Abstract:
A dehydration device and method is provided for the quick and efficient drying of garments wherein said dehydration device may be specifically adapted to receive an individual garment and may direct forced air into the interior volume of the garment to rapidly remove liquid and/or vapor from the garment. An optional heater may also be provided that is configured to accelerate the drying process.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of dryers for clothing and more specifically it relates to a dehydration device for use with various types of outer garments. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Numerous dryers have been provided in the prior art that are machines which remove water from clothes by tumbling the clothes in a closed container while providing forced hot air to remove the water. In addition, dryers have been provided that remove the water primarily from the exterior and interior of the garment by also applying forced hot air along the garment surfaces. While these units have been acceptable for that particular purpose, they are not well suited to remove water from the inside of a garment which has been specifically designed to be air and water tight as heretofore described. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a dehydration device that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a dehydration device that reduces the time needed to remove the moisture from a particular type of outer garment such as a safety suit, a divers suit, an environmental suit or a garment worn by fire and rescue personnel. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dehydration device that is compact and lightweight for easy setup, tear down and transportation to various emergency sites. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a dehydration device that is easily adjusted to work with various types, shapes and sizes of outer garments. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dehydration device that is economical in cost to manufacture. 
     Further objects of the present invention will become apparent as the description herein proceeds. 
     According to a first general aspect of the present invention a dehydration device includes an enclosure having an air inlet and an air outlet with an air mover located in the enclosure. A support frame is provided located beneath and affixed to the enclosure. A distributor is provided in fluid communication with the air outlet and a plurality of exhaust pipes are in fluid communication with the distributor. The exhaust pipes are arranged to facilitate the dehydration of the inside volume and inside surface of a garment. 
     According to another general aspect of the present invention, a method of drying an internal surface and volume associated with a garment includes the steps of affixing an enclosure to a frame with an air mover being provided in the enclosure. An air inlet and an air outlet in said enclosure is provided to allow air into and out of the enclosure. A distributor is affixed to the enclosure such that the distributor receives air from the outlet and a plurality of exhaust pipes are in fluid communication with the distributor for the transmission of the air from the distributor to the internal volume of the environmental suit thereby removing a substantial amount of fluid from the garment. 
     To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only of a preferred embodiment, and that changes may be made in the specific construction both illustrated and described and still be within the scope of the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of the present invention with no garment installed; 
     FIG. 2 is a simplified front view of the present invention with no garment installed; 
     FIG. 3 is a simplified plan view of the present invention in a collapsed and stored configuration. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning now to the figures, in which similar reference numerals denote similar features, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrates a dehydration device  10  which is comprised of a support frame  12 , an enclosure  14 , an air mover  16 , a distributor  20  and a first and second pair of exhaust pipes  28  and  30  respectively. The enclosure  14  is removably affixed to the frame  12  by a pair of pins  27  inserted in a hole located in a respective pivot  26 . Pin  27  is inserted through pivot  26  and is received in a hole located in the enclosure  14  thereby affixing the enclosure  14  to the frame  12 . The frame  12 , as shown in the figures is comprised of a top planar surface  12   a  which is supported by a set of legs  12   b . A pair of handles  12   c  are also provided between a pair of legs  12   b  for carrying the dehydration device  10  when it is in its stowed away configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the frame  12  is comprised of welded or bolted aluminum structural angles. 
     Provided in the enclosure  14  is the air mover  16  wherein the air mover outlet  16   a  is aligned with and in fluid communication with an air inlet of distributor  20 . In a preferred embodiment, the air mover is a blower having a flow rate of approximately 1200 CFM. An optional heater  18  may also be provided in the enclosure  14  to raise the temperature of the air approximately 4-5 degrees F from ambient. In a preferred embodiment, the heater may be a wire wound resistive heater having a power output of approximately 725 Watts. Experimentation has shown that a dehydration device  10  having a blower with approximately 1200 CFM and a heater with a power output of approximately 725 Watts can dry a typical garment to an acceptable level within 15-20 minutes. 
