outer fan housing through which the primary fan can blow air;
- a fan motor arranged in the inner fan housing for driving the primary fan;
- a secondary fan in the inner fan housing; and
- an opening in the inner housing so that air can flow from the chamber through the opening and into the inner housing under the influence of the second fan to cause an air flow over the motor for cooling the motor.
The invention also provides a heating element including:
-
- at least one coiled wire supported on a central strip;
- a first card having a profiled edge defining part of a first slot and part of a second slot, and an edge section defining one edge of a transverse slot located between the first and second slots;
- a second card having a profiled edge defining second portions of the first and second slots, and a second edge of the transverse slot;
- the coiled wire of the heating element and the strip being supported by the first and second cards when the cards are brought into side by side relationship, so that the coiled wire passes through at least one of the first and second slots, and the strip passes through the transverse slot.
With reference to
As is best shown in
The top of the housing casing 13 is closed by an upper panel 18 which inclines slightly downward from the free ends of the walls 15 and 16 to curve transition region 17. The bottom of the housing casing 13 is also inclined and defines an air inlet 20 which has a cover grille 21 and filter 22.
The transition region 17 of the housing casing 13 is provided with an elongate aperture 23 which extends for substantially the entire length of the housing casing 13. As noted, the opening 23 terminates short of the air inlet end 20 to define cover section 26 in which motor assembly 27 will locate.
The aperture 23 is provided with a vent strip 28 which has a narrow segmented slot 29 extending for its entire length. The slot 29 is segmented by bridging portions 30 which divide the slot 29 into slot sections 29′, as is best seen in
Resilient pads 39 may attach to the rear of the housing casing 12 to dampen vibration and also compensate for any services irregularities in the wall 2 to which the dryer is connected.
The dryer 10 is connected to wall 2 shown in
If desired, the dryer can be further secured to the wall by wall screws 77 which screw through bosses 79 (only one shown in
As shown in
The operation of the light conductor 53 will be described in further detail hereinafter.
The filter 22 and grille 21 are shown in detail in
The grille 21 and filter 22 can be secured in place in the inlet 20 by a snap action, and also further secured by a screw 70 (see
The housing 90 has a pair of grooves 91 which extend from the end of the housing 90 remote from the inlet end 20. An inner fan housing 94 is formed from two housing parts 95 and 96 which are generally mirror images with respect to one another. The housing parts 95 and 96 each have a part cylindrical section 97 and a first wing part 98 and a second wing part 99. The wing parts 98 and 99 each have a flange 100 so that when the casing parts 95 and 96 are joined together, the semi-tubular flange parts 100′ form a pair of complete tubular flanges 100 which locate in respective grooves 91 in the outer housing 90 to thereby secure the inner housing 94 within the outer housing 90. The housing 94 is fixed by screws 120 which locate in tubular flanges 100 and screw into housing 90, as illustrated in
As can be seen in
A fan motor 102 is formed by an armature 103 and field windings 104. The armature 103 has an output shaft 105 onto which is coupled a primary fan 106. The primary fan 106 sits outside the inner housing 94, as is best shown in
The two inner housing parts 95 and 96 are joined together by screws 107 (only one shown). A secondary fan 108 is also mounted on the shaft 105, but is located within the inner housing 94.
The motor 102 also has brushes 109, an armature magnet 110, crinkle washer 111 and motor electronics 112.
The inner housing 94 has an opening 112. When the motor 102 is operated and the fan 106 is rotated, air is drawn through the inlet opening 20 via the grille 21 and filter 22 and flows in the generally annular chamber defined between the inner fan housing 94 and the outer fan housing 90. The fan 106 generally creates a vortex or spiral air flow which is directed into the annular chamber. The wings 98 and 99 which are curved in opposite directions with respect to one another tend to cause that vortex flow of air to be streamlined into a laminar flow of air which then moves into the housing 11 to fill the chamber defined within the housing 11 between the housing cases 12 and 13 in which the heating element 31 is located. The laminar air flow therefore creates a good streamlined flow of air over the heating element 31 throughout the entire length of the housing 11 for discharge from the outlet aperture 29. When the fan is operated, the fan 108 is also rotated to draw into the inner housing through the opening 112 so that the air flows over the motor 102 mounted within the inner fan housing 94 to cool the motor 102 and also the motor control electronics 52. The air leaves the inner housing 94 via opening 113, so as to again be directed by the fan 106 through the annular chamber defined between the inner housing 94 and the outer housing 90. Thus, the air which is circulated through the opening 112 and the inner housing 94 serves to cool the motor 102 and its control electronics 52, which may otherwise overheat due to the containment of the motor within the relatively tight confines of the inner housing 94.
