GB2437247A

GB2437247A - Collapsible coat stand

Info

Publication number: GB2437247A
Application number: GB0607895A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew David Bartle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-04-21
Filing date: 2006-04-21
Publication date: 2007-10-24
Also published as: GB0607895D0

Abstract

A collapsible coat stand 1 comprises an upright member 2 having three spaced parallel channels 3 extending therealong and three foot portions 4 and three coat hook portions 5 slidably engageable with the channels 3 at the foot and top end regions of the upright member 2. The coat hook portions 5 are connected to a cap member 6 by interengaging complementary formations [11, 8 Figures 4,5] on the hook portions 5 and the cap member 6, and the cap member 6 is in turn slidably engageable with the channels 3 at the top end region of the upright member 2. Since there is no need for these parts to be secured to the upright member 2 by screws or bolts, this renders assembly more straightforward and ensures that the foot and hook portions do not become loose on the upright member over time.

Description

Collapsible Coat Stand This invention relates to collapsible coat

stands.

It is established practice for coat stands for use in offices and the like to be supplied in flat-pack form, and for such stands to be assembled on site by the user. Typically foot portions are secured to a bottom end of an upright member of the stand, and coat hook portions are secured to a top end of the upright member to produce the fully assembled stand that can then be stood upright supported by the foot portions in a suitable location for coats to be suspended from the hook portions.

Although a wide range of coat stands is available commercially, many of them suffer from the disadvantage that it is necessary for the user to tighten screws or bolts during assembly of the stand, and this renders assembly more complex as well as possibly prejudicing the rigidity of the stand in long term use.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel coat stand that can be assembled in a straightforward manner and that has high structural integrity.

According to the present invention there is provided a collapsible coat stand comprising an elongate upright member having at least one channel extending at foot and top end regions of the upright member, at least one foot member having a connecting part slidably engageable with the channel at the foot end region, and at least one coat hook member having a connecting part slidably engageable with the channel at the top end region.

Because the or each foot member and the or each coat hook member is attached to the upright member by sliding, there is no need for these parts to be secured to the upright member by screws or bolts. This renders assembly more straightforward and ensures that the foot and hook members do not become loose on the upright member over time.

Preferably the or each channel extends continually from the foot end region to the top end region.

Furthermore the connecting part of the or each foot member is preferably adapted to be slidably engageable with the channel from below and to prevent the foot member from being slid beyond a first predetermined location at the foot end region of the upright member so as to be positioned at the bottom of the stand.

In this case the connecting part of the or each foot member conveniently incorporates a stop dimensioned to prevent the foot member from being slid within the channel beyond the first predetermined location at the foot end region of the upright member.

Furthermore the connecting part of the or each coat hook member is preferably adapted to be slidably engageable with the channel from above and to prevent the coat hook member from being slid beyond the second predetermined location at the top end region of the upright member so as to be positioned towards the top of the stand.

In this case the connecting part of the or each coat hook member conveniently incorporates a stop dimensioned to prevent the coat hook member from being slid within the channel beyond the second predetermined location at the top end region of the upright member.

In order that the invention may be more ftilly understood, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the assembled coat stand; Figure 2 shows a detail A of the top of the assembled coat stand; Figure 3 shows a cross-section through the top of the coat stand with the hooks removed; Figure 4 shows a cap member removed from the coat stand; Figure 5 shows a hook removed from the coat stand; Figure 6 shows the coat stand from below; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of the bottom of the coat stand.

Referring to Figure 1, the collapsible coat stand 1 comprises an upright member 2 having three spaced parallel channels 3 extending therealong and equiangularly distributed about a central axis, and three foot portions 4 and three coat hook portions 5 connected to foot and top end regions of the upright member 2. The coat hook portions are connected to a cap member 6 by interengaging complementary formations on the hook portions 5 and the cap member 6 (described in more detail below), and the cap member 6 is in turn secured to the top end region of the upright member 2, as can be seen more clearly in detail A of Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section through the top end region of the upright member 2, but with the hook portions 5 removed and with three connecting parts 7 of the cap member 6 slidably engaged within the three channels 3 in the upright member 2. The connecting parts 7 are located opposite corresponding flanged projecting parts 8 on the cap member 6 for detachably securing the hook portions 5 as described in more detail below.

The shape of the cap member 6 can be more readily appreciated by referring to the perspective view of the cap member 6 detached from the upright member 2 shown in Figure 4. It will be appreciated that the cap member 6 incorporates a top portion 9 for capping the top end of the upright member 2, and three depending legs 10 each of which incorporates a respective one of the connecting parts 7 and a respective one of the projecting parts 8. During assembly the cap member 6 is slidably engaged with the upright member 2 from above so that the connecting parts 7 slide within the channels 3, until the top portion 9 engages the top of the upright member 2 in such a manner as to prevent the hook portions 5 from being slid beyond location at the top end region of the upright member 2.

Figure 5 shows one of the hook portions 5 detached from the cap member 6. After the cap member 6 has been attached to the top end region of the upright member 2 in the manner already described, each of the hook portions 5 can be slidably engaged on a respective one of the projecting parts 8 on the cap member 6 by sliding from above so that each projecting part 8 engages within a flanged recess 11 in the back of the hook portion 5. The flanges on the projecting part 8 engage flanges in the recess 11 to secure the hook portion 5 on the cap member 6.

