US2388637A

US2388637A - Folding clothes rack

Info

Publication number: US2388637A
Application number: US489710A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward T John
Original assignee: J R Clark Co
Current assignee: J R Clark Co
Priority date: 1943-06-04
Filing date: 1943-06-04
Publication date: 1945-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 1962-11-06

Description

Nov. 6, 1945. E. T. JOHN FOLDING CLOTHES RACK Filed June 4. 1943 'gwn/WM EDWARD L JOHN Patented Nov. 6, 1945 FOLDING CLOTHES RACK Edward T. John, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to The J. R. ClarkrCompany, Minneapolis, Minn.,

a corporation Application June 4, 1943, Serial No. 489,710

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a folding clothes rack, and more particularly to such a clothes rack as may be packaged at the factory in a knockeddown condition with the side frame members completely assembled but the rungs or hanging bars disassembled, yet of such a nature that the purchaser may simply and accurately effect assembly from thel comparatively compact and small package Vin which the disassembled parts are marketed.

AFolding clothes racks are of great utility and advantage in homes, particularly those in .which there are small children and also inconnection with womens stockings and underwear where the laundering of such things isl done in the home and the clothes rack gives relatively large hanging facilities. One of the difficulties in the manufacture and marketing of such folding clothes racks has been the large amount of space occupied by the complete clothes rack in packaging and shipping and the expense of large packages for holding the clothes rack while it is being shipped and delivered. When the rungs or hanging bars are removed the side frames can be folded into 'compact structures which, when placed'side by side, and with the rungs extending parallel, can be assembled in a small compact package which is itself inexpensive as compared tothe larger packages in which the fully assembled folding clothes racks have been' shipped, and which saves very greatly in the cost of shipping and also practically completely eliminates breakage, which is a source of considerable loss where folding clothes racks are shipped when fully assembled.

It is a principal object of my invention, therefore, to provide folding clothes rack side frame members fully assembled and adapted to be closed and opened as in use in a clothes rack, to form in said side members sockets adapted to receive cylindrical portions of the ends of rods which may be introduced in said sockets with a reasonable degree of force, and to provide means in the sockets such that when the rung end is t'urned'therein Va portion of the wood in the socket will be deformed thereby to lock the rung or hanging bar permanently to the side frame pieces.r This' assembling can be effected very easily by an Aagent of the seller or a householder at the latters home. And when the assembly has been completed the resulting product will be a permanently assembled folding clothes rack adapted to be used in the home for the purposes intended.

It is a further object of my invention to providethe socket with an' inner ferrule of material, suchv as spring steel, which may yield slight- 1y to permit the fashioned end of a rung or hanging bar to be inserted inside the same, where it will be rmly gripped by the spring ferrule in the socket. l

It is a further object of my invention to form on the inside of the ferrule above defined an inward projection such that when the fashioned end of the rung or clothes bar is forced into the same it Will produce a slight deformation of the Wood of the fashioned rung end in the way of a longitudinal groove. Then by turning the rung or hanging bar the 'projection may be caused to form the arc of a circumferential groove which will seat the projection in the body of the wood of the fashionedrung end, thus locking it per-v manently in the socket. When this has been done for each of the rungs at each of the side frames, the folding clothes rack will be fully assembled with all parts permanently secured toe gether tting it for use in the home.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will more particularly be given in connection with the appended specification and the novel features of the invention which secure the advantageous results of its practice are particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig, 1 illustrates in perspective a folding clothes rack fully assembled and ready for use, embodying my invention.

Fig. Z is a plan view of the package containing the folded side frame members and the rungs or hanging bars with some parts broken away to show the manner in which the side members fold one upon the other.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the aforesaid package.

Fig. 4 is ya side view on an enlarged scale of one of the rungs or hanging bars.

Fig. 5 is a part perspective view of one of the spring metal ferrules lining the sockets for re ceiving a fashioned end of a rung or hanging bar.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on line 1--1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged part perspective view of a portion of one of the rungs or hanging bars, showing the manner in which the same is scored longitudinally and circumferentially in assembling within the aforesaid socket.

As clearly indicated the fully completed folding clothes rack comprises side frames I0 and I I. Each of these frames comprises main side gether at the point 21. The

bars

25 and 26 have pivotally connected therewith at 28 and 29 a pair of short bars 30 and 3| which are pivotallyV f connected at their upper ends as at 32. At each of the above-noted points of pivotal 'connection I6, I1, 20, 2l, 22, 23, 24, 21, 28, 29, and 32, when the clothes rack is permanently assembled, as shown in Fig. 1, there will be mounted in sockets having a spring metal liner 33, a series of `rungs 34. Other rungs 3-5 in all respects identical with rungs 34 will be assembled in the side bars I2 and I3. This arrangement is such that the side frame members may fold upon themselves as indicated at 36 in Fig. 2. The

rungs

34 or 35 are cylindrical, or circular in cross-section, and of any desired length. Each end as at 39 and 40 of Fig. 4, is fashioned to provide a reduced cylindrical portion extending from shoulders 4I and 42 formed on the ends of the

rungs

34 and 40.

