GB1559908A - Clothes peg - Google Patents

Description

(54) CLOTHES PEG (71) I, RAYMOND LESLEY WOODLEY, a British Subject of, 20 Nook Road, Scholes, Leeds, Yorkshire, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a clothes peg for pegging clothes or other articles on a line to dry and in particular concerns a modification of the invention set forth in granted Patent No. 1,314,400 (the main Patent).

An object of the main Patent is to provide an improved form of peg and in particular one which will be wAl adapted for retaining its grip on a line and for holding on a line articles having a range of thickness or bulk for which existing forms of pegs are not suited, that is a peg which will act effectively with quite thin articles or considerably thicker ones.

A peg according to the main Patent comprises a body or handle portion from which project a pair of limbs adapted when passed over a line to grip the line between them by reason of their resilient connection to the body or handle portion, the inner faces of said limbs having at least one pair of laterally extending ribs projecting towards one another to form a neck which has to be forced past the line, leaving at least two spaces between the limbs in either or any of which spaces the line may be located to suit different thicknesses of colthes or other articles, the inner face of each limb lying generally in a respective plane and these two planes converging towards the outer ends of the limbs in the unstrained state of the limbs.

These pegs are adapted to be used with clothes lines the diameters of- which although perhaps standard, vary over a relatively small range and it can happen that, depending upon the spacing of the limbs, and if the smaller diameter ropes are used, certainly when the rope is in the space between the limbs which is nearer or nearest to the handle, the peg can spin around the rope in use, which is of course disadvantageous. The present modification seeks ta investigate this problem, and in accordance with the modification, the inner faces of said limbs defining at least the space which is nearer or nearest to said handle are provided witch longitudinally extending ribs having generally flat opposing faces.

Such longitudinally extending ribs serve to engage firmly on clothes lines which are of smaller diameter or carry only slimsy thin clothes, and by making the surfaces thereof generally flat-the clothes engaged thereby will not be so readily damaged as they can be when the projecting ribs are shaped so that there is line contact between the longitudinally extending ribs and the clothes. I have experimented with longitudinally extending ribs for the - purpose as indicated above and which are shaped so that there is line contact with the clothes, and such ribs of such construction tend to damage the clothes. Furthermore if the pegs are moulded in moulds of identical halves, and the said longitudinally extending projections lie centrally of the limbs of the peg, the mould joint line lies centrally of said ribs.

If the longitudinally extending ribs are shaped so as to have line contact with the clothes line, any residual sprue or flashing of the moulding medium along the mould joint line and hence along the centre of the said ribs, will act as a knife in use and will tend to cut through clothes held by the pegs. By making the said longitudinally extending ribs flat, this disadvantage is obviated or mitigated.

Throughout this specification including the Claims the term "longitudinally extending" as applied to ribs means in the longitudinal direction of the limbs, the term "laterally extending" as applied to ribs means transverse to the longitudinal direction of the limbs, and the term "rib" includes either a continuous ridge or a line of small project tions.

As in the main Patent, it is important that the inner faces of the limbs are slightly convergent from their handle (inner) ends to their open ends, this angle of convergence being only of the order of one or two degrees but sufficient to produce a bow effect at the shoulder portion.

Preferably, the said longitudinally extending ribs are formed on the inner faces of said limbs defining each of said spaces.

The limbs may either be formed with or secured rigidly to the body or handle portion. Preferably the peg will be formed in one piece from a rigid synthetic plastics material although it may be made from wood, metal or other suitable material.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood and carried into effect one embodiment thereof is illustrated merely by way of example in the accompanying drawing which shows a peg intended to be produced by moulding in one piece from synthetic plastics material. In this drawing: Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a front and a side elevation of the peg shown in its unstrained state, that is when not in use; Figure 3 is a section taken on A-A in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a section taken on line B-B in Figure 1.

