Improvements in the Drying of Wet or Moist Garments and other Articles, and in Means or Apparatus employed therein.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1896--Accepted, 31st Oct., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Drying of Wet or Moist Garments and other
Articles, and in Means or Apparatus employed therein.
I, WILLIAM AUGUST EDWIN HENRICI of 762 Broadway, Chelsea, County of
Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has for its object the production of a drying apparatus especially
adapted for use in laundry work, whereby the drying of a quantity of wet or moist
garments is greatly facilitated both as to the labor involved and the time necessary
to thoroughly dry the same.
In drying apparatus of this class it has been heretofore customary to suspend
the articles in a closed compartment or room, and to beat the same to a high
temperature expelling the air from time to time to thus carry away from the
chamber some of the moisture from the articles to be dried, but such a procedure
is very slow, and not only that but it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
thoroughly dry clothing or textile fabric in this manner.
By this present invention the time required for thoroughly drying a given
amount of work has been reduced from three to four hours to much less than one
hour, and not only that but the articles are thoroughly dried when removed from
the dry room or chamber.
In accordance therewith one part of my invention comprises a process of drying
moisture laden articles, which consists in subjecting the articles to be dried to
confined, heated air; maintaining the air heated; locally chilling the air to condense
the moisture therein, and removing such condensate.
Also, in the process of drying articles which consists in suspending the articles
to be dried in confined, heated air; maintaining the air heated; locally chilling
the air by reducing the temperature of a condensing surface within the confined
space, to thereby condense the moisture in the air, and finally removing the
condensate as formed.
Also in the use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, means to maintain
the air therein heated; a condenser in said chamber; means to reduce its tempera-
ture sufficiently to cause condensation thereon of the moisture; an outlet for the
condensate, and a support for the article to be dried.
Also in the use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, a heater therein, to
beat the air in the chamber; an overhead carrier movable into and out of said
chamber, to suspend the articles to be dried above the heater, a metallic condenser
located within the chamber, means to maintain the temperature thereof sufficiently
low to condense thereon the moisture contained in the air, and an outlet for the
condensate.
Also, in the use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, a heater therein, to
heat the air in the chamber; an overhead carrier movable into and out of said
chamber, to suspend the articles to be dried above the heater; a hollow condenser
within the chamber, located above the heater; means to circulate a cooling medium
through said condenser, to thereby cause the moisture in the heated air to be
condensed upon the surface of the condenser, and an outlet for the condensate.
Also in the use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, a heater therein to

page_text: maintain the contained air at a high temperature; a hollow condenser within the
chamber, having a corrugated or pitted metallic face plate, and means to circulate
a cooling medium through said condenser.
Also in the use in a condenser for drying apparatus, of a back plate, a metallic
face plate secured thereto to leave a hollow space between them, said face plate
being corrugated or pitted to increase its effective area, and means to circulate a
cooling medium between the plates.
Also in the use in a drying apparatus, of a chamber having a heater and
a condenser therein; an overhead track in said chamber and extended through an
opening in its front wall, a carriage movable on the track, to support the articles
to be dried, and a closure for the opening.
Also in the use in a drying apparatus, of a chamber having a heater and a
condenser therein; an overhead track in and suspended from the top of said
chamber and extended through and beyond an opening in its front wall, a carriage
movable on the track and having depending brackets to support a carrier, and a
closure for the opening, to maintain the chamber closed when the carriage and
carrier are within it.
Fig. 1 is a partial front elevation and partial section of a dry room or chamber
embodying this invention, the said chamber being broken out between its ends to
save space and permit the figure to be on a large scale.
Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the apparatus taken on the line x-x,
Fig. 1, looking toward the right.
Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of one of the condensers; and
Fig. 4 is a partial view of one of the overhead tracks showing the travelling
carriage thereon to sustain the articles to be dried.
The room or chamber A of any suitable construction, but preferably having its
walls, ceiling and floor lined with a nonconductor of heat a, such as felt or asbestos,
and an outer sheathing a¹ of wood, is made of any suitable size according to the
capacity desired.
In Figs. 1 and 2, pipes b, c, are led in through one of the end walls a of the
chamber and are connected with two series of heaters or radiators B, C, by a series
of depending pipes 6*, cx, the heaters extending, as best shown in Fig. 2, from
near the front to the rear wall of the chamber, and comparatively near the
floor thereof so as to leave ample space above for the articles to be dried.
Suitable standards B and C support the heaters, the latter resting on bars or
pipes 3 extended in the direction of the length of the chamber.
The heaters may be of any desired form provided a large surface is obtained to
thoroughly heat the air in the chamber.
Heated air or steam is admitted through the pipes b, c, to the heaters, and after
circulating therethrough is withdrawn from the said heaters by the pipes b', c',
respectively.
