US2736437A - Clothes rack - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 28, 1956 I D, co T 2,736,437

CLOTHES RACK Filed July 31, 1953 dan INVENTOR. Hmeow D. BOYCOTT' BY HIS ATTORNEYS. Hake/s, K1501; Fosrek & Hank/s nited States Patent CLOTHES RACK Harold D. Boycott, Huntington Park, Calif.

Application July 31, 1953, Serial No. 371,554

1 Claim. (Cl. 211-426) The present invention relates to a new and improved clothes rack. More specifically, it relates to a new and improved clothes rack which can be conveniently used in drying various washed garments.

The subject of clothes racks is, of course, very old. Traditionally, a number of devices such as, for example, clothes lines or a series of fixed rods mounted from a central supporting structure, have been used in drying clothes. At times, various members such as, for example, wooden clothes hangers have been used in conjunction with such prior structures. All of these prior devices have been reasonably eifective in use. Unfortunately, however, they are limited in their application to the environment in which they were designed to be used. Thus, for example, a common clothes line cannot be easily and conveniently used within a hallway or within a bathroom because no supporting structures are found in such locations to support the various terminal portions of the clothesline. Similarly, the prior devices utilizing rods to support garments being dried cannot be readily used within a household for the simple reason that there is not room for such devices. Hooks and other similar constructions used within houses are not generally acceptable for use in drying various garments because such constructions are usually adjacent to a wall within a closet. It is undesirable to place such devices within plain sight in a bathroom, or the like, so that they can be used in drying garments because of their unseeming architectural appearance, as well as their tendency to get in the way of those who must, by necessity, use the area in which they are placed.

The advent of modern synthetic garments has made the production of new and improved clothes racks, which can be used easily and conveniently in drying various washed garments, a virtual necessity. Certain of these synthetics such as, for example, Orlon, when washed must be hung completely wet without any wringing being accomplished following the washing step if they are to dry without undesirable creases being present. The fact that the garments of such materials must be hung up to dry completely wet has necessitated the production of a new and improved type of clothes rack which can easily and conveniently be placed over a bathtub, or other similar drain structures, when necessary. A device of the type described, however, must not be limited in its application to being used with a bathtub if it is to have general utility.

Prior devices have been suggested to be used as clothes racks over bathtubs and over other similar drain structures. One such device is shown in the patent to Berdon, No. 1,857,617. This construction consists essentially of a plurality of separate leg elements adapted to be fastened together so as to set on the edges of a bathtub supporting a rather elaborate series of rods. Because of the nature of the leg elements in this prior patent, they are apt to slide, dumping the entire clothes rack, if an unseeming blow is struck at the rack proper. Also, the prior art device shown in the Berdon patent isrelatively expensive to manufacture and occupies so large a space as to be unavailable for use by the average traveler. It will be realized by those reading this specification that a prime market for synthetic garments at the present time is to such travelers. Applicants clothes rack otters an extreme advantage in that garments can be washed out in the average hotel room in the evening, dried on the clothes rack, and worn again the following morning. Thus, the

traveler in this modern day and age carrying with him synthetic garments made of such materials such as Dacron, Nylon, Orlon, Vicara or the like, can dispense with the large wardrobe which travelers in years gone by had to carrry with them. To match 'such wardrobes, modern clothes racks which are conveniently opened from a very small size are a necessity. e Further, such modern clothes racks must be very reliable in use and must be capable of being positioned in a number of diverse locations.

It is an object of the present invention to produce a new and improved type of clothes rack of the broad category described in the preceding paragraphs. A further object of the invention is to produce a new and improved type of clothes rack which is relatively small in size but which is collapsible in nature to an even smaller dimension so that it can be easily and conveniently carried by the traveler. A clothes rack of the type herein described to conform to these objects must be of such light weight that it does not appreciably add to the luggage weight of a traveler such as for example, one traveling by aircraft.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a device of the class described which can easily and conveniently be located for use above a bathtub, in a hall, or in other similar locations. A still further object of the invention is to produce a device of the class described which is extremely effective in use, which is very simple to manufacture, and which can easily be changed from a closed position to an open position or, conversely, from an open position to a closed position by one relatively unskilled in the art of manipulating mechanical contrivances. Still further objects of the invention, as well as the advantages of it, will be more fully apparent from the balance of this application, including the appended claims.

The new and improved clothes rack produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention is quite clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a side view of the new rack of the invention in an open or operative position;

Fig. 2 shows a similar side view of the rack of the invention in a closed position ready for use by the traveler;

Fig. 3 illustrates the rack of the invention taken at line 33 of Fig. l of the drawing;

Fig. 4 shows an end view of a rack of the invention taken at line 4-4 of Fig. l of the drawing;

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the new rack of the invention taken at line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 illustrates a complete end view of the new rack of .the invention taken from the right-hand side of Fig. l of the drawing, as shown; and

Fig. 7 illustrates the manner of application of the new device of this invention.