It should be noted that the air flow which leaves the fan 106 is a vortex light flow of air, as is explained above, which extends at about 45° at the outer edges of the housing 90 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing 90. The wings 98 and 99 are preferably curved, as also explained, so that they intercept the air flow in substantially parallel fashion to the direction of air flow so that the air flow is converted from the vortex flow into the laminar flow very smoothly by flowing over the wings 98 and 99 and then being straightened by the wings 98 and 99. This efficiently converts the air flow to a laminar flow and prevents turbulence from being created as the vortex flow of air engages the wings 98 and 99.
Heating element 31 is shown in more detail in
The frame 121 is formed from a generally U-shaped frame section 121a and a cover 121b. A plurality of supports 127 are supported in the cover 121 and each of the supports 127 comprises a first card 129 and a second card 130, which will be described in more detail hereinafter. The coiled heating elements 122 and 123 are supported on a strip 131 of insulating material such as micanite. The cards 129 and 130 are formed from the same insulating material so that the coiled heating elements 123 and 122 are insulated from the support frame 121. Support frame 121 may be stamped from metal, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.
The frame section 121a is stamped from metal and comprises rails 147 which are joined by crossbars 148. The crossbars 148 are provided with a slot 149. The rails 147 also have crossbars 150 which are provided with open ended slots 152. The bars 150 are joined by rails 153. The blank shown in
The heating coils 122 and 123 are supported by cards 129 and 130 previously described. The cards 129 and 130 are shown in
As is shown in
In order to assemble the heating element 131, the card 130 is located in frame section 121a, as shown in
The card 129 can be arranged on cover frame section 121B by locating its tab 160 through slot 145 in crossbar 143 of the cover frame section 121b. Once again, one card is arranged in each of the slots 143 of the cover 121b.
The cards 129 and 130 shown in
The heating element is assembled by moving the heating coils 122 and 123, as shown in
After the card 129 is located in place, together with cover 121b, the ends 181 of the crossbars 150 which define the slots 152, project through the slots 146 in the cover 121b. Those ends are then bent around, as shown in
Although
The structure of the heating element 31 previously described, in which a plurality of the support card pairs 129 and 130 support the coiled wires 122 and 123 along the length of the heating element services to prevent lateral movement of the wires 123 and the strip 131, which in turn prevents fracturing of the strip 131, for shortening of the strip 131 causing the release of one end of the strip 131, and contact of the coiled wires 122 and 123 with either the support frame or other structure which may otherwise cause burning or electrical hazards.
As is apparent from
Furtherstill and with reference to
When the user locates his or her finger on the interface 55, only the fan is activated. This enables the dryer to be used in hot conditions if desired, so that ambient air is directed onto the user without any additional heating by the heater. The heater and/or fan can be turned off by relocating the user's finger onto the interface 54 or 55, or simply can be timed out by a timer (not shown). Preferably the heater and fan are activated in such a manner that the fan initially is caused to operate at very low speed so that very low air flow is created over the heating element until the heating element fully heats up, and then the fan gradually increases in speed to its full operating speed so that a cold blast of air is not initially provided to the user before the heating element heats up when the dryer is initially activated. Furthermore, when the heater is turned off, the fan is slowed down gradually to prevent the build up of a hot pocket of air in the top of the housing 11 which may damage or impair operation of electronic components located in that part of the housing. Thus, this enables hot air to be purged out of the heater by the fan even after the heater is turned off as the heating element cools down after switch off.