By this means the air in the dry room or chamber can be heated up to any
desired temperature, a temperature of 260 degrees Fabrenheit being preferably
maintained within the chamber during the drying operation.
A series of hangers d securely bolted to the roof of the chamber have secured
thereto rails or tracks dx, upturned at their inner and outer ends at d', d²,
respectively, see Figs. 1, 2 and 4, to form stops, the tracks extending out through
the front wall of the chamber and within the chamber the inner ends of the
track extend only over about three quarters of the depth of said chamber.
Upon each of these tracks a suitable carriage is mounted, one convenient form
being shown in Fig. 4, comprising a frame e having bearings for the flanged
wheels el which run upon the tracks dx, and to said frames. are secured bifurcated
brackets depending below the track at one side thereof, and having rigidly
secured to them a rod or pole provided with a series of hooks or hangers f
The length of the carrier pole is such that it may be pushed entirely within the
chamber, and the articles to be dried are either hung directly upon the hooks for
to suitable yokes which are in turn strung.upon the hooks.

page_text: It is preferable to make the hooks of some non-rusting or non-corroding metal,
such as galvanized iron, brass, or zinc, in order that no injury may be done to the
clothes when being dried.
Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, a series of doors D are hinged at D* to the
front wall of the chamber to normally cover suitable openings made therein, each
opening, as shown at the left hand side of Fig. 1, having over it, about at its
centre, one of the tracks dx, the said tracks projecting sufficiently far in front of
the chamber to allow the convenient withdrawal of the carriage e and carrier when
the door is opened.
I prefer to make the doors of metal, comprising an inner wall 5 and an outer
wall 6, the latter having a series of depressions 7 therein, and the space between
the two walls is provided with asbestos, or some other good non-conductor of heat,
as at 8, Fig. 2, so that when the doors are shut, they forming the greater part of
the front wall of the drying chamber, such wall will be to a great extent
non-beat conducting, so that as much as possible of the heat may be retained within
the chamber.
Alongside of each track and above the large door an opening is made in the
front wall of the chamber, suitable in shape and size to permit the passage there-
through of a carriage and its connected carrier f, the bottom of said opening
intersecting or communicating directly with the door opening.
Each of these openings is normally closed by a trap door 25, pivotally mounted
or hinged to swing freely in or out, and when the carriage with the carrier is
pushed entirely into the chamber the door will close by gravity so that the escape
of the heated air from the openings will be prevented.
In drawing out the dried articles the door will swing outwardly to permit the
passage of the carriage.
While the drying process is slow and incomplete when the expulsion of the
moisture laden air is depended upon to remove the moisture from the clothing or
other articles to be dried, the moisture may be removed much more quickly and
effectually from the articles by condensing it from the air as it is given up from
the clothes by the heat, and I make use of this principle in my invention.
A series of condensers H, H1, H2, are herein shown as mounted within the
chamber near its end walls and back wall, and above the heaters.
As the condensers are all alike in structure, only one of them will be described
in detail.
Each condenser comprises a back plate h, see Fig. 3 preferably plane throughout
its length, and a front plate corrugated or indented throughout its surface, as
at 2, to increase the effective area thereof, the said plates being connected along
their edges, us at h*, to form a water or air tight chamber, and in addition rivets h³
extend through the back plate and the depressions to further strengthen and
stiffen the construction.
The condensers are suspended from the ceiling of the chamber by suitable
hooks k, which receive open links into which the condensers are extended; this
is clearly shown in Fig. 2, the relative shape and size of the condensers being
clearly shown in the drawings.
Owing to the length of the drying chamber preferably two condensers H are
mounted therein near its back wall, although more may be used for a chamber of
greater length, or only one may be used.
A main supply pipe m is connected by one or more branches n with the lower
part of the condenser, and from the upper part of said condenser outlet pipes m³
lead to a common outlet m³, which may open into a suitable waste or drain pipe M,
if desired.
Branch pipes m' lead to the central condenser H, see Figs. 1 and 2, which latter
is provided with outlets mo, the latter being broken off in Fig. 2 to avoid confusion, it
being understood, however, that said outlets will lead to the common outlet pipe m³
or to the waste pipe M.
As before described, the inlets for the condenser H are connected to its lower

page_text: portion and the outlets me at its upper portion, and similarly the condenser H¹ is
provided with an inlet m' and an outlet m'.
A cooling medium of any desired nature, such as cold air or water, or, if
desired, a freezing mixture, is introduced into the condensers, entering the lower
part thereof and rising between the back and corrugated or pitted front plate to
the outlets at the tops of the condensers and thence out through the main exhaust
or waste passages, in its passage the cooling medium greatly reducing the tem-
perature of the condenser surfaces as compared with the temperature of the air
within the drying chamber.
