Hand Drying Apparatus with Dispensing and Squeezing Arrangement

Abstract

A hand drying apparatus includes an outer casing and a dispensing and squeezing arrangement. The dispensing and squeezing arrangement includes a support panel, a plurality of supporting members positioned to support a first section and a second section of one or more fabric sheet, a squeezing member movably supported in the outer casing to contact with the second section of the fabric sheet. The hand drying apparatus is operated between an idle mode and a drying mode, wherein in the idle mode, the first section and the second section of the fabric sheet are positioned to form a drying cavity for receiving a user's hand. In the drying mode, the squeezing member is driven to move along the second section of the fabric sheet so as to drive the second section of the fabric sheet to contact with the user's hand for absorbing moisture and impart rubbing and massage effect.

1 - 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 : A hand drying apparatus for at least one fabric sheet used for absorbing moisture from a user's hand, said hand drying apparatus comprising:
 an outer casing; and   a dispensing and squeezing arrangement, which comprises:   a support panel provided in said outer casing;   at least one driving rotor rotatably supported in said outer casing for driving said fabric sheet to move in a predetermined direction;   a plurality of supporting members provided in said outer casing and positioned to support a first section and a second section of a fabric sheet in a tensioned manner, wherein said first section rests on said support panel, while said second section extends over said first section; and   at least one squeezing member movably supported in the outer casing and positioned to contact with said second section of said corresponding fabric sheet,   said hand drying apparatus being operated between an idle mode and a drying mode, wherein in said idle mode, said first section and said second section are positioned and retained to space apart from each other by said supporting members to form a drying cavity as a space between said first section and said second section for accommodating at least one user's hand, wherein in said drying mode, said squeezing member is driven to move along said second section of said fabric sheet so as to drive said second section to contact with said user's hand in said drying cavity for absorbing moisture from said user's hand and facilitate a rubbing and massage effect thereto, at least two of said supporting members being provided in said outer casing to support said first section of an unused fabric sheet extending above and temporarily resting on said support panel;   wherein said outer casing has a storage compartment for storing cleaned, unused fabric sheet, and a collecting compartment for storing used fabric sheet, said fabric sheet being guided to controllably move from said storage compartment to said collecting compartment through said dispensing and squeezing arrangement;   said two supporting members being mounted near two ends of said support panel respectively for supporting said first section of said fabric sheet, wherein another said supporting member is provided to support said second section of said fabric sheet, said first section and said second section of said fabric sheet being supported to form a predetermined angle of inclination with each other, wherein said second section upwardly and inclinedly extends from said first section.   
     
     
         5 : The hand drying apparatus, as recited in  claim 4 , wherein said dispensing and squeezing arrangement further comprises at least one deformable pad supported on said support panel for providing a cushion effect to said user's hand when said user's hand rests on said support panel. 
     
     
         6 : The hand drying apparatus, as recited in  claim 5 , wherein said squeezing member comprises a main shaft and a soft layer overlapping on said main shaft, said squeezing member being arranged to travel along said second section of said fabric sheet for exerting a pressure on said user's hand through said second section of said fabric sheet. 
     
     
         7 : The hand drying apparatus, as recited in  claim 6 , wherein said dispensing and squeezing arrangement further comprises a driving mechanism mounted in said outer casing and connected to said squeezing member for driving said squeezing member to move along said second section of said fabric sheet, said driving mechanism comprising an actuation motor, a threaded rod connected to said actuation motor, a driven gear connected to said threaded rod, and a plurality of connecting arms connecting said driven gear to said squeezing member, said threaded rod being engaged with said driven gear so that when said threaded rod is driven to rotate, said driven gear is driven to move linearly along a longitudinal direction of said threaded rod so as to drive said squeezing member to move along said second section of said fabric sheet. 
     
     
         8 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 : A hand drying apparatus for at least one fabric sheet used for absorbing moisture from a user's hand, said hand drying apparatus comprising:
 an outer casing; and   a dispensing and squeezing arrangement, which comprises:   a support panel provided in said outer casing, said support panel having a first utility side and a second utility side;   at least one driving rotor rotatably supported in said outer casing for driving said fabric sheet to move in a predetermined direction;   a plurality of supporting members provided in said outer casing and positioned to support a first through fourth section of a fabric sheet in a tensioned manner, wherein said first section rests on said first utility side of said support panel, while said third section rests on said second utility side of said support panel, said second section and said fourth section of said fabric sheet extend over said first section and said third section of said fabric sheet respectively; and   at least two squeezing members movably supported in the outer casing and positioned to contact with said second section and fourth section of said corresponding fabric sheet respectively,   said hand drying apparatus being operated between an idle mode and a drying mode, wherein in said idle mode, said first section and said third section are positioned and retained to space apart from said second section and said fourth section respectively by said supporting members to form a first drying cavity and a second drying cavity respectively, said first drying cavity being formed as a space between said first section and said second section, while said second drying cavity being formed as a space between said third section and said fourth section, wherein said drying mode, said squeezing members are driven to move along said second section and said fourth section of said corresponding fabric sheet so as to drive said second section and said fourth section to contact with said user's hand in said first and said second drying cavities for absorbing moisture from said user's hands and facilitate a rubbing and massage effect thereon, at least two of said supporting members being provided in said outer casing to support said first section of an unused fabric sheet extending on said first utility side of said support panel, and at least two of said supporting members being provided in said outer casing to support said third section of an unused fabric sheet extending on said second utility side of said support panel;   said outer casing having a storage compartment formed on a first side portion of said outer casing for storing cleaned, unused fabric sheet, a collecting compartment form an a second side portion of said outer casing for storing used fabric sheet, said dispensing and squeezing arrangement being positioned between said storage compartment and said collecting compartment to form a side-by-side configuration, wherein said fabric sheet is guided to controllably move from said storage compartment to said collecting compartment through said dispensing and squeezing arrangement;   said second section of said fabric sheet being supported by at least one of said supporting members to form a predetermined angle of inclination with said first second of said fabric sheet, said fourth section of said fabric sheet being supported by at least one of said supporting members to form a predetermined angle of inclination with said third second of said fabric sheet.   
     
     
         12 : The hand drying apparatus, as recited in  claim 11 , wherein said dispensing and squeezing arrangement further comprises at least one deformable pad supported on said support panel for providing a cushion effect to at least one of said first utility side and said second utility side. 
     
     
         13 : The hand drying apparatus, as recited in  claim 12 , wherein each of said squeezing members comprises a main shaft and a soft layer overlapping on said main shaft, said squeezing member being arranged to travel along one of said second section of said fabric sheet and said fourth section of said fabric sheet for exerting a pressure on said user's hand. 
     
     
         14 : The hand drying apparatus, as recited in  claim 13 , wherein said dispensing and squeezing arrangement further comprises at least one driving mechanism mounted in said outer casing and connected to at least one of said squeezing members for driving said corresponding squeezing member to move along said corresponding section of said fabric sheet, said driving mechanism comprising an actuation motor, a threaded rod connected to said actuation motor, a driven gear connected to said threaded rod, and a plurality of connecting arms connecting said driven gear to said squeezing member, said threaded rod being engaged with said driven gear so that when said threaded rod is driven to rotate, said driven gear is driven to move linearly along a longitudinal direction of said threaded rod so as to drive said squeezing member to move along said corresponding section of said fabric sheet.