Patent Publication Number: US-11641844-B2

Title: Apparatus, system and method for drying pets

Description:
I. STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 16/003,372 filed Jun. 8, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein. This application is also entitled to priority from provisional application 62/518,147 filed Jun. 12, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein. 
    
    
     II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a dryer apparatus, system and method for pets. 
     B. Statement of the Related Art 
     Pets become wet during a bath, during grooming, when rained upon outdoors, after swimming, and in other circumstances. It is desirable to dry the wet fur of such animals so that the animal is comfortable, for the health of the animal, and to prevent the animal from making the surrounding environment wet. 
     In order to dry pets, towels and hand-held electric hair dryers are often employed, alone or in conjunction. Use of a towel alone is not sufficient to completely dry an animal. Use of an electric hair dryer is generally problematic because one individual will have difficulty controlling a pet while simultaneously using the dryer because the individual must devote one hand to the dryer and one hand to the pet. Also, the effective coverage area of a hair dryer is small, requiring a long time to dry a pet and constant movement of the dryer to cover all of the fur. 
     II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The apparatus for drying pets comprises of one or more perforated mitts that are worn by a user. The mitts connect by one or more tubes to a heated blower. Warm air flows from the blower through the tubes to the mitts and out of the perforations in the mitts. A user can move his or her hands along the fur of the pet while wearing the mitts to dry the pet with the aid of the moving air exiting the perforations. Use of two mitts allows an individual to control the pet while simultaneously drying the fur of the pet. 
    
    
     
       III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawing figures, in which like numerals represent like items throughout the figures, and in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a view of the invention in use to dry a pet with the blower supported by a strap. 
         FIG.  2    is a view of the invention in use to dry a pet with the blower supported on a surface. 
         FIG.  3    is a perspective view of a blower for heated air. 
         FIG.  4    is a top view of the blower. 
         FIG.  5    is a bottom view of the blower. 
         FIG.  6    is a bottom perspective view of the blower. 
         FIG.  7    is an exploded perspective view of the blower. 
         FIG.  8    is an exploded side view of the blower. 
         FIG.  9 A  is a top view of the blower showing section line A-A. 
         FIG.  9 B  is a section view of the blower along section line A-A. 
         FIG.  10    is a perspective view of an assembled mitt. 
         FIG.  11    is a perspective view of the fabric cover for the mitt. 
         FIG.  12    is a perspective view of the drying portion of the mitt  FIG.  13 A  is an exploded view of the drying portion of the mitt excluding the hand-engaging portion. 
         FIG.  13 B  is a schematic detail cross section of the drying portion of the mitt. 
         FIG.  13 C  is a schematic detail top view of the drying portion of the mitt with the cover removed. 
         FIG.  13    D is a schematic perspective view of the underside of the drying portion. 
         FIG.  14    is a perspective view of two mitts assembled to a tube. 
         FIG.  15    is a perspective view of two mitts disassembled from a tube. 
         FIG.  16    is a perspective view of a single mitt assembled to a tube. 
         FIG.  17    is a perspective view of a single mitt disassembled from a tube. 
     
    
    
