U.S. patent number 3,575,009 [Application Number 04/831,062] was granted by the patent office on 1971-04-13 for rapid-acting water vapor condenser.
Invention is credited to Nicholas Kooney.
United States Patent |
3,575,009 |
Kooney |
April 13, 1971 |
RAPID-ACTING WATER VAPOR CONDENSER
Abstract
A water vapor condenser for use with a home laundry clothes
dryer including means providing a hollow primary chamber receiving
the exhaust flow from the dryer and having a thin-walled chilling
unit insertable in the chamber for condensing water vapor with the
chill unit including a hollow interior for retaining a quantity of
ice or other cooling medium and with a filter being provided in a
drain from the primary chamber for filtering lint or other
particles from the condensed water vapor as it is drained into a
receptacle attachable to the drain.
Inventors: |
Kooney; Nicholas (Littleton,
CO) |
Family
ID: |
25258207 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/831,062 |
Filed: |
June 6, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/272; 62/55.5;
62/93; 62/317; 62/424; 62/459; 62/464 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F
58/24 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
D06F
58/20 (20060101); D06F 58/24 (20060101); F25d
021/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/424,93,317,318,459,464,55.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wye; William J.
Claims
I claim:
1. A condenser for rapidly condensing water vapor from the exhaust
from a clothes dryer, said condenser comprising means providing an
exhaust flow through chamber having an inlet and an outlet for said
exhaust and an upper wall with an aperture into which a removable
thin-walled container with a chilling medium within its interior is
matingly insertable into said flow through chamber and having
condensing fins extending from its exterior for providing
additional vapor condensing surface so that said exhaust passing
through said chamber impinges on the exterior of said container and
said fins and water vapor in said exhaust is condensed to liquid
form and means for enabling removal of said condensed water vapor
including filtering means for removing lint from said condensed
water prior to its removal wherein said thin-walled container is
open at the top for enabling easy replacement of said chilling
medium therein and includes a peripheral flange extending outwardly
from the top of said container for engaging the top wall of said
flow through chamber for supporting said container within said flow
through chamber and wherein said flow through chamber includes an
inclined floor portion and said means for enabling removal of said
condensed water comprises a hollow tubular nipple extending from
the lowermost end of said floor portion and having an inwardly
extending radial flange on its interior with said filtering means
comprising a water of porous material received within the upper end
of said nipple and resting on said inwardly extending radial
flange.
2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said flow through chamber is a
generally rectangular boxlike construction with said inlet and
outlet being in opposite end walls thereof.
3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said nipple is threaded on its
outer end for enabling attachment of a bottle container thereto and
said thin-walled container is a generally rectangular boxlike
container.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is in the field of home laundry equipment and is
specifically directed to a water vapor condensing means for
condensing water vapor from the outlet of a clothes dryer for
subsequent use in steam irons or for any other purpose requiring
pure water.
While condensers have long been associated with clothes dryers for
condensing either cleaning fluid or water from the exhaust as
clothes are being dried, such devices have, in the past, been
directed to commercial-type operations for the most part and have
not been readily adaptable for use in the laundry facilities of the
type normally found in private dwellings. This is true because of
the complexity of many of the units of this type which are, in and
of themselves, complex in nature and integrated into the other
components of the system. Moreover, many of the prior known devices
of this sort have required the addition of waterlines and drain
lines for providing a flow of cooling fluid to and through the
system.
However, a number of the prior known devices have not employed any
flow of cooling medium in order to avoid the complexities and costs
of the plumbing required for such and have relied solely upon the
cooling effect of the environmental air surrounding the condenser
means for condensing vapor from the exhaust. While devices of this
sort have been cheaper to install and maintain than the condensers
employing a separate cooling liquid flowing through the condenser,
they have suffered from inadequate efficiency due to the fact that
the environmental air is oftentimes at a high temperature and there
is consequently only a limited temperature differential between the
environmental air and the exhaust from the dryer. This being the
case, much of the water vapor in the exhaust is not condensed and
is consequently discharged to the atmosphere.
The discharge of water-laden air into the closed surroundings of a
laundry room or basement in which the dryer is located can create
high humidity conditions resulting in consequential damage to other
items in the room. For this reason, it has been the normal practice
in most instances to connect such dryers to an exhaust outlet
exhausting exteriorly of the building in which the dryer is
located. However, the provision of such exterior exhaust outlets
can be quite expensive particularly in situations in which the
dryer cannot be located closely adjacent the exhaust outlet. In
such cases it is necessary to provide extensive and expensive
conduits for providing such an exhaust; not only are such systems
expensive in and of themselves, they also create a certain amount
of back pressure in the dryer to consequently result in a loss of
efficiency in exhausting the air and water vapor mixture from the
dryer.
