US1290950A - Towel-service device and method. - Google Patents

Description

S. B. FETHEROLF.

TOWEL SERVICE DEVICE AND METHOD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25; 1915.

1,290,950. Patented Jan.1f1,1919.

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STEPHEN B. FETHEROLF, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

TOWEL-SERVICE DEVICE AND METHOD.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN B. FETHE- ROLF, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the. city of Cincinnati, in

.the county of. Hamilton and State of :Ohio, .have invented certain-new and useful Improvements in Towel-Service'Devices. and Methods, of which, the followingis afull,

clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to devices for re- ,tai ning a number of towels in position for use, but held against re'moval'from the retaining means. The towel service system hasbeen worked outso that these retaining devices are adapted to be supplied with towels at the laundry or central station, and delivered to the user in locked position; The towels are mounted on a'rack or stand and the retaining device locked in' place so that the whole cannot be removed. When the towels are soiled, the laundryman collects them but they are not removed from the re tainer until they reach the laundry, as the laundry manager keeps the key.

In the past these towels have been mounted by stringing them on a rod and holding them from removal from the rod by a chain connecting the ends of the rod. It has been found that great economy can be gained by using double towels so that the laundry expense is cut down to one half. and the handling of the towels simplified by one half the necessary motions. Accordingly it is the object of my invention to provide a double towel retaining device of the nature set forth, and this I do by that certain construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the rack.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rack and the towel holding device in use.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section of the trough member, looking in both directions.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the trough.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation thereof, turned toward the observer.

In my former patent application Serial No. 859,740, filed September 2, 1914, I showed and described a double towel retain.- ing device wherein the'towels were secured by placing a gromet at some central point of the towel, and then stringing the towel on Specification of Letters Patent.

. clamp to seize and Patented Jan. 14., 1919.

Application filed February 25, 1915. Serial No. 10,492.

the holder. The towels Were then placed on a rack, and the user wasto pull off of a shelf .the one half of a towel, and after using it let ithang' down from the rack. The next userwas to use theother half of the towel and then the whole towel was dropped down from the rack. r Y I In ordinary use, however, it is-not necessary to have the towels dropped down from ofi theirsupporting'sh'elf or rack as they are used and that for most purposes it is just as well to let the soiled towels hang down from the rack. Accordingly I provide a locking hold a bundle of towels along their median line, and make this clamp removable from its rack or stand so that it may be taken bodily, towels and alltothe laundry, and returned to the user stocked with clean towels which cannot be removed.

Various devices might be adapted for this purpose and the one shown and described is merely my preferred form. Thetriangular shaped trough 1 has at one end a hole'2 and at the other a groove 3 to receive a towel clamping rod 4. The rod 4 is of a size to pass through the hole 2 and lie in the groove 3. The trough has a slot 5 in the bottom near the end having the groove and on the rod is an arm 6 which is adapted to extend through this slot.

The arm 6 has a slot 7 in the end thereof which protrudes through the slot in the trough, and a padlock 8 is provided having a locking arm 9 to extend through the slot in the arm 6. To put the towels in the rack the end of the rod i run through the hole 2 at the end of the trough. The towels 10 are then laid in the trough and the rod brought down over them. The arm 6 on the rod is run through the slot in the bottom of the trough, and the padlock employed to lock it in place therein. The parts are so proportionedthat the rod will be brought down and held fast in the groove at the trough end by this operation, and the required stack of towels held tightly clamped in place, with free ends the size of an ordinary service towel extending out of the trough at each side of the rod. For a towel service where but a few towels are required, the whole device,

rack. The preferred form for this purpose Copies at this patent may be obtained tor is to provide any bracket fitting 11, having a slot 12 in it at one end of the rack 13 that may be selected. The other end of the rack is fitted with a bracket piece 1 1 having a hole 15 in it. The one rod end is inserted in the hole 15 and the other set into the slot 12. A hasp 16 may then be provided which will close down over the piece 11 and lie along the flange 17 to be locked by another padlock 18.

The rod 4 would not hold the towels against removal if it were not for the fact that it is held fast against any springing up at each end. The towel are not in this device held locked at the middle but are locked or clamped against removal at the ends which is just as effective;

It is believed to be quite plain that this device is simple and of very easy use. The towels do not have to be folded at the laundry but are merely laid out straight and clamped along their median line. When the towels are put in the rack, they are all thrown back over the shelf 19 thereof, and the user merely pulls one half a towel ofi" of the shelf. The same advantages are gained as in the individual towel service devices of the past with much less expense in handling from every point of view.

It is, of course, evident that my device for clamping a bundle of towels can be used for single length individual towels as well as for the double. In this use it has the same advantages as the use for double towels in simplicity of use and operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a device of the character described, a towel retaining device comprising an elongated member with two walls substantially at right angles to each other forming a crotch, a rod member and means for retainingthe rod member pressed against the walls of the elongated member so as to hold a bundle of towels in a position bent around the edges of the angle member and clamped against the angle member on each side of the rod near the said crotch, a rack, and means for mounting the retaining device on the rack with the crotch of the angle member facing forwardly of the rack, for providing a rotation of clean towels for individual use.

Witnesses AMns BRAon, K. SMITH.

Washington, D. C."

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