Abstract:
A dehumidifier comprising hot and cold water supply pipes interconnected to a showerhead in a bathroom, a hot heat exchanger interconnected to the hot water supply pipe, fan means to pull air from an adjacent room across the hot air exchanger and into the bathroom, and an exhaust fan to remove air from the bathroom

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention concerns dehumidifiers for use especially in connection with bathrooms and the like. It is well known that when an individual is taking a shower, a great deal of water vapor accumulates and condenses on the various surfaces of the bathroom. Most bathrooms have exhaust fans for removing the undesirable humid air; but, exhaust fans simply exhaust moist air from the room and replace it with air from an adjacent room. Since bathroom doors are customarily closed, it is inefficient and difficult for an exhaust fan to pull air from an adjacent room. If the door is left open, the exhaust fan might become effective but air from an adjacent room is typically undesirably cold. 
     Besides exhaust fans, dehumidification is accomplished by the use of a dehumidifier or refrigeration system wherein the evaporator acts as a cold surface on which moisture condenses and the condenser acts as a heat exchanger to rewarm the air before it passes back into the room. Such dehumidifiers are typically too large to fit conveniently in a typical bathroom. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     By this invention, dehumidification in a bathroom is accomplished when air from an adjacent room enters the device and is selectively directed into contact with a heat exchanger and then forced into the bathroom by fan means. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a dehumidifying system according to this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing the interior of the dehumidifier; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the interior of the dehumidifier; and 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the dehumidifier in accordance with this invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In the drawings, with particular reference to FIG. 1, the numeral  1  designates a conventional shower head. Hot water is supplied initially through pipe  2  whereby it enters dehumidifier  3  and then exits dehumidifier  3  through pipe  4  whereby it is directed to shower head  1 . The flow of hot water is controlled by means of valve  5  as is well known. Cold water is supplied directly to shower head  1  by means of pipe  6  and is controlled by valve  7  also as is well known. 
     With the door to bathroom B shut and the bathroom thereby effectively sealed off from adjacent rooms, air from adjacent room A enters duct  8  through inlet  9 . Air from adjacent room A then enters inlet plenum  10  by which it is directed to dehumidifier  3 . More specifically and as best shown in FIG. 2, dehumidifier  3  comprises a heat exchanger in the form of hot water coil  11  which is heated by means of hot water entering through pipe  2  and then exiting through pipe  4 . Air from adjacent room A is pulled through duct  8  and through hot water coil  11  by means of fan  12  which then directs the heated air through duct  13  and out through outlet grill  14  into bathroom B. To simplify the device, duct  13  can be eliminated with the air from dehumidifier  3  forced directly to bathroom B. Of course, dehumidifier  3  could comprise an electric heater thereby eliminating the need for the hot water connection. 
     According to one feature of this invention, the device is provided with heating damper  15  and bypass damper  16 . Dampers  15  and  16  are either manually or thermostatically operable, as is well known, to provide the optimum temperature of the air flowing from adjacent room A. As is shown in FIG. 2, bypass damper  16  is in its fully closed position and heating damper  15  is fully open. By this means, all the air entering inlet plenum  10  is directed through hot water coil  11  and into fan section  17  whereby it is forced by means of fan  12  ultimately into bathroom B. 
     Of course, if heating damper  15  is closed and bypass damper  16  is fully open, none of the air entering inlet plenum  10  will be heated and room temperature air from adjacent room A will be forced into bathroom B. By setting damper  15  and  16  to intermediate positions, air temperature is achieved as desired between being fully heated and at room temperature. 
     According to another feature of this invention, the device is provided with sensor  18  which acts to sense movement of hot water through pipe  2  which in turn causes the simultaneous activation of fan  12  and exhaust fan  19  in a conventional manner. Of course, besides a waterflow switch, the device can be controlled by any well known means such as a humidistat, temperature sensor and the like. Also the device can be activated by means of a direct electrical connection to exhaust fan  19 . 
     Therefore, by this invention, dehumidification is provided by utilizing room temperature air from an adjacent room and, if desired, heating it by means of hot water coil  11 . As humid air is exhausted out of the bathroom by means of exhaust fan  19 , the bathroom air is replaced with dry air from an adjacent room. The user is able to conveniently control the desired temperature of the air in the bathroom by the variable activation or deactivation of respective dampers  15  and  16 . 
     Although the drawings show this invention for use primarily in connection with a bathroom environment, it is readily apparent that this invention is well suited for other environments where hot water is present such as kitchens, laundry rooms and the like.