     IV. DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT 
       FIGS.  1  and  2    show a mitt  2  and blower  4  in use to dry a pet  6 . The blower  4  propels air  8  through one or more tubes  10  to the mitt  2 . The mitt  2  is wearable on the hand of a human user. The underside  12  of the mitt  2  includes perforations  14  through which the air  8  flows. The underside  12  of the mitt  2  and the perforations  14  are illustrated by  FIGS.  13 A through  13 D . In use, the user passes the underside  12  of the mitt  2  over the fur or hair of the pet  6 . The air  8  flowing through the perforations  14  dries the fur or hair of the pet  6 .  FIG.  1    illustrates that the blower  4  may be supported from the user&#39;s body by a strap  24 .  FIG.  2    shows that the blower  4  also may be supported by a surface, such as a floor.  FIGS.  1  and  2    both show an embodiment in which the blower  4  supplies air  8  to a single mitt  2 . The blower  4  also may supply air  8  to a pair of mitts  2  and the user may use a mitt  2  on each hand to dry the pet  6 .  FIGS.  14  and  15    show a connection for two mitts  2 . 
     The blower  4  is powered by wall current or by a battery power supply, as is known in the art of portable electric motors.  FIGS.  1  and  2    show a power cord  84  for wall current. The power supply and power connections are conventional and not otherwise shown. 
       FIGS.  3  through  9 B  illustrate the blower  4 .  FIGS.  3  and  4    show the top side  16  of the blower  4 . Air  8  enters the blower  4  through inlets  18 . The blower  4  expels the air  8  through the tube connections  20 . A temperature and air speed control  22  allows the user to control the temperature and speed of the air  8  expelled through the tube connections  20 . A strap  24  allows the user to conveniently carry the blower  4  on his or her person either when the blower  4  is in use or when storing or retrieving the blower  4 . 
       FIGS.  5  and  6    show the bottom side  26  of the blower  4 . The blower  4  includes a motor and heater housing  28 . In the embodiment of  FIGS.  3  through  9 B , the motor and heater housing  28  is composed of a polymer. Reinforcing ribs  30  defined by the polymer provide necessary stiffness and strength. Feet  32  support the blower  4  when the blower  4  is resting in an upright position on a surface. 
       FIGS.  7  and  8    are exploded views of the blower  4 .  FIG.  7    is an exploded perspective view and  FIG.  8    is an exploded side view. From  FIGS.  7  and  8   , the motor and heater housing  28  includes an upper portion  34  and a lower portion  36 . A decorative trim panel  38  is disposed at the top of the upper portion  34 . 
     The upper and lower portions  34 ,  36  of the motor and heater housing  28  define a flow path for air  8  through the blower  4 . The flow path is indicated by arrow  40 . An impeller  42  is attached to the drive shaft of an electric motor  44 . The upper and lower portions  34 ,  36  support the electric motor  44  and impeller  42  and are disposed in the air flow path  40 . The motor  44  drives the impeller  42 , which propels air along the flow path  40 . Also disposed in the air flow path  40  is an electrical resistance heating element  46 . The heating element  46  selectably warms air  8  moving along the flow path  40 . Both the motor  44  and the heating element  46  operate under the control of the motor and heater controller  22 . The motor and heater controller  22  allows the user to select the speed of the motor  44  and hence the rate of flow of air  8  to and through the mitt  2 . The motor and heater controller  22  also allows the user to select the amount of electrical energy provided to the resistance heater  46  and to thus control the temperature of the air  8  exiting the perforations  14  of the mitt  2 . Resilient dampeners  48  are interposed between the motor and the upper and lower portions  34 ,  36  to reduce the vibration and noise of the motor  44  when the motor  44  is operating. Fasteners  50 , such as screws, selectably hold the upper and lower portions  34 ,  36  of the motor and heater housing together. 
       FIGS.  1  and  3  through  9 A  illustrate a strap  24 , with  FIG.  1    showing that the strap  24  may support the blower  4  when the blower  4  is in use to dry a pet  6 . The strap  24  is equipped with clips  82  to allow the strap to be selectably attached and detached from the blower  4 . With the strap  24  detached, a surface such as a floor may support the blower as shown by  FIG.  2   . The clips  82  may be composed of any suitable material, such as a metal or a polymer. 
       FIG.  9 B  is a cross section of the blower  4  along section line A-A, shown by the blower  4  top view of  FIG.  9 A . The cross section of  FIG.  9 B  shows the impeller  42 , motor  44 , heating element  46  and tube connections  20  in line. Those elements are aligned with the air flow path  40  shown by  FIG.  7   . 
