GB2394271A

GB2394271A - A locker for drying clothing

Info

Publication number: GB2394271A
Application number: GB0224318A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nikolaos Kanavas
Original assignee: MILLS SCOTT JAMES
Current assignee: MILLS SCOTT JAMES
Priority date: 2002-10-18
Filing date: 2002-10-18
Publication date: 2004-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2022-10-18
Also published as: GB0224318D0; GB2394271B

Abstract

A locker (2) for drying clothing, which locker (2) comprises a body portion, at least one door (6) for the body portion (4), at least one shelf arrangement (8) for receiving part of the clothing, at least one support arrangement (10) for enabling part of the clothing to be hung for drying purposes, fan means (12) for circulating air in the body portion (4), heater means (14) for heating the air, and water-collecting means (16) which is for collecting water dripping from the clothing and which is removable from the locker (2) in order to permit emptying of the water-collecting means (16). A guard (36) protects the heating means (14). The door is lockable. Timer means mounted on the door (6) is able to operate the locker for predetermined periods of time. Means also mounted on the door adjusts the electrical power supply to the heater means (14) and/or the fan means (12).

Description

239427 1

( A LOCKER FOR DRYING CLOTHING

This invention relates to a locker for drying clothing.

People commuting to work often encounter bad weather and have difficulty in drying their outer clothing. This applies especially to people who use motor cycles and often their wet protective clothing does not properly dry during the day, with the result that the motorcyclist has to use damp outer protective clothing for the return journey. This can be uncomfortable and less effective in keeping the wearer warm. Sports persons such for example as divers and triatheletes often wear wet-quits which are not easy to dry quickly and which may tend to smell if folded and left wet in a stored condition. It is an aim of the present invention to reduce the above problems.

Accordingly, in one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention there is provided a locker for drying clothing, which locker comprises a body portion, at least one door for the body portion, at least one shelf arrangement for receiving part of the clothing, at least one support arrangement for enabling part of the clothing to be hung for drying purposes, fan means for circulating air in the body portion, heater means for heating the air, and water-collecting means which is for collecting water dripping from the clothing and which is removable from the locker in order to permit emptying of the water-collecting means, the watercollecting means being the sole means of removing water from the locker.

( 2 The locker of the present invention can be used for drying a wide variety of clothing used by persons in a wide variety of business, industrial and sporting applications. The locker is able to be constructed as a simple arrangement which can easily be connected to a mains electricity supply for supplying power for the fan means and the heater means. The locker does not require complicated plumbing connections to a mains drainage system because only a relatively small amount of water will be collected in the locker and this can easily be dealt with by simply removing and emptying the water-collecting means. Thus the locker can easily be installed in a wide variety of locations. The locker may be installed as a single locker or, alternatively, banks of the lockers may be installed, for example in changing rooms or rest rooms.

Usually, the locker will include locking means for locking the door in order to prevent unauthorized access to the locker. The locking means can thus prevent theft of clothing and/or unauthorized use of the locker for drying clothing. The locking means may be a key-operated locking means, a combination locking means, or both a key-operated and a combination locking means.

Preferably, the locker is constructed to be of a size which is for use by one person only. The locker may be made larger for use by more than one person if desired.

Preferably, the water-collecting means is a tray.

The shelf arrangement may have apertures through which water is able to drip. The shelf arrangement may be a mesh shelf arrangement.

Alternatively, the shelf arrangement may be one having water channels for guiding the water to one or more drip apertures.

The locker may be one in which there is at least one of the shelf arrangements positioned above the support arrangement, and at least one of the shelf arrangements positioned below the support arrangement, the shelf arrangement positioned above the support arrangement being for receiving head wear and/or hand wear, and the shelf arrangement positioned below the support arrangement being for receiving foot wear.

Preferably, there are two of the shelf arrangements positioned above the support arrangement.

The support arrangement may comprise at least one hook for receiving a removable clothes hanger. As many of the hooks may be employed as suitable and required. Alternatively, the support arrangement may comprise at least one clothes hanger which is not removable from the locker. As many of the clothes hangers may be employed as may be suitable and required.

Usually, the support arrangement will be in the body portion. If desired however the support arrangement may be on the door.

The fan means is preferably mounted on the door but, if desired, the fan means may be mounted in the body portion.

The fan means may comprise a first fan positioned in an upper portion of the locker, and a second fan positioned in a lower portion of the locker

The heater means is preferably mounted in the body portion. If desired however the heater means may be mounted on the door.

