REMOVABLE, CEILING-BASED DRYING APPARATUS

Description

This application is a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of Provisional App. No. 63/516,111, filed Jul. 27, 2023.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For as long as is known, people air-dried laundry either outdoors or indoors in designated areas. In 1937 Henry W. Altorfer invented and patented an electric clothes dryer for indoor use. Shortly thereafter J. Ross Moore, an inventor from North Dakota, developed designs for automatic clothes dryers and published his design for an electrically operated dryer in 1938. Indoor electric dryers grew in popularity in the 1950s. However, dryers didn't really begin coming into their own until around 1960. In a 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center about household appliances, 83 percent of American adults responded that a clothes dryer was a necessity. Four years later, only 45 percent of people reported a clothes dryer as being a necessity, demonstrating the significant decline in electrical/gas clothes dryer usage in the United States.

Many who suffer with pollen allergies, or don't have an outdoor space for hanging clothes to dry, or need to plan around rainy or cold weather, are choosing to dry their clothes indoor using various drying rack designs. Even today, when indoor drying is desired, many people resort to drying their laundry by draping it over doors, banisters, chairs, shower rods, hangers, etc. To address this problem many brick and mortar and online retailers offer racks and other accessories for air-drying laundry indoors. However, all these options require either floor and/or wall space, and most are also designed to be unfolded for use and folded to stow away, requiring a significant amount of space for both use and storage.

Numerous companies are attempting to capitalize on this growing and highly desirable business of indoor drying solutions and have developed various techniques and products for air-drying laundry indoors. While these companies have strived to develop new techniques and designs to benefit the end users, they failed to eliminate the need for floor and/or wall space to use or install these products. Rather, these systems require users to permanently mount bulky folding racks on walls or stretch thin clotheslines across the room(s), or prop up cumbersome free-standing racks.

For the first time, this removable ceiling-based drying apparatus invention solves all of the above mentioned drawbacks of past and current indoor air drying solutions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A key function of this invention is to allow for indoor, air-drying laundry without the use of floor and/or wall space. It is specifically designed to be mounted on the ceiling(s), which is generally the least utilized area inside any living space. Equally important, the invention is designed to be easily mounted flush under the ceiling and just as easily taken down on an as needed basis (each in less than a minute), utilizing the four (4) pre-installed screws (see FIG. 4). When not in use or no longer needed, it can be removed and stowed away with minimal storage space (about the size of half a pizza box).

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of the entire apparatus mounted under the ceiling;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the general appearance and structure of the two identical brackets, which include two keyhole slots cutout in each of the upper Horizontal Legs (“H”), and 1.5″ horizontal tab with a 45 degree smaller keyhole-type cutout;

FIG. 3 shows a front elevation view of the vinyl-coated 304 stainless steel line with one end of the line terminated on the eye side of the hook & eye 304 stainless steel turnbuckle, and the other end terminated with a looped end of the line, which are used to be temporarily secured into the keyhole-type cutout in the Horizontal Tab of each bracket, thus holding them firmly in place under the ceiling;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of four (4) screws and how they are screwed into the ceiling through drywall and into the wood joist. It also includes a detailed drawing of the required ⅛″ gap between the drywall and screw head, as shown in Detail A.;

FIG. 5 is a technical drawing showing the design details of the bracket(s), including Details A and B of the 1.5″ horizontal tab which show the angle of tab and the 45 degree keyhole-type cutout, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a ⅛″ thick plastic gap guide to be used only one time to aid in screwing in two (2) screws for each bracket. The greater distance between each bracket is measured by using the vinyl coated line (equivalent to the length of the line, excluding the turnbuckle). Each notch in the gap guide represents the exact screw in location of each screw.

FIG. 7 shows representative examples of the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates to a design and usage of an indoor, ceiling-mounted apparatus to air dry laundry and a plethora of other uses and applications. It includes two opposing right angled brackets each with its hypotenuse legs facing each other (see FIG. 1).

Each bracket has two keyhole slots in the upper Horizontal Leg H (see FIG. 2, Leg H) for fastening the brackets flush under the ceiling.

The round (circle) cutout of the keyhole is just large enough to allow the head of the screw to pass through it. The elongated cutout of the keyhole is narrower than the round cutout, yet wide enough to accommodate the threaded portion of the screw, hence allowing the bracket to slide along the length of the elongated cutout to its end. This keyhole design allows for the Horizontal Leg H of the bracket to be inserted over the screw head flush against the ceiling and then slid into the elongated cutout of the key hole to loosely secure the bracket on the ceiling to first install the apparatus for use. Once the line is attached to the horizontal tabs of the Vertical Leg V, the turnbuckle is then turned to increase the tension of the line to firmly secure the brackets.

The round (circle) cutout of the keyhole is large enough to allow the head of the screw to pass through it. The elongated cutout of the keyhole is narrower than the round cutout, yet accommodate the threaded part of the screw to slide along the long cutout to its end. This keyhole design allows for the bracket to be inserted over the screw head flush against the ceiling and then slid into the elongated cutout of the key hole to loosely secure the bracket on the ceiling.

Additionally, on the bottom of the Vertical Leg V of each bracket is a 1.5″ Horizontal Tab with a 45-degree keyhole-type cutout (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, Detail A). Two (2) pre-painted screws per bracket are screwed into the ceiling, leaving a gap of ⅛″ between the ceiling and the screw head (see FIG. 4, Detail A). This design allows for each bracket to be easily slid in the ⅛″ gap (see video, URL: https://www.rommare.com/how-to-videos/).