       FIGS.  3  through  9 B  show a tube connection  20  for simultaneous use of two mitts  2  to dry a pet  6 . The blower  4  selectably receives and retains the tube connection  20 . The tube connection  20  splits the flow of air  8  into two flows of air  8  and is selectably attachable to two tubes  10 , as shown by  FIGS.  14  and  15   . Alternatively, the user may dispense with the tube connection  20  and connect a single tube  10  directly to the blower  4 .  FIGS.  16  and  17    show the single tube  10  and single mitt  2 . The single tube  10  and single mitt  2  may connect directly to the blower  4 , as shown by  FIGS.  1  and  2   . 
       FIGS.  10  through  17    show the construction of the mitts  2 , tubes  10  and generally the system outside of the blower  4 . The hand-engaging portion  52  of the mitts  2  may take any suitable form, such as the shape of a mitten, a glove, or the open thumb mitt of  FIG.  10   . 
       FIG.  10    shows the assembled mitt  2 , comprising a hand-engaging portion  52  and a drying portion  58 .  FIG.  11    shows the hand-engaging portion separated from the drying portion  58 . From  FIGS.  10  and  11   , the hand-engaging portion  52  of the mitt  2  includes a cuff  54  and a thumb opening  56 . The thumb opening  56  optionally may appear on both the left and right sides of the mitt  2  so that the user can wear the mitt  2  interchangeably on either the user&#39;s left or right hand. 
     To operate the mitt  2 , the user inserts his or her hand through the cuff  54  and his or her thumb out of the thumb opening  56 . The hand-engaging portion  52  of the assembled mitt  2  of  FIG.  10    is attached to the drying portion  58  and attaches the drying portion  58  to the user&#39;s hand. As the user moves his or her hand over a wet or damp pet  6 , the hand-engaging portion  52  moves the drying portion  58  over the pet  6 . The drying portion  58  is attached to the blower  4  by a tube  10  selectably attached to the drying portion  58  by a mitt tube connection  60 . 
       FIGS.  12 ,  13 A,  13 B,  13 C and  13 D  illustrate the construction and operation of the drying portion  58 .  FIG.  12    shows the drying portion  58  separate from the hand-engaging portion  52 . Air  8  flows through tubes  10  from the blower  4  and enters the drying portion  58  through the mitt tube connection  60 . The air  8  flows out through the interior volume  59  of the drying portion  58  to perforations  14  in the underside  12  of the perforated plate  62 . The air  8  flows through the perforations  14  and out to the ambient air  80 . 
       FIG.  13 A  is an exploded view of the drying portion  58 . Air  8  is received by the mitt tube connection  60 . A manifold  64  distributes the air  8  across the width of the perforated plate  62 . A cover  68  cooperates with the perforated plate  62  to define the interior volume  59 . A channel insert  66  is disposed between the perforated plate and the cover  68 . A plurality of locator pins  70  engage mating holes in the channel insert  66  to locate the channel insert  66  with respect to the perforated plate  62  and to prevent dislocation of the channel insert  66  due to the flow of air  8 . The perforated plate  62 , channel insert  66  and cover  68  cooperate to define a plurality of channels  72  that convey air  8  from the manifold  64  and mitt tube connection  60  to each of the perforations  14 . 
       FIG.  13 B  is a schematic cross section of the drying portion  58  showing the perforated plate  62 , cover  68  and the flow of air  8  through the perforations  14  from the interior volume  59  of the drying portion  58  to the ambient air  80  outside of the drying portion  58 . The perforations  14  may be flush with the bottom surface of the perforated plate  62 , as shown on the left side of  FIG.  13 B . Alternatively, a perforation  14  may take the form of a hollow pin  74 , with the hollow pins  74  standing proud of the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62 , as shown by the remaining perforations  14  of  FIG.  13 B . The use of the hollow pins  74  as perforations  14  has the advantage that the hollow pins  74  and hence the air  8  flowing through the hollow pins  74  penetrate below the top surface of the fur or hair of the pet  6 , exposing more fur or hair to the air  8  and speeding the drying of the pet  6 . 
     The perforated plate  62  also may include grooming bristles or pins  76  that depend from the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62 . The grooming bristles or pins  76  are not perforated and do not convey air  8  through the grooming bristles or pins  76 . The grooming bristles or pins  76  serve to groom the fur or hair of the pet  6  in the same manner as a brush or comb to separate and align the strands of hair or fur of the pet  6 . The grooming bristles or pins  76  allow air  8  from the perforations  14 ,  74  to better flow through and around the hair or fur of the pet  6 . The grooming bristles or pins  76  may extend farther from the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62  than the hollow pins  74  to act as stand-offs to separate the open ends of the hollow pins  74  from the skin of the pet  6 . 
