US2056481A - Clothesline - Google Patents

Description

W. PAU Ll CLOTHESLINE Oct. 6, 1936.

Filed Feb. 5, 1936 INVENT'OR Wim Pa wLL BY mm ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 6, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE CLOTHESLINE William Pauli. Sacramento, Calif. Application February 3, 1936, Serial No. 62,054

1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to clotheslines and is directed particularly to a clothesline from which laundry and the like may be suspended without the use of clothespins of any character.

In the use of an ordinary clothesline, it is the usual practice to secure the laundry to the line by clothespins and when the laundry is being placed on the clothesline or removed therefrom,

there is always the problem of keeping the hands free and yet providing means for a convenient supply or disposal of the clothespins.

It is therefore my principal object to provide a clothesline which, while requiring no clothespins, will positively and effectively grip articles structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved form of clothesline.

Fig. 2 is a top plan partially in section of the swinging yoke and spreader disc.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the spreader disc and yoke unit.

Fig. 4 isan elevation of a modiiied form of my invention.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing and particularly, at present, to Figs. 1 to 3, numeral l indicates an endless clothesline formed of two separate endless strands of wire twisted together on a long pitch in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1.

This endless clothesline is trained between pulleys 2 which are rotatably mounted in frames 3. One of these frames is provided with a securing bracket 4 while the other is adapted to be suspended by means of a ring 5 in the conventional manner.

A swinging yoke 6 is hinged to the bracket 4 adjacent the lower portion of the corresponding pulley 2 and extends away from the bracket.

A circular band l is 'secured on and between the outer ends of the arms of the yoke with its of laundry and hold them suspended therefrom.v

axis parallel to the arms. Turnable within the band is a spreader disc 8; antifriction bearing means 9 being disposed between the band and disc to promote ease of rotation of the latter. The axis of the disc is thus substantially paral- 5 lel to the lower reach of the clothesline. 'I'his spreader disc is formed with two relatively widely spaced openings IU on Opposite sides of and parallel to its axis; each endless strand of wire comprising the clothesline being threaded through one of said openings. This causes the two strands comprising the clotheslines to separate for some distance on leach side of the spreader disc as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Since the disc is free to rotate, its holes conform in position to the natural pitch of the line twists, so that the necessary springiness of the line, tending to cause it to retain its twisted form, is not disturbed.

In use, the bracket 4 is secured to a suitable support and the frame 3 is suspended by ring 5 from any other suitable support sonfe distance away from the support to which the bracket is secured. A spring (not shown) may be disposed between ring 5 and the adjacent support, if desired. in order to maintain proper tension on the clothesline.

To secure articles of laundry to the clothesline, without the use of clothespins, it is only necessary to place a portion of the articles between the separated strands immediately beyond the spreader disc and to then move that portion of the clothesline away from the disc. With such movement, the separated strands again assume a twisted position thereby firmly gripping the article. This procedure is repeated for each point of suspension desired. The spreader disc, of course, rotates as the clothesline moves along and thereby causes a continued spreading of the twisted strands at a point immediately beyond the spreader disc.

To remove the articles from the clothesline, the clothesline is moved towards the spreader disc and as each portion of an article gripped between the twisted strands approaches the disc, the lines will separate and release that portion of the article.

The device illustrated in Fig. 4 is a modified form of my invention and comprises a non-movable clothesline Ia adapted to be suspended between two spaced supports. This clothesline la is also formed of two single strands of wire twisted together as in the preferred form of the invention. A spreader disc and supporting band. unit la of the same character as heretofore described is slidable along the clothesline; each 55 strand being threaded through one of the spaced openings therein.

In use, the articles to be suspended from the line are attached in the manner described relative to the device illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 with the exception that the disc supporting band is not attached to any yoke or other support, and is grasped and moved along the line by hand, so that the spreader disc is moved in the same direction as well as rotating, instead of the line moving through the relatively stationary disc, as in the rst described type.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fullls the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by*i 5 clothesline is trained, a yoke pivoted at one end 10 adjacent one pulley and extending along the lower reach of the clothesline, and a rotatable disc mounted on the outer end of the yoke, said disc having spaced openings therethrough substantially parallel to the axis of the disc; each 15 opening having one strand of wire threaded therethrough.

WILLIAM PAULI.

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