US1057195A - Wardrobe-trunk. - Google Patents

Description

G. H. WHEARY.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION IILED AUG.5, 1910.

,057, 1 95. Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W {@071 26 WA G. H. WHEARY. WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 5, 1910. 1,057,195, Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

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- 6%@WMW G. H. WHEARY.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1910. 1,057,195, Patented Mar. 25, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. it

GEORGE a. WHEABY, oraacma wlscoNsm.

WARDROBE-TRUNK.

mamas.

as a closet, whereby the clothes are not only more readily packed and unpacked, and preserved in good condition during the time the trunk is closed, but also made more accessi-' ble when the trunk is open.

Objects of my inventlon are to provide an improved arrangement of the hangers 1n the trunk; to provide an arrangement whereby the hangers will be more-accessible and more easily removed and replaced than heretofore; to provide means for more effectively holding the hangers in place and for securely clamping clothes in place and against disarrapgement/while the trunk is 'closed fiid b eing moved about; to provide an improved wardrobe trunk of less length than heretofore, whereby the same will be easier to handle and transport; to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby, when the trunk is standing on end,

or when the tray containing the hangers is tilted to an upright position, depending upon the style of the trunk, there will be no lost space above the hangers, thus reducing the size of the trunk to a minimum';. to provide an improved arrangement whereby any hanger can be removed upwardly, withoutdisturbing .the others, thus making it possible to remove the clothing atthe back without disturbing the clothing at front, when the trunk is open and in position to properly support the hangers; to rovide an im-. proved construction an whereby hooks will not be necessary for-the hangers, thus shortening the distance between the tops of the hangers and the end wall of the trunk, or the end Wall-of the tray, depending upon the style of trunk in which my invention is employed; and topi'ovide certain details and features of improvement and combinations, tending'to in-- crease the general efficiency of a trunk of this particular character.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 5, 1910. Serial No. 575,742.

arrangement Patented-Mar. 25, 1913.

To the foregoing and other useful ends,

my invention consists in-matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

.' In the accompanying drawings-Figure principles of my invention, showing the same open and ready to be closed. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the hanger rack extended from the trunk, and

the upper end of the trunk open, whereby the hangers may be widely separated while the trunk is standing open, thus facilitating packing and unpacking of the trunk, and 7 a trunk in which the hangers are carried'by a till that is movable to an upright position, wherebythe' trunk does not need to stand on end, as is the case .in Figs. land 2, but may remain on the floor in a horizontal p0! sitlon.

As thus illustrated, and referring to F' 1 and 2, the trunk A may be of any suitaii i known or approved form or construction.

As shown, it comprises a bottom section a and a top section a, which are hinged together, the latter section serving as a lid or cover for the trunk. When the trunk is open it stands on one end thereof, so that the end lid or cover B is uppermost. This end lid or cover B has an inner pad or lining b,

the purpose of which will hereinafter more fully appear. It will be seen that the said lid or cover Bis hingedat its lower edge to the bottom ,of the trunk,'so that it can be thrown back in the manner shown in Fig. 2,

when the trunk is: standing open. The said trunk is of the type ordinarily known as a wardrobe trunk, and as such is providedwith a rack for supporting clothes-hangers.

The said rack cons1sts of a pair of round bars C which have their inner ends secured to. a strap a on the bottom wall of the trunk, which strap is arranged near the hinged edge of the cover B, as shown in 2.' The outer ends of these bars 0 are pivotally con-- nected with. the rods 0, which latter are adapted to swing up and 'down'-that .is to say, they are adapted to swing back into the trunk, as shown in Fig. 1. he'strap a is U-shaped in character, and its outer ends are connected with a similar U-shaped strap or frame of metal a, the transverse portion 60 1 is. a perspective of a trunk embodying" the of the latter being secured to the outer ends of the rods 0, whereby a hinged or jointed frame is provided. The swinging frame, composed of the rods 0 and the U-shaped strap or frame 0 is held in a horizontal position by the braces 0 which have their upper ends pivoted to tire-frame a and which have their inner-free "ends adapted to slide through brackets c which are secured to the side walls ofthe trunk near the outer edges thereof. These braces 0 have notches therein which engage the bracket 0* to hold the swinging frame in horizontal position, as shown in Fig.2, and have other notches which engage the said brackets to lock the frame in its closed position, as shown in Fig. 1. This will be readily understood from the drawings. The rods C and the swinging extensions 0' thereof constitute rails upon which to movablyor adj ustably support the clothes hangers. The said clothes hangers are each provided with a horizontal bar D having notches cl on the'underside thereof,

- nearv the outer endsof the same, adapted to engage therods C or 0, as shown in Fig.