       FIG.  13 C  shows the channels  72  schematically in plan view with the cover  68  removed. The channels  72  narrow from the end proximal to the mitt tube connection  60  to the end distal to the mitt tube connection  60  to provide more even air flow rates at each location along the length of the channels  72  than would otherwise be the case. Each of the channels  72  defines a cross sectional area normal to the direction of air flow in the channel  72 . The cross sectional area of each channel  72  decreases with increasing distance from the mitt tube connection  60 . 
       FIG.  13 D  is a schematic perspective view of the underside  12  of the drying portion  58  showing the perforated plate  62 , the hollow pins  74  depending from the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62  and the perforations  14  communicating through the hollow pins  74 .  FIG.  13 D  also shows the grooming bristles or pins  76  depending from the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62  and extending further from the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62  than the hollow pins  74 . As noted, the hollow pins  74  extending beyond the bottom surface  78  of the perforated plate  62  allow the air  8  to be expelled below the surface of the fur or hair of the pet  6 , increasing the hair or fur exposed to the air  8  and speeding the drying of the pet  6 . The grooming bristles  76  act as stand-offs and reduce any likelihood of contact between the hollow pins  74  and the skin of the pet  6 , preventing injury to the skin of the pet  6  due to the expelled air  8 . As the user passes the mitt  2  over the pet  6 , the grooming bristles  76  align and separate the strands of fur or hair of the pet  6 , allowing better penetration of air  8  through the fur or hair than would otherwise be the case. As noted above for  FIG.  13 B , one or more of the perforations  14  may be flush with the bottom side  78  of the perforated plate  62  rather than communicating through the hollow pins  74 . 
     The perforated plate  62 , channel insert  66  and cover  68  may be composed of any suitable materials, such as rubber for the perforated plate  62 , polyethylene foam for the channel insert  66  and polyvinylchloride for the cover  68 . Any other suitable materials for any component are contemplated by the invention. 
       FIGS.  14  through  17    illustrate connection of the mitt  2  to the tube  10 .  FIGS.  14  and  15    illustrate a pair of mitts  2 , a pair of tubes  10  and the tube connection  20  that splits the air flow from the blower  4  into the two tubes  10 .  FIG.  14    shows the mitts  2 , tubes  10  and tube connection  20  attached. The blower  4  can direct the flow of air  8  through both tubes  10  and both mitts  2  simultaneously so that the user may use both hands to dry the pet  6 .  FIG.  15    is a partial exploded view that shows the mitts  2 , tubes  10  and tube connection  20  separated.  FIGS.  16  and  17    are similar to  FIGS.  14  and  15    except that  FIGS.  16  and  17    address a single mitt  2  and single tube  10 . 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the indicated embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
     As used in this document, the singular form “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As used in this document, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to”. 
     The following are the numbered elements included in the drawings and specification.
       2  mitt     4  blower     6  pet     8  air     10  tube     12  underside of the mitt     14  perforations in the underside     16  top side of the blower     18  inlets     20  tube connections     22  temperature and air speed control     24  strap     26  bottom side of the blower     28  motor and heater housing     30  reinforcing ribs     32  feet     34  upper portion of the motor and heater housing     36  lower portion of the motor and heater housing     38  decorative trim panel     40  air flow path     42  impeller     44  motor     46  heating element     48  resilient dampeners     50  fasteners     52  hand-engaging portion of the mitt     54  cuff     56  thumb opening     58  drying portion of the mitt     59  interior volume     60  mitt tube connection     62  perforated plate     64  manifold     66  channel insert     68  cover     70  locator pins     72  channel     74  hollow pin     76  grooming bristles or pins     78  bottom surface of the perforated plate     80  ambient air     82  clips     84  power cord