Patent Publication Number: US-7210245-B1

Title: Football warming and drying device

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
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   DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX 
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   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to the field of sports accessories and more specifically to a football warming and drying device. 
   The game of football is well known in the United States. It is played with an elliptical shaped ball that is pointed at each end. The ball is inflated with air and the outer skin can be made of pig skin or man made elastomeric materials that are molded to simulate pig skin. The game of football is played in a variety of weather conditions including rain and snow. Under these conditions, the ball can become quite slippery, and in cold weather can become rock hard, making the ball difficult to throw and catch. Therefore it is desirable to use a dry, warm football whenever possible. During a typical high school or college game each team uses their own footballs when they have possession of the ball. Therefore a team that has access to a dry warm ball is at an advantage to a team that does not. To this end, the concept of a football dryer has been contemplated by a number of inventors. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,730 by C. Grant et al shows a method of drying footballs that uses silicon dioxide to absorb water. The user puts the ball in a bag with powder in it and shakes it. U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,040 by W. Starkey et al shows a dryer that has a carrousel for the footballs to ride in and uses a generator powered by gasoline to provide power to heaters. U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,002 by D. Roberts et al includes a pair of contoured rollers that rotate causing a friction and rubbing to wipe the ball. U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,226 by K. Graffius shows a dryer that uses electric heat lamps and needs to be plugged into 120 volts AC. Patent application 2003/013602 by A. Presnell shows a dryer that uses a 3,000 watt heater powered by a battery. 
   Each of the prior art has its deficiencies that will be overcome by the present invention. The Grant patent is an inherently messy operation and rather time consuming. The Roberts patent dries only one ball at a time and is a rather complicated and expensive solution. The Graffius patent is not portable. The Starkey patent is quite large and the use of a separate gasoline powered generator makes it noisy and less portable that desired to be carried in a vehicle which carries football players such as a bus or SUV. The Presnell patent application shows a large device that uses a 3,000 watt heater powered by a battery. Even a huge battery would only last about thirty minutes putting out 3,000 watts of power. The Ferris wheel design wastes a lot of space inside the housing making the entire unit difficult to transport to away games. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary object of the invention is to provide a football warming and drying device that can quickly warm and dry a plurality of footballs within a portable housing that can be easily transported to a playing field. 
   Another object of the invention is to provide a football warming and drying device that allows easy access to the footballs being stored within said housing. 
   Another object of the invention is to provide a football warming and drying device that can be used on the field without need for a 120 volt AC power source. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide a football warming and drying device that allows even heat distribution within said housing so that all stored footballs can be warmed and dried uniformly. 
   Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. 
   In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed football warming and drying device comprising: a housing, a propane powered heat source, said housing including a plurality of drawers for gaining football access, said housing also including a battery powered fan affixed to one wall, said fan wall including apertures to allow air flow from said fan into said housing, a wall opposite to said fan wall that includes an adjustable vent door to allow excess heat to escape from said housing, a plurality of drawer shelves situated within said housing, each said shelf capable of being slid out of said housing, each said shelf including a plurality of football holding rings that allow each football to be stored in a vertical position, and the remainder of said shelf including open spaces to allow easy passage of heat from one level to another. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a front section view of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a top section view of one shelf configuration of the invention. 
       FIG. 2A  is a top section view of a second shelf configuration of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1  we see a front section view of the invention  100 . The footballs  24  stored in housing  14  are held vertically in rigid rings  44 . The inside diameter of the rings  44  are smaller than the widest diameter of the football so that the football  24  can be suspended by the ring  44 . The rings  44  are each supported by a vertical rod  45  that is in turn attached to horizontal frame  47 . The frame  47  is slidably supported by retaining members  42 . In the preferred embodiment there are three drawer levels  28 ,  30 ,  33  that hold a total of twenty-two footballs. Obviously, smaller or larger units can be constructed to house more or fewer balls. The housing  14  is constructed of rigid heat resistant material such as sheet metal. The outside of housing  14  is covered with a water resistant material so it can be safely used during any type of weather including rain or snow. Propane heater  20  operates in conjunction with replaceable propane tank  18 . The tank  18  is a standard 400 gram type that can be found in most hardware stores. Heater  20  is similar to model MH 12, made by Mr. Heater of Cleveland, Ohio that puts out 8,000 BTU&#39;s of heat at low setting and lasts for over three hours per tank of propane. An air space of at least twelve inches between the heater  20  and the first level of footballs  28  is needed so that the balls will not be overheated. To further control excess heat, an electric fan assembly  8  is located in housing  6  and powered by battery  10 . The fan can be turned on and off by switch  12 . The battery is preferably a rechargeable type where one charge can last at least three hours. An aperture  7  in front of the fan  8  allows outside air to be drawn into the housing  14 . Another aperture  5  at the opposite side of housing  14  allows hot air to exit. Vent door  2  is hinged at the top and can be held open at varying degrees by space bar  3 . Wheels  16 ,  17  are attached to axle  19 . In  FIG. 2  we see a top section view of the invention  100  where the holding eight rings  44  within drawers  28  and  34  can be clearly seen, as well as support frame  47 . The space between the rings is empty thereby allowing warm air to pass freely to all levels  28 ,  30 ,  33 . Drawer handle  31  is used to pull the frame  47  and attached front panel  31 A. out from housing  14  as shown in  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 2A  shows shelf level  30  where six rings  44  are held in a similar way as to shelf levels  28  and  34  as discussed above. The six rings  44  are positioned in such a way that they allow air to freely pass from lower shelf  28  to upper shelf  33 .  FIG. 4  shows drawer  28  opened and footballs  24  being held upright by rings  44 . The filing cabinet type configuration of the invention  100  allows the user to have easy access to all balls  24  while releasing a minimum of stored heat from the housing  14 . Handle  70  allows a person to grasp the handle  70  to pull or push the unit  100  on its rolling wheels  16 ,  17 .  FIG. 5  shows a front view of the invention  100 . In the preferred embodiment, the overall height of the unit  100  is 58 inches, the width is 28 inches and the depth is 18 inches. These dimensions, along with the fact that the unit can be easily transported by rolling on wheels  16 ,  17 , make the unit  100  easy to take onto a football field or into a vehicle such as a bus or van for transport to an away game. 
   While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.