2. These bars D have the remaining por-- tions 01' of the hangers secured thereto by pivots d the hangers shown being what are ordinarily known as coat hangers. It will be understood, however, that the hangers can be of any suitable character, so far as the article of clothing is concerned, and can be provided with any suitable means for supporting skirts or trousers or other articles of clothing.

The outer end of the swinging frame, composed of the rods 0 and bent or U-shaped straps 0 is provided with abow spring 0 to which'is secured a plate or presser bar 0 which latter is adapted to yieldingly press the clothes down into position when the trunk is closed, as shown in Fig. l. It will be seen that the hangers are adapted to slide alon the rods 0 and 0, so that they can be wide y separated while the trunk is open and the hanger rack extended,.- as shown in Fig.2, thus facilitatin the hanging in. place of the clothes or t e removal thereof.- After the clothes are all hung in.

place, then the hangers are all crowded together and shoved inward, so that they will all be supported within the trunk by the rods G; the swinging outer end of the hanger frame is then pressed downward, as shown in Fig. 1, thus brin ing the resser bar a into position to-hol the clot es firmly togather. Then the cover or lid B is closed, so that its pad or yielding lining b will ongagethe bars D, or the clothing-laid over the same, thus holding the latter firmly in lace on the rods (3, so as to prevent the iiangers from rattling around while the trunkis being moved about, and thus revent disarrangement of the clothing. t is at this time, and by reason of the pressure swinging tray H is, as amatter of the pad 6, that the braces c are locked to the brackets 0 thus preventing the swinging outer end of the hanger frame from moving downwardthat is to say, it is locked in position as shown in Fig. 1. Thus the entire structure comprising thehangers and hanger frame is held in rigid condition, so that the clothes are firmly held in position, and the structure cannot rattle or move around in the trunk while it is closed and being handled and moved from place to place.

As there is a bulge E on the outside of the cover or lid B, and a similar bulge F on the corresponding end of the trunk section a, it follows that the trunk can only stand on one end, and can never be turned upside down-- that is to say, its upper end is, by these bulging portions, made convex to the extent that it will not stand readily on this end and will always be raised to stand on the other end. Thus the danger of the trunk being turned upside down, so that the clothing might tend to become wrinkled or disarranged, is precluded or at least gi'eatly reduced. A trunk of this kind can, of course, be used as a sort of temporary or portable closet-that is to say, in traveling it can be opened and allowed to stand upright, as shown in Fig; 2, and in this way the clothes hangers canbe easily taken down and readily hung up, and the clothing is about as accessible as it would be in an ordinary closet.

As shown in Fig. 3, the trunk is of that kind in which one or more horizontal trays are employed, one on top of the other, such for example as the bottom tray G and the upper tray H, making it desirable that the trunk shall always stand horizontally while being packed or unpacked, in the well known and familiarrnanner. Such being the case, it becomes desirable to make the upper tray H suitable for carrying the hangers and hanger frame, which are precisely the same as those previously shown and described, and to provide the said tray with the swinging end wall I, which latter is of the same characteras the swinging end wall B, previously described. -It ,is also desirable, therefore, that he said tray H be adapted to swing in an upright position, so that the said hangers will be at the upper end thereof, while the clothes are being hung up or taken down, as shown in Fig. 3. The of further and special improvement, proyided with swinging legs h which are adapted to fold into the tray when the trunk is closed, and which are adapted to rest on the floor when the trunk is open and the tray in an upright position, as shown in the drawings. Thus the hangers, which have bars D similar to those previously shown and described, are

. adapted to rest upon the hanger frame at the upper end of thetray H, when the latter is in an upright position, and the effect is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, as heretofore explained. Obviously, therefore, my improved arrangement for supporting the clothes hangers can be applied to trunks of various kinds and descriptions, and in which the arrangement facilitates packing and unpacking of the trunk, as during such operation the hangers are very widely separated, thus giving ready access to the clothes, and notwithstanding the fact that'when the trunks are closed the hangers are crowded together in a very small area, as is also the case with the clothing. This is obviously advantageous, as it not only makes it much easier and more convenient to use the trunk as a closet, but also renders it less difficult to pack and unpack the trunk without mussing or wrinkling the clothes. In the said Fig. 3, it will be seen that the tray H is provided with slotted links h, at the sides thereof, which connect with the main body of the trunk, whereby it is firmly held in upright position. The slots in these links permit the tray, in a manner ,which will be readily understood, to readily swing down and into the trunk.

