US2062777A

US2062777A - Stocking drier and stretcher

Info

Publication number: US2062777A
Application number: US17484A
Authority: US
Inventors: Blackman Joseph Paul
Original assignee: EDWARD F HURD
Current assignee: EDWARD F HURD
Priority date: 1935-04-20
Filing date: 1935-04-20
Publication date: 1936-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 1953-12-01

Description

J. P. BLACKMAN Y STOCKING DRIER AND STRETCHER Filed April 20, 1935 Dec. l, 1936.

ATTORNEYS IIIIIITZ lill llll Il Irunlnn |f...||||' Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED `STATES STOCKING DRIER AND STRETCHER Joseph Paul Blackman, Fairfield, Conn., assigner of one-half to Edward F. Hurd, Bridgeport,

Conn.

Application April 20, 1935, Serial No.`17,484

14 Claims. (Cl. 223-77) 'I'his invention relates to new and useful improvements in a stocking drier and stretcher, and has for an object to provide a means adapted to hold any size of stocking in proper shape for drying so as to prevent the stocking getting out of shape and also, if desired, maintain the stocking stretched so as to prevent it from shrinking.

Another object is to provide f a stocking stretcher and drier including y adjustments whereby it is adapted for use in the drying of various sizes of stockings, the said stretcher and drier having independent simple adjustments so as to properly take care of various foot, ankle and calf sizes of stockings.

Other objects and advantages will become ap-' parent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the invention is shown.

However, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details disclosed but includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the manner of applying the device to a stocking, the latter being shown in section in full lines and the various dotted lines showing some of the adjustments which may be made so as to have the device stretch the stocking as desired or to t different sizes of socks o-r stockings;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view looking at the stretcher and drier from the right in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional View taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken substantially along the line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional View taken substantially along the line 6 6 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a similar View taken substantially along the line 'I-1 of Fig. 2.

As here disclosed the improved drier and stretcher comprises front and rear transversely flat tubular leg members I0 and II of which the former comprises a calf portion I2 and an ankle portion I3 and it will be noted that the lower end portion I4 of said member, beginning at the ankle portion thereof, in addition to extending downwardly is curved forwardly. The rear leg member II comprises a calf portion I5, an ankle portion I6 and below such portion the member is curved providing a heel portion Il the free end portion I8 of which is turned up slightly for a purpose to be described.

A flexible piece I9, such for example as fiat corset steel, has one end portion 2@ (see Fig. '7) 5 secured in the lower free end portion I8 of the leg member II and such flexible piece is then inserted through the lower end of the front leg piece I0 and is carried upwardly entirely therel through and has its other end portion 2l (see 10 Figs. 6 and 7) inserted into the rear leg member II through the open upper end thereof. Between the lower ends of the members I@ and II the piece I9 forms a loop 22 and between the upper ends of said members the piece forms a 15 loop 23.

The piece I9 is preferably of exible spring metal, and is slidable through the front leg member I0 and is slidable in the upper portion of the rear leg member II so that the piece may be 20 moved through the member IB and more or less of the piece may be inserted into and withdrawn from the member II in the making of adjustments as will later appear. If desired, the leg members I0 and II may be round and the piece 25 I9 may also be of round stock. However, it is preferred that the tubular leg members be transversely at, and that the member I9 be of flat stock as shown since if round stock is used in place of the piece I 9 and round tubes in place 30 of the at tubes shown there will be a tendency of the device to turn laterally out of its plane. The members I 0 and II may be flat seamless tubes or they may be formed of sheet metal folded up to proper shape with longitudinal side edges preferably on the inside as shown at il.`

Disposed at the inner sides of and secured t0 the front and rear leg members I0 and Il are at

tubular guide members

24 and 25 respectively. The

guides

24 and 25 may be secured to the mem- 40 bers Ill and II in any suitable manner and by any suitable means as for example by solder as shown at 26. Said guides have their

lower end portions

21 and 28 curved to extend toward one another as best shown in Fig. land within the 45 curved lower end portion 28 of the guide 25 there is secured one end 29 of a flexible piece 30. (See Fig. 6). Such flexible piece 30 is preferably of the same material as piece I9 and is carried up entirely through the guide 24 and has its free end 50 3| inserted into the guide 25 through the upper end thereof. Between the upper ends of the guides the piece 30 forms a loop 32 and its portion between the curved lower ends of the guides is designated 33. 55

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the end 29 of the flexible piece I9 may be secured in the rear leg member II in any desired manner. As shown, the end piece is secured by pinching in portions of the member II as shown at 34 in Fig. 7. The end of the flexible piece is secured in the curved portion 2B of the guide 25 in a similar manner, portions of said guide being pressed or pinched inwardly against the end 29 of the piece as shown at 35. It should also be understood that while the flexible piece I9 is slidable through the front leg member IIJ and into and from the upper end portion of the leg member II, the exible piece 3D is slidable through the guide 24 and its free end portion is slidable in and out of the upper end portion of the guide 25. Further, while it is preferred that the front and rear leg members and the guides be in the form of at tubes they need not be in the form of split tubes as shown but may be seamless or may have their edges secured together.