As is shown in
The curved shape of the front cover 13 of the housing 11 has little effect on the nature of the air flow out of the housing through the slot 29. However, the curved flow facilitates the entrainment of the buttressing flow of air, as shown by the arrows H, to maintain the smooth flow pattern shown in
The fan assembly and the heating element previously described, whilst having obvious application in the body dryer of the preferred embodiment, are also applicable to other environments in which heated air and air flow characteristics are required. Such applications include vertical oriented space heaters which are currently not achievable in any significant length with open wire heating elements because the elements tend to collapse upon themselves. However, the heating element of the present invention prevents this from happening, and therefore makes vertically oriented space heaters using such open wire heating elements feasible. The heating element may also be used in air curtains used in supermarket entrances and other applications to improve the efficiency by having the heated air near the exit point, thus avoiding wasted energy and heating air which is supplied from a significant distance from the location of the air curtain. The fan assembly can also be used in any actual flow fan application, as it increases efficiency by converting rotational air vortex energy into pressure.
Claims
1. A body dryer including:
- a housing defining an air chamber;
- a narrow elongate outlet aperture in the housing;
- heating means for heating air in the housing; and
- an air blower for supplying air into the housing for heating by the heating means and for discharge through the narrow elongate air outlet aperture so as to form a blade of hot air flowing outwardly of the housing for wrapping around a person standing in proximity to the housing to dry the person.
2. The body dryer of claim 1 wherein the housing is an elongate housing having a longitudinal axis which is intended to be arranged substantially vertical when the dryer is installed for use, the housing having a length in the direction of the longitudinal axis of between 1000 mm and 2000 mm.
3. The body dryer of claim 2 wherein the length of the housing is about 1500 mm.
4. The body dryer of claim 1 wherein the air outlet aperture comprises a segmented slit extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing.
5. The body dryer of claim 1 wherein the heating means comprises at least one coiled heating element arranged substantially parallel to the outlet aperture and supported in the housing so that the outlet aperture is spaced from the heating element.
6. The body dryer of claim 5 wherein two coiled heating elements are provided, the coiled heating elements being arranged one behind the other relative to the outlet aperture.
7. The body dryer of claim 1 wherein the air blower comprises a fan, the housing having an air inlet at a lower portion of the housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exit the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of air which draws a buttressing layer of cooler air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the housing.
8. The body dryer of claim 1 wherein the dryer includes air flow control means for converting a vortex flow of air created by the fan into a substantially laminar flow of air.
9. The body dryer of claim 8 wherein the air flow control means comprises a pair of wings arranged downstream of the fan, each wing in the pair of wings being curved in a direction generally opposite to one another so that the vortex air flow created by the fan impinges on the wings and is straightened by the wings into a substantially laminar flow of air, which then flows through housing and over the heating means and out through the outlet aperture.
10. The body dryer of claim 6 wherein each heating element comprises a said coil of wire supported on a central insulating strip.
11. The body dryer of claim 10 wherein the heating element includes a plurality of support means arranged along the length of the coiled heating element, for supporting the coiled heating element to prevent the coiled heating element coils from simply collapsing or compacting when the housing is arranged in a vertical disposition for use.
12. The body dryer of claim 7 wherein the fan is arranged within an outer fan housing, an inner fan housing containing a motor for rotating the fan located in the outer housing and spaced from the outer housing, the wings extending from the inner housing to the outer housing, an opening in the inner housing so that air can pass through the opening, a secondary fan within the inner housing for drawing air into the inner housing through the opening to flow over the motor to cool the motor, and an outlet for returning the air from the inner housing to the exterior of the inner housing.
13. The body dryer of claim 11 wherein each support means for supporting the coiled element comprises a first card portion having a profiled edge, a second card portion having a profiled edge, so that when the first card portion and second card portion are brought together, the profiled edges define apertures through which both the coil and the central support strip can extend, and with the card portions adjacent the apertures forming support surfaces for holding the coiled element to prevent the coiled element from collapsing vertically under its own weight when the body dryer is installed in a vertical position for use.