The heater means may comprise a single heater which is of a type suitable for use in humid conditions. Advantageously, the heater is a low powered fan heater. Thus, for example, the low powered fan heater may be a 500 watt fan heater. The use of a low powered fan heater helps to avoid possible overheating of clothing in the locker, with consequent damage to the clothing.

The locker may include a thermostat for the heater means. The thermostat may be effective to prevent the heater means generating too much heat for any given situation.

The locker may include timing means for enabling the locker to operate for different pre-determined periods of time. The timer means is preferably mounted on the door but it may be mounted on the body portion if desired. The locker may include adjuster means for adjusting electrical power supplied to the heater means and/or the fan means in order to control the output of the heater means and/or the fan means. The adjuster means may be a rotatable knob mounted on the door. Other types of adjuster means may be employed. The adjuster means may also be mounted on the body portion if desired.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of the locker in an open position;

Figure 2 is a view from the front and one side of the locker as shown in Figure1 with some parts omitted for ease of illustration; Figure 3 is a front view of part of the locker in a closed condition; and Figure 4 is a side view, partially cut away, in order to illustrate the positioning of various components in the locker.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a locker 2 for drying clothing. The locker 2 comprises a body portion 4 and a door 6 for the body portion 4. The locker 2 has shelf arrangements 8 for receiving part of the clothing. The locker 2 also has a support arrangement 10 for enabling part of the clothing to be hung for drying purposes.

Also provided in the locker 2 are fan means 12 for circulating air in the body portion 4, and heater means 14 for heating the air. Water-

collecting means 16 is provided for collecting water dripping from the clothing. The water-collecting means 16 is removable from the locker 2 in order to permit emptying of the water-collecting means 16. The water-

collecting means 16 is the sole means of removing water from the locker.

Thus the locker 2 is not in the nature of a dryer part of a washing machine which would normally be plumbed into a mains water disposal system.

The locker 2 includes locking means 18 for locking the door 6 in order to prevent unauthorized access to the locker 2. Thus the locking means 18 is able to prevent theft of clothing from the locker 2. The locking means 18 is also able to prevent unauthorized use of the locker 2 for drying clothing.

The locking means 18 is a key-operated lock having a locking arm 20 which is able to lock behind a side edge 22 of the body portion 4.

( 6 As can be appreciated from the drawings, the locker 2 is of a size for use by one person only.

The water-collecting means 10 is in the form of a tray as can best be seen from Figure 1.

The shelf arrangements 8 are made of a mesh material so that they have apertures 24 through which the water is able to drip. The apertures 24 may be of any suitable and appropriate shape such for example as round, square or rectangular.

There are two of the shelf arrangements 8 positioned above the support arrangement 10. Also, there is one of the shelf arrangements 8 positioned below the support arrangement 10. The shelf arrangements 8 positioned above the support arrangement 10 are for receiving head wear and/or hand wear such for example as a helmet and gloves of a motor cycle outfit. The shelf arrangement 8 positioned below the support arrangement 10 is for receiving foot wear such for example as motor cycle boots.

As shown in Figure 1, the support arrangement 10 comprises a hook 26 secured to and extending from an underneath of one of the shelf arrangements 8. The hook 26 is then able to receive a removable clothes hanger 28. The clothes hanger 28 is open at its right hand end as shown for facilitating the positioning of a suit, for example a motor cycle suit or a diver's wet suit, on the clothes hanger 28. The support arrangement 10 is mounted in the body portion 4 but it could be mounted on the door 6 by an appropriate mounting if desired.

The fan means 12 is mounted on the door 6. Fan means 12 comprises a first fan 30 positioned in an upper portion of the locker 2, and a second fan 32 positioned in a lower portion of the locker 2.

The heater means 14 is mounted in a lower portion of the body portion. The heater means 14 comprises a single heater 34 which is of a type suitable for use in humid conditions. The heater 34 is a low powered fan heater 34. The heater 34 is a 500 watt fan heater. The use of such a low power heater avoids over-heating of any clothing in the locker 2. If desired, a thermostat (not shown) may be employed for controlling the duration of operation of the heater 34.

The heater 34 is protected by a guard 36. The guard 36 firstly protects the heater 34 from being contacted by water dripping from clothing higher up in the locker 2 and also from the two upper shelf arrangements 8.

