US2077753A

US2077753A - Towel cabinet

Info

Publication number: US2077753A
Application number: US75617A
Authority: US
Inventors: Elgin A Hamner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1936-04-21
Filing date: 1936-04-21
Publication date: 1937-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 1954-04-20

Description

April 1937- E. A. HAMNER' I 2,077,753

TOWEL CABINET Filed April 21, 1936 3nventor g WAWQ M Patented Apr. 20, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TOWEL CABINET Elgin A. Hamner, Shreveport, La.

Application April 21,

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in a towel cabinet and is an improvement over the cabinet shown in my Patent No. 1,983,289. An object of this invention is to provide readily accessible towel compartments'while completely shielding the used towels from the person of the user.

Another object is to make it possible to use a towel with a grommet in one'corner so as to permit continued use of the towel even after some corners of the towel wear out.

A further object is to provide a towel guide rod which carries a towel to the soiled compartment entirely by gravity and which is secured to the cabinet by means which are readily released.

With the foregoing and other objects in'view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a towel cabinet embodying the features of the present inven- 5 tion.

Figure 2 is a central vertical section of the same.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the upper end of the towel guide rod.

Figure 4 is a central vertical section through a modified form of cabinet.

Figure 5 is a detail plan view of a towel as folded in the cabinet.

Figure 6 is a transverse section of the guide rod 35 clamp taken on the line 66 of Figure 7, and

Figure '7 is a vertical section of the same taken on the line l-l of Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to the form of cabinet shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cabinet is formed of a frontwall It, a back wall ll, side wall I2, top [3 and base l4. Opposite the side wall l2 the cabinet is left open to provide access to the interior thereof. A clean towel compartment is formed in the upper end of the cabinet by providing a shelf l5 which is fastened at its edges to the walls by means of the downturned flanges I6 or the like welded or otherwise secured to the cabinet. A towel guide rod I1 is connected to the shelf l5 by fastening thereto by means of a clamp lock H3. The rod is then carried upwardly above the top 13 from the shelf passing through the stack of towels I9, is returned on itself and passes down into the lower part of the cabinet which forms the 55 soiled towel compartment where it is secured by 1936, Serial No. 75,617

a similar clamp l8. The rod I1 is smooth and free from obstructions which would tend to catch a towel l9 and from the returned portion of the rod to the soiled towel compartment the towel is gently carried by the force of gravity so that the usual tendency of grommets or eyes in captive towels to wear out rapidly is substantially reduced.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7 for details of the locks l8 and I8, in the lock I8, a block 20 of substantial thickness is fastened to the wall l2 of the cabinet. The block has a vertical groove in its face to receive the end of the rod [1. yoke 2i has a channel formed therein corresponding to the groove and adapted to form with the block 20 a clamp for the rod II. The block 20 and yoke 2| are separate pieces and are connected atonly one point by a clamping screw 22 which engages the yoke and screws into the block. In order to protect the towels and prevent unauthorized removal thereof, the head of the screw 22 has, in place of the usual kerf, a peculiar key receiving face such as the spaced holes shown. Loosening of the screw to open the rod clamp requires the use of a key 23 which is kept in the possession of an authorized attendant.

It is to be noted that this construction of cabinet permits the use of a towel l9 carrying a grommet or eye 24 in the corner as shown in Figure 5. The towels are rectangular in shape and folded so as to overlap leaving the corner containing the grommet 24 protruding. Like the towels shown in the patent above referred to, bundles of them are folded, a tube inserted through the grommets to hold them in line and a rubber band or the like slipped around the bundle and over the ends of the tube to hold the stack together. The downturned end of the rod [1 is passed down through the tube which is then removed from around the rod ll leaving the rod engaging the grommets 24 of the towels and secured to the shelf l5 and by means of the clamp l8 which is then tightened. The rod I1 is attached to the shelf l5 about one inch from the rear wall II at the corner so that the towels are at the open side of the cabinet within easy reach.

To use a towel the uppermost of the bundle lying on the shelf [5 is grasped, slid over the loop in the rod ll, unfolded and used. Then after use it is only necessary to drop the towel when it will slide down the rod I! into the soiled compartment as shown in Figure 1 and come to rest against the side l2 of the cabinet. Successive towels traveling down the rod l1 into the soiled compartment will be packed neatly and closely because as the grommets are in a corner the body of the towel hangs down and each towel hangs the same way so as to take up the least possible space. In effect the soiled towels are packed in extended position and standing on one corner.