14. The body dryer of claim 13 wherein the card portions, and therefore the coiled heating element, is supported in a support frame fixed in the housing.
15. The body dryer of claim 14 wherein the support frame comprises a generally U-shaped section in which the card portions and heating element are received, and a lid section for coupling to the U-shaped section and for holding the card portions, and therefore the heating elements within the frame.
16. The body dryer of claim 1 wherein the dryer includes a control panel section, the control panel section comprising at least one light conductor, a interface at one end of the light conductor, against which the user's fingers can locate, so as to change the nature of light reflected from the interface back to the light conductor to thereby provide a control signal for operating the dryer.
17. A body dryer including:
- a housing;
- heating means in the housing for heating air in the housing;
- an outlet aperture for discharge of air from the housing; and
- a fan assembly for supplying air to the housing, including: (a) a fan; (b) a motor for driving the fan; and (c) at least one pair of air flow control wings downstream of the fan for converting vortex or rotating flow of air created by the fan into a laminar flow of air.
18. The body dryer of claim 17 wherein the heating means comprises at least one coiled heating element arranged substantially parallel to the outlet aperture and supported in the housing so that the outlet aperture is spaced from the heating element.
19. The body dryer of claim 18 wherein two coiled heating elements are provided, the coiled heating elements being arranged one behind the other relative to the outlet aperture.
20. The body dryer of claim 17 wherein the housing has an air inlet at a lower portion of the housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exit the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of air which draws a buttressing layer of cooler air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the housing.
21. The body dryer of claim 17 wherein the fan is arranged within an outer fan housing, an inner fan housing containing a motor for rotating the fan, the wings extending from the inner housing to the outer housing, an opening in the inner housing so that air can pass through the opening, a secondary fan within the inner housing for drawing air into the inner housing to flow over the motor to cool the motor, and an outlet for returning the air from the inner housing to the exterior of the inner housing.
22. A body dryer including:
- a dryer housing;
- heating means in the housing for heating air in the housing;
- an outlet aperture for discharge of air from the housing; and
- a fan assembly for supplying air to the dryer housing, including: (a) a primary fan; (b) an outer fan housing; (c) an inner fan housing for defining an air chamber with the outer fan housing through which the primary fan can blow air; (d) a fan motor arranged in the inner fan housing for driving the primary fan; (e) a secondary fan in the inner fan housing; and (f) an opening in the inner housing so that air can flow from the chamber through the opening and into the inner housing under the influence of the second fan to cause an air flow over the motor for cooling the motor.
23. The body dryer of claim 22 wherein the dryer housing has an air inlet at a lower portion of the dryer housing, and the fan being disposed adjacent the air inlet for drawing air into the housing, which air can flow over the heating elements and then, due to pressurisation within the housing, exit the outlet aperture in the form of a narrow blade of air which draws the buttressing layer of cooler air, so that the buttressing layer of cooler air supports the central blade of hot air as the central blade of hot air flows away from the dryer housing.
24. The body dryer of claim 22 wherein the dryer includes air flow control means for converting a vortex flow of air created by the fan into a substantially laminar flow of air.
25. The body dryer of claim 24 wherein the air flow control means comprises a pair of wings arranged downstream of the fan, each wing in the pair of wings being curved in a direction generally opposite to one another so that the vortex air flow created by the fan impinges on the wings and is straightened by the wings into a substantially laminar flow of air, which then flows into the dryer housing and over the heating means.
26. The body dryer of claim 22 wherein each heating element comprises a said coil of wire supported on a central insulating strip.
27. The body dryer of claim 26 wherein the heating element includes a plurality of support means arranged along the length of the coiled heating element, for supporting the coils of the coiled heating element to prevent the heating element coils from simply collapsing when the dryer housing is arranged in a vertical disposition for use.
28. (canceled)
29. (canceled)
30. (canceled)
31. (canceled)
32. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 17, 2002
Publication Date: Feb 2, 2006
Inventor: Ian Symons (Victoria)
Application Number: 10/521,208
International Classification: A45D 20/00 (20060101);