The ferrule 33, Fig. 5, is split as indicated at 43, and is provided with a flange 44 adapted to engage the outside of any frame bar, as indicated at 46 in Fig. 6. The opening 41, Fig. 5, is contracted when the ferrule 33 is inserted in a socket opening as at 48 in Fig. 6, and such contraction will substantially close the gap 43 in the side of the ferrule. When in position, as in Fig. '7, the ferrule 33 h'as an inside diameter slightly less than the diameter of the reduced cylindrical end portions 39 and 4U of the rungs or hanging bars 34. There is also provided a projection 50 formed on the ferrule body 33 opposite the split 43 and extending inwardly into the circular space 41 Within the ferrule which' isto receive the reduced

end portions

39 or 40 of the rungs 34.

The ferrules passing through the several joints I1, 20, 2I and the like, between frame bars, are made long enough to extend through th'e two bar members and form the pivotal connection therewith. f

This is the condition of the parts when the folding rack is completed at the factory, packaged and shipped, and is, of course, the condition of the parts when received by the householder. In order to 4 complete the rack the purchaser or householder must assemble the rungs or hanging

bars

34 and 35 at his home after the packaged parts have been delivered there. In doing this he will ordinarily introduce the reduced portion at one end of the

rungs

34 or 35,say the reduced portions 39, into the various sockets of one of the bars. This is done by forcing said reduced portion into the socket formed by the interior of th'e ferrule 33, thereby forcing the projection 50 to slightly indent or deform a longitudinal path along the side of' the projection 39 presented thereto. The householder will th'en seat the other reduced end portion 40 of the rungs or hanging bars 34 in the other set of ferrules, in each case causing a longitudinal deforming along said reduced end -portion to bring the-shoulders 42 against the bars, as the shoulders 4I have already been brought against its bar.

After the rungs or hanging bars have been so assembled, the householder will turn each bar a short distance, from a quarter to half a revolution. This will cause the projection 50 to deform the wood of the reduced

end portions

39 and 40 over a, circumferential path, as indicated at 5I. Fi'g, 8, and will leave the projection in eect seated in the body of the end portions 39 and 4II.

In this position the bars of the side frames will pivot on the outside surfaces of the ferrules 33, passing through the two sets of bars, while the rungs 34 will remain immovably set at their ends in said ferrules,.enabling the clothes rack to be folded togetherand extended as the householder may desire.

'I'he advantages of my invention are clearly evident from the foregoing description. A primary advantage resides in the fact th'at a quite complex folding clothes rack which, if in fully assembled condition" would require a great deal of shipping' space and cost of packaging and consequent cost of shipping, with very considerable loss from breakage-,may be packed in a small and compact form for storage in retail establishments and delivery to purchasers. This is a very substantial and expense-saving advantage which has met with' large public approval, for it greatly reduces the cost of the clothes rack to the ultimate purchaser, and it has been found that purchasers do not at all object to making the assembly of the clothes-rack themselves in view of this saving of expense.

A furth'er great advantage of my invention resides in the fact'that the means of assembling and in effect locking the rungs or hanging bars upon the side 'frame' supports is accomplished with a simple light, but effective, ferrule stamping, and with no complementary metallic formed member on the ends of the rungs. The locking togeth'er of the rungs and the supporting bars is effected merely by'forcing the reduced ends of the bars into the socket formed by the interior of the ferrule and subsequent turning of the rungs which in that manner provides the complementary locking arrangement-` This locking arrangement has provedvery certain and effective. A furtherl marked advantage is that, since each projection cuts its own grooves in the rungs, there is no diflculty in securing an accurate tight flt between these pieces, in spite of slight manufacturing irregularities. This is of prime importance, since the successful assembly and long continued service of the rack depend to a great extent on the accuracy of this lit.

I claim:

A clothes rack comprising a multiplicity of side frame bars on each side of th'e clothes rack, holes through said bars, sockets set in said holes formed of sheet metal cylinders Asplit along one side, an inward projection on each said sheet metal socket member, a multiplicity of wood rungs, each having reduced end portions of greater diameter than the normal inner diameter 0f the sockets forced into and turned in said sockets th'ereby forming right-angled` grooves in said endk portions, lwhereby the frame bars are pivotally connected together and the rungs are locked upon the side frame members.

' i l EDWARD T. JOHN.