The Hypotenuse Leg of each bracket connects Leg H and Leg V as shown in FIG. 2 for strength when the line tension is increased, which crates stabilizing pressure between the ceiling and the screw heads for both brackets to remain stable and firm for use.

A 0.06″ (1.5 mm) vinyl-coated 304 stainless steel line, which includes an eye & hook turnbuckle on one end, and a looped line on the other end, is connected to and spanned between each bracket, with the use of each Horizontal Tab (see FIG. 1). The eye & hook turnbuckle is turned by the user, to either increase the tension of the line for ready use, or lessen the tension to allow the line to be removed, thus freeing both brackets for easy removal from the ceiling.

The principal object and advantage of the invention is its unique design, which allows its placement and use right under the ceiling;

Another object and advantage of the invention is its quick and easy, on-and-off design for easy placement and removal on an as-needed basis. It takes less than a minute each to place it and remove it.

Another object and advantage of the invention is its space-saving design that does not require floor and/or wall space to be used.

Another object and advantage of the invention is its innovative concept that allows users to air-dry or display item(s) in any room(s) inside the residence, where there is a ceiling.

Another object and advantage of the invention is that its design allows for multiple apparatus' to be used within a single room without interfering with the living space below it.

Another object and advantage of the invention is that when it is ready for use, the vinyl-coated line is positioned 16″ from the ceiling and 80″ from the floor (when used in a room with a 96″ ceiling height), spanned either 8′, 10′ or 12′ in length (although, the actual length of the line can vary).

Another object and advantage of the invention is that by using the ceiling to mount the apparatus, it allows individuals under 6′5″ in height an unobstructed living space (when used in a room with a 96″ ceiling height).

Another object and advantage of the invention is that because of its unique ceiling placement (80″ from floor to the vinyl-coated 304 stainless steel line when used in a room with a 96″ ceiling height), it eliminates potential sources of injury to people and pats, especially children, which may occur with the use of traditional clothes drying racks or newer designs equipped with a thin and almost invisible clothesline tightly stretched between two walls across the room, only a few feet above the floor.

Another object and advantage is the one-time placement of four (4) properly spaced and mounted and paint-ready screws into the ceiling to accommodate an easy placement or removal of the apparatus, on an as-needed basis.

Another object and advantage of the invention is that when removed, it leaves only four small ceiling-matched pre-painted screw heads in the ceiling, which are barely visible and do not draw visual attention to where the apparatus was originally placed, which is analogous to the well-known phrase; “now you see it, now you don't”.

Another object and advantage of the invention is its sturdy design without any moving mechanical parts (i.e., rolls, springs, pulleys, buttons, etc.), to assure its log and repeated use without compromising its original function, and/or causing undesirable malfunctions.

Another object and advantage of the apparatus is that it requires minimum space to stow it away, taking only 16″L×10″W×2″H of space (about the size of half of a large pizza box)

Another object and advantage of the invention is that, if desired, it can be left placed on the ceiling for an indefinite period, without affecting the living space beneath the apparatus.

Another object and advantage of the invention is that since the functionality of this invention is 80″ above the floor, which renders it unreachable by the average toddler, thus may be considered childproof, not to mention pat-proof.

Another object and advantage of the invention is that it provides a green approach to laundry:

• • Environmentally-friendly alternative to gas and electric dryers;
  • Minimize environmental impact or carbon emissions in air-drying laundry;
  • Energy savings by using air to dry clothing, sheets, etc., rather than electric or gas dryers;

Another object and advantage of the invention is that it provides the convenience of hanging laundry to air-dry in any room of the residence with a ceiling:

• • Simple, trouble-free and clean design;
  • Quick and easy to place it for use and to remove it with virtually no visible trace of the ceiling screws when not in use;
  • No need for cumbersome free-standing floor racks, or unsightly, permanently mounted drying racks or devices, including those requiring the use of wall space;

Another object and advantage of the invention is that extends the life of clothing:

• • Appropriate for air-drying fabrics such as silk, cashmere, and wool, that are not recommended for traditional clothes dryer;
  • Virtually any fabric benefits from natural air-drying compared to electric or gas generated high temperature drying;
  • Air-drying laundry indoors avoids fading due to sun exposure;

Another object and advantage of the invention is that it provides a convenient method of drying laundry in a home, apartment or condominium. There is no need to use a common/community dryer or laundromat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The design and the concept of the invention is fairly simple. Its main function and use is to allow air drying laundry 16″ from the ceiling, whereby leaving 80″ from the line to the floor of unobstructed open space, when used in a room with a 96″ ceiling height.

The apparatus is comprised of the following components:

• • a) Set of two (2) identical right-angled brackets with a hypotenuse leg. The brackets are constructed of steel or other materials such as wood, metal, plastic, etc.) (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 5).
  • b) One (1) vinyl-coated 304 stainless steel line terminated at each end (see FIG. 3) where one end of the line is affixed to an eyelet side of the hook & eye turnbuckle, and a looped line on the opposite end. Note: The vinyl-coated line is also designed to be used for proper distancing of each of four (4) screws.
  • c) Four (4) #8 wood screws 1.5″ in length with pre-painted, or paint-ready screw heads.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.