None of the prior known condensers means have provided condensed
liquid of sufficient purity to enable usage of such in a steam
iron. This is true because the distillate from the prior devices
has always included the lint, threads, and other particles
inherently carried by the exhaust from the dryer and none of the
prior known devices have provided any means for removal of the lint
from the condensed vapor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a
new and improved rapidly operating water vapor condensing means for
use with a home laundry clothes dryer.
Obtainment of the object of this invention is enabled through the
provision of a condenser means in which a hollow primary chamber is
provided and which has an inlet opening and an outlet opening
through which exhaust from a clothes dryer is directed. A chill
unit in the form of a hollow member containing ice or other
chilling medium on its interior is insertable through a wall in the
primary chamber so that the exhaust air flowing against and
engaging the chill unit is rapidly cooled to condense the water
vapor from the exhaust air. The chill unit is additionally provided
with a plurality of exterior fins which provide additional cooling
of the exhaust gas flowing past the unit. Ice cubes or a mixture of
ice and water are contained in the chilling unit and constitute the
cooling medium. The chilling unit is formed of thin walls for
optimum heat flow and is easily removable from the primary chamber
simply by lifting the unit upwardly therefrom.
The primary chamber is slanted downwardly toward one end and has an
outlet in its floor to which a drain is connected. The drain is in
the form of a threaded nipple which contains a disc-type filter on
its interior and which receives a bottle threaded to its external
end. Consequently, water vapor condensed from the exhaust air
drains through the filter to remove the lint and other solid
particle content thereof and is then drained in pure form into the
storage bottle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the
invention illustrating the manner of operation thereof;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the respective
primary components of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 with
portions removed for clarity.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Attention is initially invited to FIG. 1 of the drawings which
illustrates a preferred embodiment which is generally designated 10
and which is illustrated alone without association with the dryer
with which it is to be connected. The drying connection is not
shown since such could be in a variety of locations depending upon
the environmental circumstances in which the nature of the
particular dryer and the device is being used. For example, in some
circumstances it might be desirable to attach the preferred
embodiment to the rear of the clothes dryer while, in other
circumstances, such attachment might be impossible and it might be
necessary to attach the device to a conduit connected to the
clothes dryer.
In any event, the preferred embodiment 10 consists of three primary
components. The main component 20 defines a hollow primary exhaust
flow through chamber which is in the form of a rectangular boxlike
container formed of metal, plastic or other suitable material. An
inlet opening 22 is provided in the chamber for connection to the
exhaust from a clothes dryer and an exhaust opening 24 is provided
on the other end wall of the flow through chamber so that the
exhaust from the clothes dryer enters the chamber by means of inlet
opening 22 from an input duct 25 and flows through the chamber to
exhaust outwardly through the exhaust opening 24 and an output duct
26.
The top of the hollow primary member 20 includes an upper surface
27 having an opening 28 for receiving a removable thin-walled chill
unit container 30 insertable through opening 28 so as to be
substantially completely inserted within the interior of the
chamber defined by member 20. The thin-walled chill unit container
30 is formed of thin plastic or metal which has a high thermal
conductivity. It should be noted that the container 30 is in the
form of an elongated rectangular open-topped container and is
provided with a transversely extending peripheral flange 32
extending entirely about its top opening.
Additionally, inclined cooling fins 34 extend outwardly from each
of the sidewalls of the thin-walled container 30 for providing
additional cooling surface upon which the exhaust from the clothes
dryer impinges. A cooling medium in the form of ice cubes 35 or
other suitable liquid or solid substances is contained within the
interior of container 30 so that the moisture laden exhaust
impinging on the exterior of container 30 is rapidly cooled.
Consequently, water vapor within the exhaust is condensed from the
exhaust and deposited upon the base or floor 36 of the primary
chamber defining member 20.
It should be noted that the base of the floor 36 is inclined
downwardly from right to left as illustrated in FIG. 3 so that the
water condensed from the exhaust tends to flow through the
lowermost portion of the floor portion 36. An outlet drain opening
38 is provided on the lower end of the floor 36 for enabling
removal of the condensed water.
A drain tube in the form of a nipple 40 extends outwardly from
opening 38 and is provided with threads 42 on its exterior end over
which a plastic or other suitable bottle or container 44 is
connected for receiving the water 46 drained from the primary
member 20 as shown in FIG. 3. It should be noted that the nipple 40
includes a peripheral shoulder 48 which provides support for a disc
50 of filtering material. The disc 50 serves to filter lint from
the condensed water so that the water received within the container
44 is immediately usable in steam irons or for any other purpose
requiring pure uncontaminated water.
While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown in
the form of generally rectangular members 20 and 30, it should be
understood that the invention could be practiced by the employment
of members shaped in a different manner, such as, for example,
circular or oblong elements. Moreover, it should also be understood
that while the container 44 is illustrated with threads on the
interior of its neck portion, for engagement with the threads 42 on
the end of the nipple 40, the position of the threads could be
reversed with the threads on the bottle being on the exterior and
the threads on the nipple being on the interior. These and other
modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
* * * * *