Microwave fabric dryer method and apparatus
US4250628A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 21, 1979 |
| Grant date | Feb 17, 1981 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 21, 1999 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF26B5/048
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A dryer in which fabrics are dryed quickly and at low temperature by subjecting them to microwave energy in an atmosphere of reduced pressure. The microwave energy elevates the temperature of the water within the fabric to its boiling point, which is quite low because of the reduced pressure, and the water vapor which is released from the fabric is condensed external to the microwave field at the same reduced pressure. In one embodiment the dryer is formed as a clothes dryer wherein the drying chamber is a spherical metallic vacuum vessel; the microwave energy is supplied by a solid state microwave array within the drying chamber; water vapor is condensed by a spray condenser external to the drying chamber; and reduced pressure is obtained by a water jet exhauster, which functions in part as a condenser. Drying time is accelerated by warming the lower surface of the drying chamber with hot water, and a jet of air fluffs the fabric after drying.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.