Rentable drying device

Abstract

A drying device may comprise: a housing frame; a shared exhaust manifold positioned within the housing frame; and a plurality of dryer units positionable within the housing frame, the plurality of drying units being configured to operatively couple individually to the shared exhaust manifold, wherein an airflow pathway is formed between an individual dryer unit and the shared exhaust manifold when the individual dryer unit is operatively coupled to the shared exhaust manifold. The drying device may further comprise an airflow separator forming an interior chamber, the airflow separator comprising a wall positioned in the internal chamber for dividing the internal chamber into an intake compartment and an exhaust compartment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A drying device comprising:
 a housing frame;   a shared exhaust manifold positioned within the housing frame; and   a plurality of dryer units positionable within the housing frame, the plurality of drying units being configured to operatively couple individually to the shared exhaust manifold,   wherein an airflow pathway is formed between an individual dryer unit and the shared exhaust manifold when the individual dryer unit is operatively coupled to the shared exhaust manifold.   
     
     
         2 . The drying device of  claim 1 , wherein the individual dryer unit is configured to be removable from or repositionable within the housing frame. 
     
     
         3 . The drying device of  claim 2 , wherein the individual dryer unit is configured to decouple from the shared exhaust manifold when the individual dryer unit is removed from the housing frame. 
     
     
         4 . The drying device of  claim 1 , wherein the drying device is configured to block the airflow pathway while the individual dryer unit is positioned within the housing frame. 
     
     
         5 . The drying device of  claim 1 , wherein the individual dryer unit comprises an airflow separator forming an interior chamber divided into an intake compartment and an exhaust compartment, wherein the exhaust compartment is configured to form the airflow pathway with the shared exhaust manifold when the individual dryer unit is operatively coupled to the shared exhaust manifold. 
     
     
         6 . The drying device of  claim 5 , wherein the drying device further comprises a flap configured to block the airflow pathway from the individual dryer unit to the shared exhaust manifold. 
     
     
         7 . The drying device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dryer units are vertically positionable within the housing frame adjacent the shared exhaust manifold. 
     
     
         8 . The drying device of  claim 1 , wherein the drying device further comprises a terminal positioned within the housing frame, the terminal being configured for controlling operation of the plurality of dryer units. 
     
     
         9 . The drying device of  claim 8 , wherein the terminal is configured to be in network communication with at least one of a user device and a central server, wherein the terminal is configured to control the operation of the plurality of dryer units through the network communication with the at least one of the user device and the central server. 
     
     
         10 . A modular drying device comprising:
 a housing frame; and   a dryer unit positionable within the housing frame,   wherein the dryer unit is configured to be removable from or repositionable within the housing frame.   
     
     
         11 . The modular drying device of  claim 10 , the modular drying device further comprising an exhaust manifold positioned within the housing frame, wherein the dryer unit is configured to operatively couple to the exhaust manifold when the dryer unit is positioned within the housing frame. 
     
     
         12 . The modular drying device of  claim 11 , the modular drying device further comprising a flap configured to block an airflow from the dryer unit to the exhaust manifold. 
     
     
         13 . The modular drying device of  claim 12 , wherein the flap is configured to automatically block the airflow from the dryer unit to the exhaust manifold when the dryer unit is removed from the housing frame. 
     
     
         14 . The modular drying device of  claim 10 , wherein the dryer unit is a first dryer unit having a first cylindrical container, wherein the modular drying device further comprises a second dryer unit having a second cylindrical container, and wherein a diameter of the first cylindrical container is different than a diameter of the second cylindrical container. 
     
     
         15 . A dryer unit comprising:
 a container;   a motor coupled to the container and configured for rotating the container about an axis;   an airflow separator forming an interior chamber, the airflow separator comprising a wall positioned in the internal chamber for dividing the internal chamber into an intake compartment and an exhaust compartment; and   a heating element configured to heat an airflow provided to the container from the airflow separator.   
     
     
         16 . The dryer unit of  claim 15 , wherein the wall of the airflow separator is aerodynamically curved to direct the airflow through the airflow separator. 
     
     
         17 . The dryer unit of  claim 15 , wherein the wall creates a seal between the intake compartment and the exhaust compartment within the internal chamber. 
     
     
         18 . The dryer unit of  claim 15 , wherein the container is rotatably mounted to and horizontally suspended from the airflow separator, wherein the airflow separator at least partially supports the container. 
     
     
         19 . The dryer unit of  claim 15 , wherein the airflow separator is configured to be operatively coupled to an exhaust manifold, wherein an exhaust airflow is provided to the exhaust manifold through the airflow separator when the airflow separator is operatively coupled to the exhaust manifold. 
     
     
         20 . The dryer unit of  claim 19 , wherein at least one of the airflow separator and the exhaust manifold further comprises a flap configured to block the exhaust airflow from the dryer unit to the exhaust manifold.