ARTWORK DRYING CABINET AND METHOD

摘要

An artwork drying cabinet includes a housing that defines an interior drying compartment. A plurality of removable shelves are provided in parallel spaced relation within the compartment. A hinged door provides access to the compartment for purposes of loading and removing shelves with artwork. The door includes a vent to exhaust moisture laden air from the compartment. A blower and heating element are provided to supply a heated current of air to the compartment. A shroud couples the blower and heating element to the cabinet and directs the flow of heated air into the cabinet. The blower sends the current of air over the heating element through a diffuser comprising a v-shaped baffle with a central elongated opening along the vertex. Controls are provided to regulate air speed and temperature. An optional timer controls the duration of a drying cycle. The diffuser evenly distributes parallel laminar streams of heated air above and below each shelf. The shelves feature relatively large openings that allow streams of heated air to simultaneously contact the top and the bottom of the artwork supported on the shelf. The dual sided contact maintains an even pressure distribution and facilitates drying.