In all of the figures of the drawings, like numerals are used to designated like parts for convenience.

Briefly, the above-related objects or aims of the invention are achieved by forming a new and improved clothes rack consisting essentially of a central rack por tion containing means adapted to hold various clothessupporting elements to which there are attached hook arm-like supports and a single closed loop-support element. All three of these supports, that is, both the hook-like supports and the closed support, are appended from opposed dimensions of the central body portion.

Perhaps this construction will be more apparent from the accompanying drawing. In Fig. l the new device herein described is shown as consisting essentially of a central rack portion 11 containing side walls 12 and 13 and a lower bottom wall 14, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The upper portions of the side walls 12 and 13 are provided with a series of notches 16 primarily adapted to. hold common wire clothes hangers or the like. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not restricted to notches such as are specifically shown. Thus, for example, other equivalent means, including holes bored within the side walls 12 and 13, may be substituted for these notches. It is preferred, however, not to utilize such alternative constructions inasmuch as their manner of use is comparatively complicated when considered in conjunction with the manner of use of the notches 16. These latter notches may be brought into operation by merely placing a common coat hanger upon them. It is to be understood, however, that these notches 16 need not be employed, and that clothes such as, for

example, stockings or the like, may be draped over the walls 12 and 13 of the central rack portion 11. In order that there will be no damage done to such garments, the top edges of these walls 12 and 13, as well as the edges of the notches 16, must be completely rounded so that no burrs or other metal parts of a similar nature project.

The end 18 of the central rack portion 11 is provided with a plurality of square notches 19, as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing. Adjacent to this end holes 22 and 23 are positioned within the walls 12 and 1-3 in direct line with one another at right angles to either of the walls. The holes 22 and 23 are traversed by a short metal section 24, the opposed extremities of which terminate. in straight sections 27 which are parallel to one, another and which are at right angles to the section 24. Each of these parallel extensions extends approximately a fraction of an inch longer than the distance from the holes 22 and 23 to the adjacent end 18 of the central rack portion 11. Both of them connect to longer segment rods 28 terminating in hooks 29, the extremities of which holding resilient tips 30. The entire as sembly composed of the sections 24 and 27, the rods 28, the hooks 29, and the tips 30 is known as the hook arms 25. Preferably, but not necessarily, these tips 3% are made of a relatively resilient material which will not mar any surface with which they may come in contact. A preferred material is relatively pure rubber. Other materials which are, however, usable include such substances as Nylon, Neoprene and polyethylene and various vinyl polymers, such as, for example, polymers of polyvinyl chloride, polymers of polyvinyl acetate, polymers of polyvinyl butyrate, or the like.

Suspended on the arms 28 and hooks 29 is a small fastener element 32, best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawmgs as consisting of a central body shank 33- connected to curved ends 34 grasping the sections 27 or adapted to grasp the segment rods 28 depending upon the position of the shank 33. As shown in Fig. 1, the fastener shank 33 is of such a diameter as to fit snugly within the square notches 19 locking the entire hook arm elements 25 in any fixed extended location. This fastener 32 is also capable of sliding throughout the length of the segment rods 28 over the bends of the hook elements 29 as far as the tips 30, these tips keeping the fastener from sliding off the hook arms 25. When the device is being folded, the fastener 32 can be easily removed from the location shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing and can he slipped into the position on the hook elements 29 indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. When this is done, the entire hook arm assembly may be rotated about the holes 22 and 23 so that these hook arms rest against the ad acent side walls 12 and 13 of the central rack portion 11. Thus, in this closed position, the hook arm assembly, as shown, does not project from the rack portion 11.

A closed shank portion 40 is atta t th Central rack portion 11 by means of a curved bottom bend 42 extending around a pivot 36 positioned centrally between the top and bottom portions of the rack 11 and between the walls 12 and 13 adjacent to the end of this rack. It is to be understood that this pivot 36 is attached to the walls 12 and 13 by any convenient means, such as, for example, welding. Between the pivot 36 and the end 20 there is positioned a rectangular ratchet element 37 fastened between the side walls 12 and 13 by means of lugs 38, as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawing. It may conveniently consist of a U-shaped piece of metal, the ends of which are welded to the side walls 12 and 13. Other equivalent means can, however, be used.

The closed shank portion 40 consists of a straight section 41 appended to the curved bottom portion at, indicated above, extending to a top curved portion 43 which nearly extends so as to form a 180 bend back toward the shank portion 41). Attached to the bend 43 is a second straight portion 44 which, as is shown in Fig. 1, extends back toward the body of the device nearly parallel to the straight portion 41. It, in turn, terminates in a curved bottom section 45 containing a plurality of ratchet notches 47 adapted to coact with the rectangular ratchet element 37 so as to hold the closed shank 49 in any desired position in fixed relationship to the central rack portion 11 by virtue of the wedging action exerted upon this closed shank portion as will be more fully explained. The section of the top bend 43 removed from the central rack portion 11 is preferably covered with a strip of tubing of a resilient non-marring material 49. This material may be any of the materials being indicated as capable of use in the formation of the tips 31).

