GB2033743A - Garment transporter - Google Patents

Abstract

A garment transporter comprising a frame mounted upon wheels or castors 13 and having two upright members 11 and a horizontal crossbar 16 pivoted to one of the upright members 11, the crossbar being pivotable between a loading position out of the plane of the upright members, to receive a wheeled carriage carrying clothing on hangers, and a transport position in which the crossbar 16 is located in the plane of said upright members 11. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Garment transporter The invention relates to garment transporters and, in particular, garment transporters for use in conjunction with an automated garment storage and conveyor system.

An automatic storage and conveyor system for use in garment warehouses or storerooms comprises a rail system upon which is mounted a plurality of carriages. These carriages comprise a pair of grooved wheels adapted to be mounted upon and movable along the track and a bar depending from these wheels upon which hangers carrying the garments may be hung. The wheels of the carriage are positioned adjacent either end of the bar and are attached thereto by means of brackets which are arranged such that when the carriage is mounted upon the track, the brackets will pass to one side of the track and the bar will be positioned beneath the track.

The tubular rail system comprises sections in which the garments may be stored, interconnected by lengths of track which serve for conveying carriages laden with garments to and from the storage section. With the above automatic storage and conveyor system, movable racks or garment transporters are required for transferring the carriages laden with garments, to vehicles for delivery to shop or for in-store use.

According to the invention, a garment transporter comprises a frame mounted upon wheels and having a pair of upright members and a horizontal crossbar pivotally attached to one of said upright members, said crossbar being pivotable between a loading position in which one end of the crossbar extends away from the plane of the uprights and a transport position in which the cross bar lies in or substantially in the plane of the upright members.

The upright members of the frame are supported by base portions which extend to either side of the plane of the uprights and to which the wheels or castors are fitted. These base portions may be interconnected by a crossmember and a further crossmember may be provided adjacent the crossbar. The base portions of the frame should extend laterally sufficiently so that the transporter will be stable when the crossbar is loaded with garments whether it be in the transport or in the loading position. In the loading position, the said one end of the crossbar should be separated from the adjacent frame upright, sufficiently to allow a carriage laden with garments to be loaded thereon, that is, by at least half the width of the hangers on the carriage.

One embodiment of the invention is now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a garment transporter constructed according to the present invention, and Figure 2 shows an enlarged isometric view of the upper portion of the garment transporter shown in Fig. 1.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the garment transporter comprises frame formed from a pair of upright members 11, each supported by a generally triangular tubular base portion 12, each base portion 1 2 having castors 1 3 at its outer corners. The base portions 1 2 are interconnected by a crossmember 14 which extends across the plane containing the two upright members 11, to interconnect opposite sides of the two base portions. This arrangement permits close stacking of the garment transporters when not in use. The upright members 11 are interconnected by a crossmember 1 5 adjacent their upper ends.

A crossbar 1 6 is welded at one end to a tubular coaxial extension 1 7 of one of the uprights 11. The tubular extension 1 7 is pivotally mounted at the upper end of this upright member 11 through an internal sleeve 1 8 which is welded inside tubular extension 1 7 and extends into the upper end of the upright member 11. A horizontal retaining plate 1 9 which lies parallel to the crossbar 1 6 is welded to the upper end of the tubular extension 1 7.

A further tubular extension 21 is pivotally attached to the upper end of the other upright member 11 in a similar manner to tubular extension 17, that is by means of an internal sleeve 22. A channel member 20 is welded to this tubular extension 21 so that it underlies the free end of the crossbar 1 6 when the latter is lying in the plane of the upright members 11.A peg 24 extending from the underside of crossbar 16 adjacent the free end thereof, projects downwardly into the channel member 20, such that when crossbar 1 6 is pivoted about the axis of the first upright member 11, the peg 24 slides within the channel member 20, thus providing some support for the free end of the crossbar 1 6. A horizontal retaining plate 23 which overlies the channel member 20 is welded above the top of the tubular extension 21, being connected thereto by an upright arm against which the crossbar can rest when in the position in the plane of the upright members 11.

The free end of crossbar 1 6 has a fixed tubular extension which is provided with a spring loaded stop 25 which will normally extend outwardly and upwardly from the crossbar 16, but may be retracted against the action of the spring into a slot provided in the crossbar extension.A spring loaded plunger (not shown) is provided in the internal pivotal sleeve 22 at a position below crossmember 1 5. This plunger can engage in a hole in the upright member 11, to lock the sleeve and thus the channel member 20 in position when it and the crossbar 16 are disposed in the plane of the two upright members 11 When the garment transporter described above is used in conjunction with an autos matic storageiconveyor system, as described hereinbefore, the crossbar 16 is pivotted outwardly from the plane of the uprights 11, after release of the spring loaded locking plunger.The peg 24 slides in the ehånne'l member 20, to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 2. The stop 25 is retracted into the slot in the extension of the cross bar 16.

The end of the cross bar 16 is engaged with a member of the conveyor system, so that a carriage, which may be loaded with garments, may be rolled from the conveyor system onto the crossbar 16. The crossbar 16 is then disengaged from the conveyor system and the stop 25 sorings up to prevent the carriage rolling off the crossbar 1 6 Crossbar 16 is then pivotted back into the plane of the upright member 11 until it reaches the posi- tion shown in full line in Fig. 2 At this position the spring loaded plunger in sleeve 22 engages in the hole in the upright ;;rnember 11 to lock the channel member 20 and crossbar 16 in position The retaining plates 19 a.nd 23.overlie wheels of the carriage and prevent it from being dislodged upwardly, -off the crossbar.

The spacing between the crossbar 16 and cross-member 15 is such that when the wheels of the carnage engage the crossbar 16, the clothing supporting bar of the carriage is positioned below the cross member 15 The outward swing of the crossbar, -as controlled by the channel member 20 must be sufficient to allow the garments to pass the upright member 11 to which the channel member is pivoted The spacing is therefore at yeast as great as half the width Df a coat hanger.

The cross members 14 and 15 may, in an alternative, be detachably secured to the base portions 12 and upright member 11 respec- tively, so that the transporter .may be .disassembled for storage.

Claims (4)

1. A garment transporter comprising a frame mounted on wheels and having a pair lof upright members and a horizontal crossbar pivotally attached to one of said upright members, said crossbar being pivotable berwe.en a loading position in which one end of the crossbar extends away from the plane of the uprights and a transport position in which the cross bar lies in or substantially in the plane of the upright members.

2. A garment transporter as claimed in claim 1 in which the frame includes base members for the two upright members wh:ich extend laterally of the said plane and which are fitted with said wheels or castors.

3. A garment transporter as claimed in either of claims 1 and 2 in which the upright members are interconnected by at least one cross member

4. A garment transporter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the free end of the crossbar is supported by a guide means connected to the either upright member opposite that to which the crossbar is pivotted 5 A garment transporter as claimed in claim 4 in which said guide means is a channel member pivoted to said other upright member and a peg in the crossbar engaging in said channel member.

6 A garment transporter as claimed in either of claims 4 and 5 'wherein the guide means is pivoted to the upright member oppo site to that to which the crossbar is pivoted and includes a locking device for preven-ting such pivoting 7 A garment transporter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the free end of the cross bar has a latch means for preventing a carriage mounted thereon, from leaving said free end.

8 A garment transporter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the upright members carry retaining plates peg venting upward movement of a carnage from engagern-ent on the crossbar 9 A garment transporter substantially as bereinbefore ilescri:bed with reference to and as shown in the accompanying draw nags