Figure 6 shows the assembled stand 1 from below from which it will be seen that a connecting part 12 of each of the foot members 4 is slidably engaged within a respective one of the channels 3 in the upright member 2. Each of the connecting parts 12 also includes a stop flange 14 dimensioned relative to the channel section to prevent the foot member 4 from being slid within the channel 3 from below beyond the foot end region of the upright member 2. The stop flanges 14 engage the bottom end of the upright member 2, as can be seen more clearly in the perspective view of Figure 7. Furthermore each of the three foot portions 4 has a curved upper surface 15 and a substantially flat lower surface 16, as well as a raised portion 17 on the lower surface 16 for engaging the ground when the stand 1 is stood upright.

Various modifications can be made to the design of the coat stand without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the hook portions may be individually attachable to the upright member, or the hook portions may be fixedly attached to the cap member. The channels may be recessed as shown in the figures, or alternatively the channels may be formed by projecting parts on the outside of the upright member. Any number of hook portions or foot portions may be provided on the stand, and the shapes of the hook portions or foot portions may be varied. One or other of the stop flanges may be replaced by another type of locking or securing device where appropriate.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A collapsible coat stand comprising an elongate upright

member having at least one channel extending at foot and top end regions of the upright member, at least one foot member having a connecting part slidably engageable with the chaimel at the foot end region, and at least one coat hook member having a connecting part slidably engageable with the channel at the top end region.

2. A coat stand according to claim 1, wherein the or each channel extends continually from the foot end region to the top end region.

3. A coat stand according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting part of the or each foot member is adapted to be slidably engageable with the channel from below and to prevent the foot member from being slid beyond a first predetermined location at the foot end region of the upright member so as to be positioned at the bottom of the stand.

4. A coat stand according to claim 3, wherein the connecting part of the or each foot member incorporates a stop dimensioned to prevent the foot member from being slid within the channel beyond the first predetermined location at the foot end region of the upright member.

5. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the connecting part of the or each coat hook member is adapted to be slidably engageable with the channel from above and to prevent the coat hook member from being slid beyond a second predetermined location at the top end region of the upright member so as to be positioned towards the top of the stand.

6. A coat stand according to claim 5, wherein the connecting part of the or each coat hook member incorporates a stop dimensioned to prevent the coat hook member from being slid within the channel beyond the second predetermined location at the top end region of the upright member.

7. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each coat hook member incorporates two or more hook portions distributed about a central axis.

8. A coat stand according to claim 7, wherein the hook portions are connectable to a common cap member for capping the end of the upright member and joining together the hook portions.

9. A coat stand according to claim 8, wherein the or each hook portion is detachably connected to the cap member by complementary formations on the hook portion and the cap member that are slidably engageable with one another.

10. A coat stand according to claim 9, wherein the complementary formations are constituted by a flanged recess in the hook portion and a flanged projecting part on the cap member that is slidably engageable within the recess such that flanges on the projecting part engage flanges in the recess to secure the hook portion on the cap member.

11. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the foot member incorporates two or more foot portions, each of which is individually slidably engageable with a respective channel in the upright member.

12. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the foot member incorporates two or more foot portions, each of which has a curved upper surface and a substantially flat lower surface.

13. A collapsible coat stand substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS: 1. A collapsible coat stand comprising an elongate upright member having at least one channel extending at foot and top end regions of the upright member, at least one foot member having a connecting part slidably engageable with the channel at the foot end region so as to secure the foot member to the upright member, and at least one coat hook member having a connecting part slidably engageable with the channel at the top end region so as to secure the hook member to the upright member without the use of screws or bolts.

2. A coat stand according to claim 1, wherein the or each channel extends continually from the foot end region to the top end region.

3. A coat stand according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting part of the or each foot member is adapted to be slidably engageable with the channel from below and to prevent the foot member from being slid beyond a first predetennjned location at the foot end region of the upright member so as to be positioned at the bottom of the stand.

4. A coat stand according to claim 3, wherein the connecting part of the or each foot member incorporates a stop dimensioned to prevent the foot member from being slid within the channel beyond the first predetermined location at the foot end region of the upright member.

5. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the connecting part of the or each coat hook member is adapted to be slidably engageable with the channel from above and to prevent the coat hook member from being slid beyond a second predetermined location at the top end region of the upright member so as to be positioned towards the top of the stand.

6. A coat stand according to claim 5, wherein the connecting part of the or each coat hook member incoorates a stop dimensioned to prevent the coat hook member from being slid within the channel beyond the second predetermined location at the top end region of the upright member.

7. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each coat hook member incorporates two or more hook portions distributed about a central axis.

8. A coat stand according to claim 7, wherein the hook portions are connectable to a common cap member for capping the end of the upright member and joining together the hook portions.

9. A coat stand according to claim 8, wherein the or each hook portion is detachably connected to the cap member by complementary formations on the hook portion and the cap member that are slidably engageable with one another.

10. A coat stand according to claim 9, wherein the complementary formations are constituted by a flanged recess in the hook portion and a flanged projecting part on the cap member that is slidably engageable within the recess such that flanges on the projecting part engage flanges in the recess to secure the hook portion on the cap member.

11. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the foot member incorporates two or more foot portions, each of which is individually slidably engageable with a respective channel in the upright member.

12. A coat stand according to any preceding claim, wherein the foot member incorporates two or more foot portions, each of which has a curved upper surface and a substantially flat lower surface.

13. A collapsible coat stand substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.