     Removably attached to and protruding at a predetermined angle from the sides of the distributor  20  are first exhaust pipes  28   a  and  28   b . First exhaust pipes  28   a  and  28   b  are configured to align and receive the arm locations of a typical garment when the garment is placed on the dehydration device. First frames  34   a  and  34   b  are slidably attached to a respective exhaust pipe and act to keep the garment stretched into an open position to facilitate the movement of air through the interior of the arm locations. The first frames  34   a  and  34   b  are adjustable to allow for the receipt of different size garments. In addition, the adjustable frames  34   a  and  34   b  allow the unit to be collapsed into a small package to ease transportation and storage of the dehydration unit. To further facilitate transportation and storage, the first exhaust pipes  28   a  and  28   b  may be completely removed from the distributor  20 . In the preferred embodiment, this is accomplished by sliding the first exhaust pipes  28   a  and  28   b  out of a receptacle in the distributor  20 . 
     Protruding from the top of the distributor  20  at a predetermined angle is a pair of second exhaust pipes  30   a  and  30   b . The second exhaust pipes  30   a  and  30   b  are each configured to receive the leg portions of a typical garment when the garment is placed on the dehydration unit  10 . Slidably attached to each second exhaust pipe  30   a  and  30   b  is a second frame  32   a  and  32   b  respectively. The second frames  32   a  and  32   b  are adjustable to allow for the receipt of different size garments. In addition, the adjustable frames  32   a  and  32   b  allow the unit to be collapsed into a small package to ease transportation and storage of the dehydration unit. To further facilitate transportation and storage, the second exhaust pipes  30   a  and  30   b  may be completely removed from the distributor  20 . In the preferred embodiment, this is accomplished by removing a fastener that holds the second exhaust pipes to the distributor  20 . 
     In t he preferred embodiment, the dehydration unit is powered by typical house voltage 110V that allows the dehydration unit to be used in almost any location. As shown in the figures, an optional on/off switch  22  is provided on the dehydration unit  10  which allows the user to quickly and easily start and stop the drying process. 
     FIG. 3 shows the dehydration device  10  in its collapsed and stored configuration. In this configuration, the dehydration device  10  is easily stored and transported to a remote site. In a preferred embodiment, and not by way of limitation, the majority of the parts are fabricated from aluminum to reduce the systems overall weight. Once at the remote site, the dehydration device  10  quickly and easily is setup and put to use. To setup the dehydration device  10 , the user removes the enclosure  14 , distributor  20 , the first set of exhaust pipes  28   a  and  28   b  and the second set of exhaust pipes  30   a  and  30   b  from the support frame  12 . The support frame  12  may be turned over so it rests on its four legs and the enclosure  14  is attached to the frame as discussed previously. The distributor  20  is attached to the top of the enclosure  14  and the first and second set of exhaust pipes  28  and  30  respectively are removably affixed to the distributor  20  as discussed previously. The first and second frames  32  and  34  are extended from the first and second exhaust pipes  28  and  30  as discussed previously. A power cord  24  is plugged into a power source and the dehydration device  10  is ready to start drying various outer garments. To dry a garment, the garment is slid over the dehydration device  10  so that the leg portions of the garment surround the second exhaust pipes  30   a  and  30   b . The arm portions of the garment are slid over and surround the first exhaust pipes  28   a  and  28   b.    
     Once the garment is properly placed on the dehydration device  10 , the operator starts the drying process by actuating the on/off switch  22  which in turn supplies power to the air mover  16  and the optional heater  18 . Alternatively, the on/off switch  22  could be eliminated and the power controlled simply by plugging and unplugging the power cord. Air is then supplied into the blower through air inlet  36 . If the heater  18  is provided, the air is heated as discussed previously and then forced up into the distributor  20  where it is further communicated to the first and second exhaust pipes  28  and  30  respectively. The air then exits air outlets  38  and  39  and impinges on the interior surface of the garment. The circulating air acts to enhance the drying process and helps to remove moisture from the garment quickly and efficiently.