Perhaps the function of the ratchet notches 47 will be most fully apparent from Fig. 5 of the drawing. Here it is seen that these ratchet notches 47 are of approximately the same shape as the ratchet element 37 so that the curved section 45 of the closed shank 4i may be positioned with the two elements coacting together. Pressure exerted in a clockwise direction, as indicated when the device is positioned as in Fig. 1, upon the shank 40 tends to hold these elements in a fixed relationship preventing them from slipping apart. They may be readily easily disengaged by pressing down on the curved portion 45 so as to tend to rotate the entire closed shank 40 in the reverse direction. When so disengaged, the closed shank 40 may be rotated about the pivot 36 so as to lie within the side walls 12 and 13 of the central rack portion 11, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When both the elements and are in the positions indicated in Fig. 2, the entire device is adapted to be packed. This position is known as the closed position of the device, whereas the position of the elements indicated in Fig. 1' is known as the open position of the construction shown.

Perhaps the use of the device will be most fully apparent in conjunction with Fig. 7 of the drawing. Here there is shown that the central rack portion 11 may be hung between a shower curtain rod 51 and an adjacent wall 52 over a bathtub 53 by virtue of the books 29 engaging the curtain rod 51 and the closed shank 40 leaning against the wall 52-. In the preferred construction of the invention, the closed shank portion 40 is preferably of slightly longer dimension than the hook elements 25 in order that in use the central rack portion 11 will be parallel to the ground or the floor of the room in which the device is used.

A wedging action induced initially by the weight of the entire structure normally holds the clothes rack of the invention in place, as shown in Fig. 7. When clothes are placed upon the rack by means of the notches 16, the added weight of these clothes serves to more completely wedge the rack in position between the two supporting elements, that is, the curtain rod 51 and the wall 52, as

shown. Thus, by virtue of this construction, it is virtually impossible for the rack of the invention to become disengaged from supporting structures in use. This possibility of disengagement has been a major disadvantage of the prior art competitive constructions designed for a similar or related purpose.

As indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawing, the tips 30 on the hook arms 25 are spread relatively far apart with the central closed shank 40 being positioned midway between them. The view in Fig. 6, as is quite readily apparent, is taken from the end 18 of the construction shown. This type of positioning of the elements enables the new clothes rack of the invention to utilize threepoint suspension, preventing lateral displacement of the device or swinging in use.

It is to be realized by those skilled in the art that the herein-described and disclosed invention is not restricted to use above bathtubs. It can be used above all manner of similar wash basins in which supporting elements are located. It may be easily and conveniently used in hallways, in narrow closets, in doorways, or the like. The various elements herein described can be manufactured from a variety of materials. Preferably, nonrusting metal such as, for example, aluminum, is used for the various parts specified. Metals, such as iron coated in various manners, can also be used. The body shank portion of the invention can conveniently in many instances be composed of a resinous material, such as, for example, a polyester resin or a phenolic resin. It is preferred, however, that in all cases the hook elements 25, as well as the closed shank element 40, be created from a relatively resilient strong metal, such as iron or aluminum.

The herein disclosed and described invention is capable of wide modification, such as is indicated above. Such modifications are to be considered as a part of the present inventive concept in so far as they are defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A new and improved folding clothes rack which comprises: a central rack portion comprising parallel side walls; a bottom wall connecting said parallel side walls; opposed aperture means within said side walls adjacent to a first end of said rack; notch means in said rack at said first end; rod-like hook arm means positioned through said apertures and extending substantially parallel to said side walls, said hook arm means terminating in hook elements; means carried by said hook arm means for coacting with said notch means in said end of said rack portion to prevent movement of said hook arm means with respect to said central rack portion; shank means pivotally mounted on a second end of said central rack portion removed from said first end, said shank means comprising an upstanding rod portion, a curved section attached to said portion removed from said central rack portion, and a shank portion extending from said curved portion back toward said central rack portion, said shank portion carrying at its lower extremity a plurality of first ratchet means adapted to be positioned adjacent to said side wall portions; and second ratchet means positioned upon said central rack portion adjacent said second end, said second ratchet means being capable of coacting with said first ratchet means on said shank portion to prevent movement of said shank means with respect to said central rack portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,164,538 Madden Dec. 14, 1915 1,185,525 Morris May 30, 1916 1,191,782 Harrison July 18, 1916 1,312,947 Billington Aug. 12, 1919 2,550,150 Hartley Apr. 24, 1951 2,639,816 Fogg May 26, 1953

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