TRANSPORTABLE FORCED AIR DRYER

摘要

A transportable or hand carriable forced air dryer for boots, gloves and facepieces such as gas masks and other headpieces with attached drinking tubes. A pair of manifolds having spaced parallel tubes extend in opposite directions from a blower housing/plenum structure. Each manifold has plural spaced upstanding air discharge tubes. Each air discharge tube has attached thereto a form expander in looped form extending in spaced parallel arrangement and terminating beyond the air discharge to prevent air blockage by the article to be dried. One manifold is permanently connected and the other is quick connected and quick disconnected, without tools for field reassembly. For transport, the released manifold is inverted and nested on the permanently connected manifold for compact installation in a tote bag. The air discharge tubes are provided with a nipple sized and threaded to receive thereon a standard military canteen cap having a reduced size nipple thereon for connection to a drinking tube of a gas mask disposed for drying on an adjacent air discharge tube.

主权项

1. A transportable forced air dryer for articles of apparel comprising:
(a) a blower housing including a blower therein; (b) structure defining a plenum chamber attached to the blower housing and operative to receive in the plenum chamber forced air from the blower and including a first and second set oppositely directed air discharge ports; (c) a first and second manifold, each including a pair of spaced generally parallel tubes each having an open end and a closed end, wherein the open end of each pair of tubes is attached to a mounting member, wherein the mounting member for the pair of tubes of the first manifold is non-removably attached to the blower plenum with the respective open ends of the pair of tubes communicating with the first set of air discharge ports; and, the mounting member of the second manifold is releasably quick-connected to the blower plenum with the respective open ends of the pair of tubes communicating with the second set of air discharge ports; (d) a plurality of air discharge tubes disposed on each of the generally parallel tubes and having an end thereof receiving forced air therefrom; (e) a form expanding member for an article to be dried disposed adjacent each air discharge tube in spaced generally parallel relationship thereto for preventing an article received over the respective air discharge tube from blocking air discharge therefrom; and, (f) a first end support member non-releasably attached to the ends of the pair of tubes of the first manifold distal the mounting member; and, a second end support member releasably quick-connected to the ends of the pair of tubes of the second manifold distal the mounting member, wherein upon quick-disconnect of the second mounting member of the second manifold from the blower plenum, wherein the second manifold is operative to be inverted and nested on the first manifold with the respective discharge tubes and form expanding members of the first and second manifolds closely interdigitated for compactness of packaging in a container.