The end lid or cover B is preferably'provided with catches or fastening devices I) which engage cooperating devices I) on the sides of the'trunk of any suitable, known or approved form to lock the trunk closed. The swinging end wall or member I is similarly provided with devices 71 adapted to engage devices i on the sides of the tray-t lock the said members closed.

It will be readily understood that the trunk can be provided with a suitable lock and other devices for keeping it together while closed.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that no hooks are required for the hangers, and that, consequently, there is no lost space between the tops of the hangers and the end wall of the trunk, or the end wall of the tray, depending upon the style of trunk in which my invention is employed. By thus reducing the space between the tops. of the hangers and the end wall of the trunk, or the end wall of the tray, as the case may be, the total length of the trunk is materially reduced, thus facilitating handling and transportation thereof, and completely satisfying the requirements of the railroads in this respect.

Prior to my invention, it was found impossible to properly support certainkinds of clothing in a wardrobe trunk of say fifty or fifty-four-inches in length, and trunks of such length were found to be unsatisfac-' tory and objectionable by the railroads.

With my invention, however, a one-piece dress, the so-called princess style, can be satisfactorily supported on a hanger, and also long skirts, in a trunk which does not need to exceed forty inches in length-that is to say, forty inches in length when the trunk is standingon end, or when the tray is tilted to an upright position, s the case may be. If a dress or skirt or other garment is longer than the trunk, the lower end thereof can be brought upand closed over the bar D of the hanger. Any clothing thus arranged is held in place by the pad I; of the door B when the latter is closed.- A trunk of such size is','I find, entirely satisfactory to the railroads, and is also entirely satisfactory to the user, as it is asfully satisfactory for the purpose for which it is intended. In fact, and by the provision of the swinging or movable end wall of the trunk, or for the .end of the tray, it is apparent that the clothing at the back-can be removed without disturbing the clothing in the front, as any hanger can be moved up wardly without, disturbing the other hang-' ers. Previous to my invention this was impossible, as the clothing at the bot-tom of the trunk, or the back when the trunk was standing on end, could only be removed by first removing or disturbing the clothing on top or in front, which was extremely objectionable. Also, and by using the swinging end. wall of the trunk, or the swinging end wall of the tray, as a means for clamping the hangers in place, the clothing is held properly in place, and no inside following board or rack is required, so that further space is saved with a viewto reducing the size or the trunk. It follows, therefore, that I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described.

v The padding b makes contact, itwill be seen, for substantially the full length of the.

bar 0-, or with the clothes thereon, whereby thelatter are prevented from slipping off.

The said padding or cushion b is sufliciently soft to be indented by the bars, or by the clothes, thus making parallel furrows in the padding. For this purpose the lid B has a rigid wall that is faced with the said padding, and which is strong enough to withstand the compression. At the same time, however, the said padding or cushion b is sufficiently firm to properly and securely hold the clothes on the bar 0, but without injury thereto. By thus gripping the clothes at one end of the trunk, and by using a lid for this purpose which does not materially lengthen the trunk, I am enabled to pro vide a much shorter trunk than heretofore.

What I claim as my invention is: v 1. In'a trunk, one or more clothes hangers,- each having a bar upon wihich the clothes are supported, by draping the clothes over the upper edge of the bar, and a movable end wall'for said trunk, having a rigid wall faced inside with padding which on gages the'clothes to clamp the same upon the said upper edge of the bar, said padding adapted to make contact with the said bar,

& 1,057,

or with the clothes thereon, for substantially the full length thereof, whereby the clothes are securely held on the bar Withoutinjury thereto.

2. In a trunk, one or more clothes hangers, each having a bar upon which the clothes are supported, by draping the clothes over the upper edge 0 the bar, a movable end wall for said trunk, having a rigid Wall faced. inside with padding which engages the clothes to clamp the same upon the said upper edge of the bar, said padding adapted to make contact with the said bar, or with the clothes thereon, for substantially the full length thereof, whereby the clothes are securely held on the bar without injury thereto, and means for locking said end Wall in closed position. v

Signed by me at Racine, Wisconsin, this 26th day of July, 1910.

GEORGE H. WHEARY, Witnesses:

HENRY S. HARTMANN, ARTHUR R. JANES.

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