As shown in this drawing, the peg has a body portion 1 with a head 2 and shoulder portion 3 from which latter project a pair of limbs 4, these having their outer ends 5 curved divergently to facilitate application of the peg over a line. A strengthening ribbing 6 extends longitudinally and centrally along the peg from the head 2 to the beginning of the divergent ends 5 to provide strength but still allow the limbs to flex from their points of junction with the shoulder portion 3. The particular form of the body or handle portion and strengthening ribbing will, however, be governed by design considerations and moulding requirements.

Each limb 4 has its inner face 7 lying generally in a plane and these two planes converge slightly towards their open ends at an angle of (say) two degrees to produce a bow effect of the shoulder portion 3. Three pairs of inwardly projecting and laterally extending ribs SA, 8B. BC extend the full width straight across the faces 7 as indicated in Figure 3, these ribs having rounded contours and forming three necks or restricted passages. The ribs 8A are located at the outer ends-of the faces 7 where the latter begin to diverge, whilst the ribs 8B and 8C are located at different intervals as illustrated to define three line-locating spaces, the first being between ribs 8A and 8B, the second between ribs 8B and 8C and the third between ribs SC and the inner face 9 of shoulder portion 3. With the ribs projecting a uniform distance from the faces 7, the necks formed between the ribs of each pair will have different widths, for example, 0.063", 0.082" and 0.100" for ribs 8A, 8B and 8C respectively. The opposed faces 7 which define the space nearest the handle 1, is the space between the inner face of shoulder 9 and projections 8C are provided with longitudinally extending ribs 7A, which as shown in Figure 4 have opposed flat faces 7B, 7B for engaging the clothes line and clothes thereon, for the purpose as herein set forth. The said longitudinally extending ribs may have a laterally extending width of the order of ith to 3rd of the laterally extending width of the faces 7, and they are preferably located centrally of the faces 7.

By reason of the above-described construction of peg, the peg can be located on the clothes line 10 in any one of three positions which are indicated in Figure 1 by lOX, lOY and 10Z. The first position lOX is suitable for thin or light articles -(e.g.

ladies' stockings), the second lOY for articles of medium thickness or weight, and the third l0Z for still thicker or heavier articles -(e.g. sheets, blankets, curtains). It will be understood that the resilient grip exerted by the limbs on the line will be greater the nearer the line is located to the shoulder face 9. Should it be that a relatively thin line or a line with a relatively thin garment thereon be moved to position 102, the projection 7A maintains the grip thereon which might not otherwise exist if the projection were not provided.

Moreover, as in the main Patent the slight convergence of the faces 7 in the peg's unstrained state tends to hold the peg down on the line and to oppose a tendency for the peg to spring upwards and come off the line.

Also the neck formed by the outer pair of ribs 8A acts as a potential guard against the peg coming off the line accidentally because the limbs would have to be forcibly opened by the pressure of the line against the ribs.

Of course, the resistance to displacement of the peg from the chosen position on the line operates in any of the selected positions.

Whilst this specification and the appended claims refer to the laterally extending ribs defining line-locating spaces and the drawing illustrates laterally extending ribs having a longitudinally extending width less than the distance between adjacent ribs on a face 7 the ribs might be made to extend longitudinally considerably more so that the line-locating spaces appear more like grooves in the faces 7, and any such construction which would achieve the stated objects of this invention is to be considered as included within the scope of said claims.

WHAT I CLAIM IS:- 1. A modification of the clothes peg as claimed in any claims of Patent No.

