US1727761A - Clothes reel - Google Patents

Description

p 1929- A. J. FRANTZ 7 1,727,761

CLOTHES REEL I Fil d u y 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 10, 1929.

UNITED STATES AXEL J. FRAN'IZ, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLOTHES. REEL.

Application filed July 6, 1926- Serial No. 120,764.

This invention relates to a clothes reel of the porch. pattern, that is, a reel which may be mounted on a porch or platform and which is adapted to be opened and projected outp ward from its support when in use.

It is a general object of myinvention to improve theconstruction of such a clothes reel, making itespecially convenient to operate and very compact in storage, when not in use.

With this general object in view, one important feature of my invention relates to the provision of an improved form of supporting structure for the reel. 1 also preferably provide means for simultaneously opening the reel as the supporting structure is extended and for closing the reel as the supporting structure is retracted.

My invention further relates to arrange- 2 ments and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings in which Fig. 1 is aside elevation of the reel in extended position; 7

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the reel folded;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the reel in closed position, the open oroperative position being indicated in broken lines; and

Fig. 4 is a detail section elevation to be described Referring to the drawings, my improved clothes reel is preferably mounted upon an upright shaft 10, secured by brackets 11 to a post or frame member 12 which may form a part of a porch or other building structure.

The extensible supporting structure for the reel is of the general type known as lazy- .tongs and as shown in the drawingscomprises a link 13 pivoted to acollar 14 loosely mounted on the upper end of the shaft 10 above the upperbracket 1 1 and held from upward displacement on the shaft by a cross pin 15. A second link 16 ispivoted at 17 to the link 13 and'its opposite outer end is pivoted to a collar 19 which is firmly secured to the upper end of adepending shaft or rod 20.

A third link 21is pivoted at 22 (Fig. 2) to a collar 23 which is freelyslidable on the link 26. The link 26is pivoted at its center to a sleeve 30 which is vertically fixed shaft 10. The link 21 is pivoted at its center to the link 13, as indicated at 24, and at its upper end is pivoted at 25 to a fourth to. the link 16, as indicated at 27, and at itsu outer end is pivoted at 28 to a collar 29, fixed slidable on the depending shaft 20.- 7

Each of the links may. if desired, be made with double side plates as indicated in Fig. 3, and obviously the number of pairs of links in the supporting structure may be increased toprovide a further extension of the reel away from the supporting post. r

The reel itself comprises a plurality of arms 31 pivoted at 32 (Fig. 4) to a casting or frame 33, rotatably mounted at the'lower end of the depending shaft 20 but held from vertical movement thereon by cross pins 34 and 35. A series of connecting rods or links 36 are pivoted at their outer ends to intermediate points on the arms .31, as indicated at 37 (Fig. 1) and at their inner ends are pivoted at 38 (Fig. 4) toa collar 39, freely rotatable upon the lower end of the sleeve 30 but held from relative vertical movement thereon. Clothes lines 40 are threaded through openings in the arms 31 in theusual way.

A handle 41 (Fig. 1) is securedto the lower end of the link 21 and a hook 42 is mounted on a bracket 43 on the post 12 for a purpose to be described. A U-shaped bracket 44is also secured to the post 12 and is provided with a removable crosspin 45. i

Having described the details of construction of. my improvedclothes reel, I will now describe the method of operation thereof;

The normal or folded position of the clothes reel is indicated in Fig.2 and in full lines in Fig. 3, the-arms of thereel being folded upwardly and the entire reel and its depending supportingv shaft 20 being drawn inward, closely adjacent to the post 12. A

-When it is desired to use the clothese reel, the handle 41 is grasped and pulled upwardly and to the right as viewed in Fig. 2. This action extends the lazy-tongs or linked structure and moves the shaft 20 outwardly away from the post 12 a distance sufficient to permit the clothes reel arms to swing freely Without contacting with the post 12.

As the lazy-tongs is extended, the outer ends of the links 16 and 26 necessarily approach each other. As previously described the outer end of the link 16 is secured to the collar 19 fixed on the shaft'20 while the outer end of the link 20 is pivoted to the collar 29 which is fixed on the slidable sleeve 30.

