Patent ID: 7849717

Claim:
A modular laundry system comprising: a first laundry appliance having a standardized width; a second laundry appliance having a standardized width and horizontally arranged in a side-by-side relationship relative to the first laundry appliance to define an interface between the first and second laundry appliances and a forward face confronting a user during operation of the first and second laundry appliances; and a non-tumble laundry dryer independently-operable of the first and second laundry appliances, comprising: an elongated cabinet defining an interior space and having a forward face confronting the user during operation of the laundry dryer and a width equal to the combined width of the first and second laundry appliances and a height substantially less than the standardized width of either of the first and second laundry appliances; a drawer for supporting a laundry article to be dried and slidably mounted to the cabinet for movement through the forward face relative to the interior space; a non-tumble drying chamber within the cabinet through which forced air can flow to dry the article supported by the drawer and received in the drying chamber; an air supply system located within the cabinet and providing heated air to the drawer to dry the article supported by the drawer and received in the drying chamber; and a control panel provided on the cabinet for selecting a drying cycle and controlling the operation of the non-tumble laundry dryer; wherein the non-tumble laundry dryer is vertically arranged with the first and second laundry appliances to span the interface between the first and second laundry appliances, with the forward face of the cabinet facing the same direction as the forward face of the appliances, and the first laundry appliance, the second laundry appliance, and the non-tumble laundry dryer are stand-alone units that are contiguously arranged to define a coherent modular system.