1,314,400 wherein the modification com

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (2)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. but sufficient to produce a bow effect at the shoulder portion. Preferably, the said longitudinally extending ribs are formed on the inner faces of said limbs defining each of said spaces. The limbs may either be formed with or secured rigidly to the body or handle portion. Preferably the peg will be formed in one piece from a rigid synthetic plastics material although it may be made from wood, metal or other suitable material. In order that the invention may be more fully understood and carried into effect one embodiment thereof is illustrated merely by way of example in the accompanying drawing which shows a peg intended to be produced by moulding in one piece from synthetic plastics material. In this drawing: Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a front and a side elevation of the peg shown in its unstrained state, that is when not in use; Figure 3 is a section taken on A-A in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a section taken on line B-B in Figure 1. As shown in this drawing, the peg has a body portion 1 with a head 2 and shoulder portion 3 from which latter project a pair of limbs 4, these having their outer ends 5 curved divergently to facilitate application of the peg over a line. A strengthening ribbing 6 extends longitudinally and centrally along the peg from the head 2 to the beginning of the divergent ends 5 to provide strength but still allow the limbs to flex from their points of junction with the shoulder portion 3. The particular form of the body or handle portion and strengthening ribbing will, however, be governed by design considerations and moulding requirements. Each limb 4 has its inner face 7 lying generally in a plane and these two planes converge slightly towards their open ends at an angle of (say) two degrees to produce a bow effect of the shoulder portion 3. Three pairs of inwardly projecting and laterally extending ribs SA, 8B. BC extend the full width straight across the faces 7 as indicated in Figure 3, these ribs having rounded contours and forming three necks or restricted passages. The ribs 8A are located at the outer ends-of the faces 7 where the latter begin to diverge, whilst the ribs 8B and 8C are located at different intervals as illustrated to define three line-locating spaces, the first being between ribs 8A and 8B, the second between ribs 8B and 8C and the third between ribs SC and the inner face 9 of shoulder portion 3. With the ribs projecting a uniform distance from the faces 7, the necks formed between the ribs of each pair will have different widths, for example, 0.063", 0.082" and 0.100" for ribs 8A, 8B and 8C respectively. The opposed faces 7 which define the space nearest the handle 1, is the space between the inner face of shoulder 9 and projections 8C are provided with longitudinally extending ribs 7A, which as shown in Figure 4 have opposed flat faces 7B, 7B for engaging the clothes line and clothes thereon, for the purpose as herein set forth. The said longitudinally extending ribs may have a laterally extending width of the order of ith to 3rd of the laterally extending width of the faces 7, and they are preferably located centrally of the faces 7. By reason of the above-described construction of peg, the peg can be located on the clothes line 10 in any one of three positions which are indicated in Figure 1 by lOX, lOY and 10Z. The first position lOX is suitable for thin or light articles -(e.g. ladies' stockings), the second lOY for articles of medium thickness or weight, and the third l0Z for still thicker or heavier articles -(e.g. sheets, blankets, curtains). It will be understood that the resilient grip exerted by the limbs on the line will be greater the nearer the line is located to the shoulder face 9. Should it be that a relatively thin line or a line with a relatively thin garment thereon be moved to position 102, the projection 7A maintains the grip thereon which might not otherwise exist if the projection were not provided. Moreover, as in the main Patent the slight convergence of the faces 7 in the peg's unstrained state tends to hold the peg down on the line and to oppose a tendency for the peg to spring upwards and come off the line. Also the neck formed by the outer pair of ribs 8A acts as a potential guard against the peg coming off the line accidentally because the limbs would have to be forcibly opened by the pressure of the line against the ribs. Of course, the resistance to displacement of the peg from the chosen position on the line operates in any of the selected positions. Whilst this specification and the appended claims refer to the laterally extending ribs defining line-locating spaces and the drawing illustrates laterally extending ribs having a longitudinally extending width less than the distance between adjacent ribs on a face 7 the ribs might be made to extend longitudinally considerably more so that the line-locating spaces appear more like grooves in the faces 7, and any such construction which would achieve the stated objects of this invention is to be considered as included within the scope of said claims. WHAT I CLAIM IS:- 1. A modification of the clothes peg as claimed in any claims of Patent No.

1,314,400 wherein the modification com

prises that the inner faces of said limbs defining at least the space which is nearer or nearest to said handle are provided with longitudinally extending ribs having generally flat opposing faces.

2. A dothes peg constructed substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing