Spring-Loaded Footwear Drying Device to Prevent Tumbling and Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clothes dryers are inefficient and damaging for drying footwear, causing noise, incomplete drying, and potential damage due to tumbling, and require additional cycles or air drying.
Innovation Solution
A drying device with a tubular base and adjustable arms equipped with springs and attachments that fit inside footwear, allowing secure retention within the dryer drum to prevent tumbling and enhance air flow for even drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If footwear is placed in a conventional dryer drum, then the footwear can be dried using heat and airflow, but the footwear tumbles against the drum walls causing noise, potential damage, and incomplete drying
Solution Approach 1:
The device introduces an intermediary structure (the holder with arms and attachments) that mediates between the footwear and the dryer drum. The attachments secure the footwear to the arms, which are held against the drum wall by springs, preventing direct contact and tumbling between the footwear and drum walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the footwear from the harmful tumbling environment by removing it from direct contact with the dryer drum walls. The footwear is held in a controlled position on the device, separating it from the damaging mechanical interaction with the drum.
2Temperature
If the dryer drum rotates to circulate hot air, then drying can occur, but the footwear may shift or fall causing the door to open and wasting energy
Solution Approach 1:
The springs provide a counteracting force to hold the arms against the dryer drum wall, counterbalancing the centrifugal and gravitational forces that would otherwise cause the footwear to shift or fall during rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses dynamic spring-loaded arms that can adjust their position and pressure against the drum wall during rotation, maintaining secure retention of the footwear while accommodating the dynamic forces of the rotating drum.
3Loss of time
If footwear is dried in a conventional dryer, then some drying occurs, but the interior portion remains damp requiring additional air drying time
Solution Approach 1:
The attachments are designed with holes and open structures that allow hot air to penetrate directly into the interior portions of the footwear. This local modification of the footwear structure enables targeted airflow to previously inaccessible interior areas, achieving complete drying.
Solution Approach 2:
The device positions the footwear in a radial orientation against the drum wall, creating a new spatial dimension for airflow. Hot air can circulate around and through the footwear from multiple directions, including the interior, rather than only from the exterior as in conventional drying.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device ensures quiet operation, complete drying without damage, and energy efficiency by maintaining footwear in place during rotation, facilitating even air circulation for thorough drying.
Implementation Method 1
a first spring positioned within the base interior channel, with a first spring end adjacent to the first separator end and a second spring end adjacent to the first end of the base
Implementation Method 2
the arms are retained on the walls of the drum during spinning
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to a drying device comprising a base with arms adjustably attached to each end. The arms each include an internal spring that allows the arms to adapt to a wide variety of dryers of different shapes, sizes, and models. The distal end of each arm also includes an attachment that is sized and shaped to fit into the interior of an item of footwear. Each attachment includes a plurality of apertures that promote air flow into the interior of the footwear when in use. In this way, the footwear remains compressed on the walls of the drying device. After the drying cycle has been completed, the footwear is dried on the exterior and interior surface.