The condensers are thus cooled sufficiently to cause free condensation of the
moisture within the heated chamber, and such condensate collects on the condensers
and drops off therefrom into suitable troughs T, T, and T, secured to the walls
of the chamber in any suitable manner and emptying by suitable channels or
pipes at t, only one such being shown in Fig. 2, into the general waste pipe M.
In operation the doors D of the chamber are opened, the carriages e run out, and
the articles to be dried, such as shirts, collars, etc., are hung upon the carriers f
until each one is conveniently full, and then the carriages are pushed back within
the chamber and the doors closed tightly.
Heat is turned on and the moisture in the clothes is rapidly given up to the
heated air, and the condensers begin to operate to condense such moisture as soon
as the difference in the temperature of the said condensers and the air within the
said chamber is sufficient.
Such difference will, of course, depend on the heat in the chamber.
The condensate is removed by the troughs as fast as formed, and has little or no
opportunity to be revaporized by the heat.
As soon as the air is partially discharged of its moisture it takes up a fresh portion
from the articles drying, and this process is repeated over and over again until all of
the moisture is withdrawn from such articles."
With an apparatus, such as herein shown, I am enabled with from, say thirty-six
dozen shirts, to condense about three gallons of water per hour, provided the air
within the chamber is quiescent.
By agitating the air in any suitable manner, as by a blower, I can condense about
fifteen gallons per hour, the agitation of the air presenting it more rapidly to the
articles to take up the moisture therefrom.
Such agitation of the air, it should be understood, is not in any sense the
introduction of a current of external air, but it is merely the agitation of the air
within the chamber, for, in practice, the said air is entirely confined therein, or is
allowed to escape in very small quantities through the trough outlets.
The number of condensers to be used is immaterial, depending entirely on the
desired capacity of the chamber and the size of the latter, and the exact shape or
construction of the condensers herein shown need not be adhered to as any suitable
and rapidly condensing surface or surfaces may be used in lieu thereof.
The preferred relative location of the heaters and the condensers is shown
in the drawing, however, as the best effects are obtained by such arrangement,
wherein the heating apparatus is located below the articles to be dried and the
condensing surfaces are arranged above the heater and practically surrounding the
drying article.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The process of drying moisture laden articles, which consists in subjecting the
articles to be dried to confined, heated air; maintaining the air heated; locally
chilling the air to condense the moisture therein, and removing such condensate
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The process of drying articles which consists in suspending the articles to be
dried in confined, beated air; maintaining the air heated; locally chilling the air

page_text: by reducing the tenperature of a condensing surface within the confined space, to
thereby condense the moisture in the air, and finally removing the condensate as
formed, substantially as set forth.
3. The use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, means to maintain the
air therein heated; a condenser in said chamber; means to reduce its tempera-
ture sufficiently to cause condensation thereon of the moisture; an outlet for
the condensate, and a support for the article to be dried, substantially as set
forth.
4. The use in a drying machine, of a closed chamber, a heater therein, to heat
the air in the chamber; an overhead carrier moveable into and out of sil
chamber, to suspend the articles to be dried above the heater, a metallic condenser
located within the chamber, means to maintain the temperature thereof sufficiently
low to condense thereon the moisture contained in the air, and an outlet for the
condensate, substantially as set forth.
5. The use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, a heater therein, to heat
the air in the chamber; an overhead carrier movable into and out of said chamber,
to suspend the articles to be dried above the heater; a hollow condenser within
the chamber, located above the heater; means to circulate a cooling medium
through the said condenser, to thereby cause the moisture in the heated air to be
condensed upon the surface of the condenser, and an outlet for the condensate,
substantially as set forth and shewn by the drawings.
6. The use in a drying apparatus, of a closed chamber, a heater therein to
maintain the contained air at a high temperature; a hollow condenser within the
chamber, having a corrugated or pitted metallic face plate, and means to circulate
a cooling medium through said condenser, as set forth.
7. The use in a condenser for drying apparatus, of a back plate, a metallic face
plate secured thereto to leave a hollow space between them, said face plate being
corrugated or pitted to increase its effective area, and means to circulate a cooling
medium between the plates, as set forth.
8. The use in a drying apparatus, of a chamber having a heater and a condenser
therein; an overhead track in and suspended from the top of said chamber and
extended through and beyond an opening in its front wall, a carriage moveable on
the track and having depending brackets to support a carrier, and a closure for the
opening, to maintain the chamber closed when the carriage and carrier are within
it, substantially as set forth.
9. The construction or arrangement of apparatus for drying moisture laden articles
by the aid of confined, heated air; means by which the heat of said air is generally
maintained, but locally chilled to condense the moisture; and means for removing
the condensate, all substantially as set forth.
Dated the 10th day of September 1896.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.