The guard 36 deflects the water into the water-collecting means 16. The guard 36 is secondly effective to prevent clothing in the locker 2 coming into direct contact with the heater 34 and thus possibly getting scorched.

As shown in Figure 3, the locker 2 includes timer means 38 including a rotatable knob 40 and calibration markings 42. The timer means 38 is for enabling the locker 2 to operate for different predetermined periods of time.

The timer means 38 is mounted on the door 6.

Also mounted on the door 6 is adjuster means 46 comprising a rotatable knob 48 and a calibration scale 50. The adjuster means 46 is for adjusting electrical power supply to the heater means 14 and/or the fan

( 8 means 12 for enabling the output of the heater means 14 and/or the fan means 12 to be adjusted.

During operation of the locker 2, electrical power is initially switched on via a lever switch 52. A light 54 then becomes illuminated to indicate that power is being supplied to the locker 2. The power is mains power supplied by a mains cable (not shown). When the fan means 12 begins to operate, the lower second fan 32 acts as an inlet fan and the upper first fan 30 acts as an outlet fan. Air is thus drawn through the body portion 4 and this circulation of air promotes good drying of clothing in the locker 2. As the air circulates, it is warmed by the heater means 14. The locker 2 thus constitutes a piece of equipment which is self-standing, easily located where desired, and able to be used on a personal basis by a person requiring to dry their clothes, for example a motorcyclist wish to dry motor cycle clothing.

Water dripping towards the water-collecting means 16 is deflected by deflector plates 56 towards the water-collecting means 16.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiment of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings has been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the heater means 14 could be a radiator-type heater means rather than a fan-type heater means. The timer means 38 may be an electronic timer or a mechanical timer. The locker 2 could be constructed for use by more than one person, in which case the locker 2 could have two doors instead of one door The locking means 18 could be a combination lock instead of a key-

operated lock. The clothes hanger 28 could be formed as a permanent

swivel fixture to its shelf arrangement 8 in order to avoid the clothes hanger 28 being taken out and then lost. The locker 28 may be used for drying a wide variety of clothing used in a wide variety of applications. The electrical components 58 and 60 shown on the inside of the door 6 may be any suitable components for providing electrical connections as required.

Claims

1. A locker for drying clothing, which locker comprises a body portion, at least one door for the body portion, at least one shelf arrangement for receiving part of the clothing, at least one support arrangement for enabling part of the clothing to be hung for drying purposes, fan means for circulating air in the body portion, heater means for heating the air, and water-collecting means which is for collecting water dripping from the clothing and which is removable from the locker in order to permit emptying of the water-collecting means, the water-collecting means being the sole means of removing water from the locker.

2. A locker according to claim 1 and including locking means for locking the door in order to prevent unauthorized access to the locker.

3. A locker according to claim 1 or claim 2 and which is of a size for use by one person only.

4. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the water-collecting means is a tray.

5. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the shelf arrangement has apertures through which water is able to drip.

6. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which there is at least one of the shelf arrangements positioned above the support arrangement, and at least one of the shelf arrangements positioned below the support arrangement, the shelf arrangement positioned above the support arrangement being for receiving head wear and/or hand wear, and the shelf arrangement positioned below the support arrangement being for receiving foot wear.

7. A locker according to claim 6 in which there are two of the shelf arrangements positioned above the support arrangement.

8. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the support arrangement comprises at least one hook for receiving a removable clothes hanger.

9. A locker according to any one of claims 1 - 7 in which the support arrangement comprises at least one clothes hanger which is not removable from the locker.

10. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the support arrangement is in the body portion.

11. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the fan means is mounted on the door.

12. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the fan means comprises a first fan positioned in an upper portion of the locker, and a second fan positioned in a lower portion of the locker.

13. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the heater means is mounted in the body portion.

14. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims in which the heater means comprises a single heater which is of a type suitable for use in humid conditions.

15. A locker according to claim 14 in which the heater is a low-powered fan heater.

16. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims and including a thermostat for the heater means.

17. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims and including timer means for enabling the locker to operate for different predetermined periods of time.

18. A locker according to claim 17 in which timer means is mounted on the door.

19. A locker according to any one of the preceding claims and including adjuster means for adjusting electrical power supplied to the heater means and/or the fan means in order to control the output of the heater means and/or the fan means.

20. A heater according to claim 19 in which the adjuster means is a rotatable knob mounted on the door.

21. A locker for doing clothing, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.