Consequently, extending movement of the lazy-tongs causes the'sleeve 30 to slide up ward relatively to the depending shaft 20to the position shown in Fig. 1. This relative upward movement of the sleeve 30 raises the innerends of the links or connecting rods 36 and swings the connecting rods from the do pending position shown in Fig; 2 to the raised I position shown in Fig. 1, at the same time positively spreading the arms 31 about their pivots at the lower end of the shaft 20. Pref erably the sleeve 30 is raised a sufiicient distance so that the links 36 are slightly above horizontal, thus locking the arms 31 from inward movement. 2

It will'thus' appear that upward swinging movement of the handel 41 acts to simultaneously extend the supporting structure and open the clothes reel to operative position. After the reel has been opened, it may be held by the hook42, as indicated in Fig. 1, in a position convenient for hanging the washing thereon, and it may thereafter be swung on the shaft 10, until thelink 21 enters the U shaped bracket 44, wherethe link may be r firmly retained by the locking pin 45.

When the device is to be folded, the operations above described are simply reversed, the handle 41 being depressed, causing a si- -multaneous inward movement of'the ,shaft 20 and folding movement ofthe reel arms 31.

I have thus provided an extremely simple and easily operated structure, in which a single movement is sufficient to extend and unfoldthe reel, and a single reverse movement is all that is required to fold and retract the reel- All of the parts are strongly made and firmly secured'together and the device is yery reliable and elfective in use.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the-details herein disclosed,otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but What I claim is p 5 porch clothes dryer comprising a folding reel, a support therefor, and operating means for said reel attached to said support, 1 effective to simultaneously open said reel by relative movement of reel parts along the vertical axis of said reel and to extend'said reel from the support by substantial bodily displacement of said reel in a horizontal direction. r

2.. A porch clothes dryer comprising a foldingv reel, a support therefor, and operating means for. said reel attached to said support said expansible'structure to open said reel by movement of reel parts along the vertical axis thereof.

4:. A porch clothes dryer, comprising a support and a lazy-tongs, a foldable reel carried by said lazy-tongs, means to extend said lazytongs, attached to said support, and connections between said lazy-tongs and said reel, movable relative to each other whereby the extension of said lazy-tongs simultaneously opens said reel.

5. A porch clothes dryer comprising a lazytongs supporting structure, means to extend such structure, means to hold said structure extended, a foldable reel mounted on the free end of said structure, a connection from a portion of said reel to an upper end portion of said lazy-tongs, and ,aconnection from another portion of said reel to a lower portion of said lazy-tongs, whereby the extension of said lazy-tongs in a substantially horizontal direction willopen said reel by movement of' reel parts along the vertical axis of said reel.

6. A porch clothes dryer comprising a horizontally extensible lazy-tongs structure, a depending shaft connected to the upper outer end of said structure, a sleeve slidable on said shaft and connected to the lower outer end of said structure, a plurality of arms pivotally connected to the lower end of said depending shaft, and aplurality of links connected to intermediate points of said arms and to said slidable sleeve, horizontal extension of said lazy tongs structure causing relative vertical movement of said sleeve and shaft to open said reel. I

7 A porch clothes dryer comprising a fixed frame member, a lazy-tongs structure pivoted to said frame member, a reel supported by said lazy-tongs structure for movement to and from an operative position by said structure,

connectionsbetween said reel and structure for opening and closing the reel during movement of the structure, a handle on said lazytongs structure for extending the same to move said reelto its operative and open position, and means to hold said structure in extended position and to hold said reel in open position.

8. A porch clothes dryer having a support,

an extensible structure attached thereto. av

folding reel mounted on said structure, and

means to extend said structure from the support by a substantially horizontal expansion thereof, said means thereby acting through said expansible structure to open said reel by movement of reel parts along the vertical axis thereof, subsequent contraction of said expansible structure being likewise effective to close said reel.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affiXed my signature.

AXEL J. FRANTZ.

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