The .device is particularly adapted for use when drying woolen stockings at which time it will serve to maintain a stocking in the .required shape so that it may be dried without shrinking. In the drawing a stocking is indicated at 36 and includes a foot portion 31 and a leg portion 38. When the present device is to be used for drying the stocking exible piece I9 is drawn upwardly through the front leg member I0 so that the lower or foot shaped loop 22 of said piece is relatively small as indicated by its ldotted line position 22a in Fig. 1. As the piece I9 is drawn upwardly through the member IIJ its free end portion may be further inserted into the member I I so that the size o-f its upper loop 23 is not increased.

If the stocking to be dried is quite small, then the piece 3| is drawn upwardly through the guide 24 so as to as far as possible reduce the distance between the ends of the

curved portions

21 and 28 oi' the guides, and since the guides are attached to the members IU and II such adjusting of the piece 3B will result in the ankle portions of said members being drawn toward one another. Tokeep low the distance between the calf portions of the members I0 and I I the loop 32 of the piece 3D must be kept small and therefore as such piece is drawn upwardly through the guide 24 additional portions of the piece are inserted into the guide 25.

Assuming that all of the parts of the device, with the exception of the foot loop 22 of the piece I9, are in the full line positions of Fig. l

and that such foot loop is in the position of the dotted line 22a then the device may be easily inserted into the stocking preferably until the heel portion I'I of the device engages the heel of y the stocking. Thereafter a portion of the piece I9 is drawn out of the upper end of the member I I and additional quantities of said piece are fed downwardly through the member III so as to form the foot-shaped loop 22. The piece is fed as described until the loop 22 is of the desired size completely filling the foot 3l of the stocking in a manner to stretch the same and maintain it in the proper shape. Owing to the fact that the free end portion I8 of the heel I'I is bent upwardly as described the portion of the piece I9 forming the foot shaped loop 22 takes a shape with its under or lower arm arched as at 39.

Either after or before the piece I9 has been fed downwardly through the member I0 so as to Y have the foot-shaped loop 22 of the desired size the flexible piece 30 may be manipulated so as to shift the members I0 and II relatively so as to have such members properly t or stretch the ankle and calf portion of the stocking. To adjust such members to a larger ankle size of stocking the piece 30 is fed or forced downwardly through the guide 24 so as to increase the size of its loop 33 as to bring such loop into the dotted line position 33a. Obviously, this forces apart the ankle portions I3 and I6 of the members I0 and II as shown by the dotted lines and if the size of the upper loop 32 of the piece 30 is kept the same there will be no increase in the calf size for which the members II] and I I are set.

If the calf size is to be varied it may be increased by increasing the size of the loop 23 so as to have that loop of a size indicated by a dotted lline 23a and by then increasing the size of the loop 32 as to that indicated by the dotted lines 32m. The calf size may be reduced by reducing the size of the loop 23 as to the size indicated by the dotted lines 23h. Beyond certain limits variations in the calf sizes must be taken care of by adjusting the sizes of the

loops

23 and 32 although within limits varying the size of either loop will vary the distance between the upper portions of the members I0 and II. It will be understood that the sizes of the

loops

23 and 32 are adjusted by inserting the free end portions of the pieces I9 and 3D more or less into the member I I and the guide 25 respectively.

For a very large stocking the parts may be adjusted to hold such stocking in the proper shape and the parts may also be adjusted so that the device will hold a small stocking in shape. It

will, therefore, be appreciated that the one device is capable of taking care of all sizes of stockings and that it is not necessary to have a different pair of devices for each size of stocking. The dotted lines 22h indicate a substantial increase in the size of the foot loop beyond that shown by the full lines and give some idea of the wide range of adjustments which may be made.

With the disclosed means adjustments may be made to exact sizes since the adjustments are not made step by step. Further, the adjustments are not dependent on one another and may be made independent of one another so as to give the best results. That is, the foot loop may be eX- panded to the desired size without respect to the ankle size or calf size and by adjusting the width of the loop 33 the ankle size may be regulated without respect to the calf or foot size and by adjusting either or both of the

loops

23 and 32 the calf size may be adjusted without respect to the ankle or foot size. For insertion into and removal from a stocking the device may be readily adjusted to small or if desired to its smallest dimensions so that there will be no diculty in the use of the device. In this connection it will be understood that to reduce the size of loop 22 the piece is drawn upwardly through the front leg member IU. To reduce the ankle size the piece 3i) is drawn up through the guide 24 and to reduce the calf size the

loops

23 and 32 are reduced as by feeding the pieces I9 and 3B into the member I I and guide 25 respectively.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear tubular leg members of which the former comprises a calf and ankle piece while the latter comprises a calf, ankle and heel piece, a flexible resilient piece extending out of the lower end of one of said members and into the other through the lower end thereof to form a flexible resilient loop, and said flexible piece being slidable in one of said members independently of the other member to form foot shaped loops of different sizes.

2. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear tubular members each having its lower end portion curved forwardly, a flexible resilient piece extending between the lower ends of said members and having its end portions disposed in said members to form a flexible resilient loop between them, and said piece being frictionally slidable in one of said members independently of the other member to form foot shaped loops of different sizes.

3. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear tubular members of which the former comprises a calf and ankle piece while the latter comprises a calf, ankle and heel piece, said front piece having its lower end curved forwardly, a fiexible resilient piece extending between the lower ends of said members and having its end portions disposed in said members, said piece being slidable in one of the members so that it is adapted to be fed out of the lower end of said member to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, and said rear member having the free end portion of its heel piece bent slightly upwardly so as to bend the exi'ble piece forming the foot shaped loop and because of its resiliency curve, the portion immediately forwardly of the heel to form an arch.

4. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear leg members each comprising a calf and an ankle portion, a flexible piece extending between the lower ends of said members and adjustable with respect to one of them to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, and separate means between and connecting said members above said footloop adjustable to vary the distance between their ankle portions.

5. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rea-r leg members each comprising a calf and an ankle portion, a exible piece extending between the lower ends of said members and adjustable with respect to one of them to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, and separate m'eans connecting said members above the footloop and adjustable to vary the distance between their calf portions.

6. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear leg members each comprising a calf and an ankle portion, a flexible piece extending between the lower ends of said members and adjustable with respect to one of them to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, and separate means connecting said members above the footloop and adjustable to independently vary the distances between the ankle portions and between the calf portions of said members.

7. In a stocking drier and stretcher, first and second tubular members, a flexible piece having an end secured in the second of said members, said piece extending through the first of said members from the lower end thereof and having its other end disposed in the upper `portion of the second of said members, said piece withdrawable from the upper end of the second member to increase the distance between the upper ends of said members, and said piece shiftable down through the first member to form a foot shaped loop at the lower ends of said members.

8. In a stocking drier and stretcher, first and second tubular members, a flexible piece having an end secured in the second of said members, said piece extending through the first of said members from the lower end thereof and having its other end disposed in the upper portion of the second of said members, and said piece withdrawable from the upper end of the second member to increase the distance between the upper ends or said members.

9. In a stocking drier and stretcher, first and second tubular members, a exible resilient piece having an end secured in the second of said members, said piece extending through and frictionally slidable in the first of said members from the lower end thereof to form a exib-ie resilient loop between the members, and said piece being shiftable down through the first member to form and adjust a foot shaped loop at the lower ends of said members.

10. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear leg members each comprising a calf and an ankle portion, a flexible resilient piece extending between the lower ends of said members and adjustable with respect to one of them to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, tubular guides on said members, a flexible resilient piece having an end secured in the rst of said guides, said piece extending through the second of said guides from the lower end thereof and having its other end disposed in the upper portion of the first guide, said piece withdrawable from the upper end of the first guide to increase the distance between the upper ends of said members, and said piece shiftable down through the second guide to increase the distance between the lower portions of said members.

1l. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear leg members each comprising a calf 'and an ankle portion, a ilexible resilient piece extending between the lower ends of said members and adr. justable with respect to one of them to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, tubular guides on said members, a flexible resilient piece having an end secured in the first of said guides, said piece extending through the second of said guides from the lower end thereof and having its other' end disposed in the upper portion of the first guide, and' said piece withdrawable from the upper end of the first guide to increase the distance between the upper ends of said members.

12. In a stocking drier and stretcher, front and rear leg members each comprising a calf and an ankle portion, a flexible resilient piece extending between the lower ends of said members and adjustable with respect to one oi them to form a foot shaped loop of the desired size, tubular guides on said members, a flexible piece having an end secured in the first of said guides, said piece extending through the second of said guides from the lower end thereof, and said piece shiftable down through the second guideto increase the distance between the lower portions of said members.

13. In a stocking drier and stretcher, first yand second tubular members, a flexible resilient piece having an end secured in the second of said members, said piece extending through the rst of said members from the lower end thereof and having its other end disposed in the upper portion of the second of said members, said piece withdrawable from the upper end of the second member to increase the distance between the'upper ends of said members, said piece shiftable' down through the first member to form a foot shaped loop at the lower ends of said members, tubular guides on said members, a flexible piece having an end secured in the first of said guides, said piece extending through the second of said guides from the lower end thereof and having its other end disposed in the upper portion of the first guide, said piece withdrawable from the upper end of the first guide to increase the distance between the upper ends of said members, and said piece shiftable down through the second guide to increase the distance between the lower portions of said members.

14. In a stocking drier and stretcher, a pair of tubular members forming front and rear leg members, a exibleresilient member extending between the lower ends of said tubular members to form a foot loop and irictionally slidable in one of said members to adjust the size of the loop, and a separate connection between the tubular members above the foot loop and adjustable to vary the distance between said members.

JOSEPH PAUL BLACKMAN.