A great deal of loss has been experienced in furnishing captive towels to be used in such cabinets as are in general use today. They universally employ a towel with the grommet in the center of an edge so that when the towel tears at this point, as most do, the entire towel is a loss and must be discarded. It is also necessary to employ a re-. enforcement at the point where the grommet is inserted at great expense. The cabinet forming the subject of this invention is designed with the rod I! at the corner of the shelf 15 and with the rod bent to provide a gravity feed of towels into a soiled compartment which in turn is proportioned to receive the towels depending diagonally from their captive rod. The rod is also made smooth and free from obstructions from one end to the other. Furthermore the clamps for the ends of this rod are designed to prevent marring or roughening of the ends of the rods. so that slipping the towels on and off of the rod will not tend to catch or tear the towels. These features permit use of a towel with a. corner grommet and minimize the wear and tear of ordinary usage.

In this type of towel when a grommet tears through it is only necessary to cut off the torn corner and insert a grommet in another corner as no reenforcement is required. In this way the life of a towel is quadrupled for the loss of the corners does not materially detract from the usefulness of the towel.

Rleferring now to Figure 4, there is shown a modified form of cabinet composed of a fresh towel compartment 25 closed top and bottom and on three sides. This compartment is adapted for attachment to a wall or the like. A clamp lock I8 is secured to the flange 28 below the open side of the compartment to receive the upper end of the rod IT. A soiled towel receptacle 26 is located beneath the fresh compartment 25, as for instance, on the floor. The receptacle 26 is similarly enclosed except for one side but unlike the compartment 25 it is higher on the open side than on the closed side and the top 21 slopes instead of being flat. The slanted top 21 and the difference in height of the sides are adapted to the angle of the rod I! which, as in the other form, slopes from the fresh compartment to the soiled towel receptacle where it is attached.

This latter form of the cabinet is designed for use, for example, in connection with a wash stand, the compartment 25 being fastened above the stand and the receptacle 26 being located beneath the stand. The sloped top 2'! reduces the space occupied by the receptacle, permits a greater degree of slope to be given the rod 11, and makes the soiled towels and clamp lock l8 more accessible from the open side. The upper compartment is constructed like the clean towel compartment of the first form to permit use of towels having corner grommets.

As the folded towels are much narrower than the hanging towels in the soiled compartment the clean towel compartment is preferably narrower and the cabinet tapers upwards from a 12" x 12" bas to a 7" X 12" top. As one side of this cabinet is open the constricted clean compartment affords better protection to the towels lying there from dust and the like.

A highly important feature of any cabinet of this type is insulation of soiled towels from the users person. The usual cabinet having an open side is a health menace in this regard whereas the present cabinet presents to the user a completely closed wall. The soiled towels are carried all the way to the side of the cabinet opposite the opening. and cannot come in contact with the users person. The used towels are only visible from the open side of the cabinet and are accessible only by deliberate reaching into the open side thereof.

There are installations of these cabinets in which a right side opening as illustrated in the drawing is inconvenient and a left side opening is desired. This is, of course, within the scope of the invention as are variations in the length of the rod IT in the two piece cabinet to adapt the device to varying distances. The change of the soiled towel compartment 26 in the two piece cabinet to another shape where space is not so important is also contemplated.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departingfrom the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed is:

In a towel cabinet, an upper clean towel compartment open at one side and having a shelf on which a stack of towels is adapted to be supported with the outer'ed'ge portions of the towels projecting slightly beyond said shelf, a lower soiled towel compartment, a captive rod for the towels having a vertical portion lying exteriorly of theupper compartment but close to the open side thereof adjacent one end wall, clamp means on the outer edge of the shelf for releasably holding the lower end part of the vertical portion of said rod, said stack of towels having registering eyes in corner portions thereof positioned to slide on said rod. said towels being folded along transverse off-center lines to produce enfolded upper portions offset from and exposing the eyes, said rod being bent downwardly from the upper end of said vertical portion and extended on a long diagonal sweep downwardly into the lower compartment, clamp means for affixing the lower end of the rod to an innermost part of the lower compartment and at a substantial height above the bottom thereof sufficient to suspend the towels in diamond suspension whereby the same will not collapse or fold.

ELGIN A. HAMN'ER.