US2429173A - Rack for supporting and displaying wearing apparel - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1947. sM 2,429,173 I RACK FOR SUPPORTING AND DISPLAYING AAAAAAAAAAAA EL Filed June 24, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

WHMM 0 M. SMITH 2,429 73 RACK FOR SUPPORTING -AND DISPLAYING WEARING APPAREL Filed June 24, 1944' 2 Sheets-SheevZ Patented Oct. '14, 1947 UNITED STATES" PATENT @FFICE RACKEOR SUPPORTINGAND DISPLAYING WEARING APPAREL Roland. L... Smith, Belmont; Mass... assignor to N-iiproducts Corporation, Gambridge, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June-24; 1944, Serial No. 541,919

3 Claims. (Cl. 211-59) My invention relatesto improvements in racks for supporting and displaying wearing apparel such; forexample asfour-in-handneckties, andit-has for'itsprimaryobjectto improve the construction of racks-of the class-referred to.

It is also-an object of the invention to provide a rack of the class described Which will not onlysupport and display the apparel to good advantage but-which will also maintain the same.

distended andfre and clear' of wrinkles.

A third ob'ject of theinventionis to provide a rackof the-class described which Will'support a plurality of articles of wearing" apparel in closely grouped relationship and in such mannerthat they are not only 'heldin shape and displayed to goodadvantage but are also individually: accessible for removal.

A further object of the invention is to provide an enicientrackofth character described which will be of simple and inexpensive.construction.

To these ends I have provided certain improvements in apparel racks; as setzforth in the following description, the severalnovel features.

Figure Lisa top..plan.viewsof"a necktie rack;-

emb'odying asecondform of the invention. Figure ,5:is :asectionon .line 5-5 of Fig. 4-. Figure 6 is a side elevation of a necktie rack embodying a third form of the invention.

Figure 7 is a top plan View, enlarged, of the lower blade-holding member of the rack shown in Fig. 6, but with the blades of Fig. 6 removed.

Figure Sis a section on line 8--8 of Fig. '7 showing one of the blades in position thereon.

Figure 9 is an elevation of the attachment plate, hereinafter described, forming part of the blade-holding member shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Figure 10 is an elevation, partly broken away, of one of the blades of the rack shown in Fig. 6. The embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 inclusive comprises a bladeholding base member Illa in the form of an angular bracket including a perpendicular back wall formed with apertures for the reception of screws or nails by means of which said member is secured in position against a wall, door or other supporting fixture. At its top the back wall connects with a horizontal shelf l3'a whose top-portion is formed' with aplurality of relatively paralleltransverse slots Ma which are preferablyparallel' with the vertical back wall of the base.

Into each slot M is fitted the lower end of an" elongate tie-holding blade l5 which tapers in width from its lower end towardits upper end and which is of asize and-shape to fit'snugly within the larger end flap portion of an ordinary" four-in-hand necktie so as to maintain the same distendedand freeand clear of wrinkles.

Each blade l5 is preferably made from fiatrustproof shape-retaining sheet material of a thickness to fit snugly within its slot Ma of shelf l3a so that while occupying said slot it is: supported in an upstanding position by the side and bottom walls thereof as will be clear from-Figs.- 1' and 2. That is, the oppositely'disposed side Walls-of each slot Mahold the blade of said slotvertical asviewed'edgewise (Fig. 1), while the engagement of the bottom wall of said slot with thelower end of the blade at two pointsat oppositesides of thelongitudinal medial line of the bladenormally; holds the-latter" vertical as viewed sidewise (Fig. 2).

The horizontal shelf I3a is also formed upon its top with a longitudinal medial groove 21 disposedbetween the rows Ma and'within this groove is secured, by means of cement or otherin thelower ends of the blades i5. strip22 serves to align the blades on the shelf;

said blades being constructed as shown in Fig. 10.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 comprises a circular base member Illb made upon its top with two concentric circular series of alined radial blade-receiving slot sections Mb between which series is provided a circular blade-positioning key strip or tongue 22b that is secured by means of cement or otherwise within a groove 2m formed in base member lb. The blades [5 (Fig. 10) provided with this form of the invention are applied to the base in the same manner as in the case of the blades of Fig. 2.

The base lllb is formed at itsmiddle with a vertical cylindrical hole within which is journaled a trunnion 23 provided at the top of a pedestal member 24 adapted to stand upright upon a floor, store counter, or other horizontal support and to support base member lIJb so that it can be rotated thereon.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, comprises a bracket base member lfic whose upper portion is semicircular as viewed in plan and whose back wall 30 is adapted to fit flatwise against a fiat vertical supporting wall 21, means being provided upon said back wall by means of which the base member is removably fastened to said wall 21.

The top of base member I is made with two semicircular series of aligned radial bladereceiving slot sections I40 and between each pair of slot sections is provided a vertical key in the form of a blade-positioning dowel 28 secured, by means of cement or otherwise, within a hole 29 (Fig. 8) bored in the top of base member lllc. As shown, these dowels are disposed in a semicircular series parallel with and between the two series of slot sections.

The lower slotted end of a blade l5 (Fig.

is slid into position within each pair of slot sections with its slot 23 occupied by the dowel key 28 of sad pair as shown in Figs. 6 and 8 so that a partial side view of each of the ties (not shown) is presented to view while at the same time the blades and ties are disposed in a compact group close to wall 21.

The means herein provided for removably fastening base member 100 to wall 21 comprises a metal plate 3| (Figs. 8 and 9) fastened by screws 32 within a recess provided upon the back wall 30 of the base member so that its exposed face is flush with rear wall 30, said plate being formed with apertures 33 to accommodate the screws 32 and also with a pair of buttonhole slots 34 having their larger ends disposed lowermost. The wall 21 is provided with two vertically alined screws 35 whose heads are spaced slightly away from said wall, said screws being spaced apart the same distance as are the button hole slots 34. It will therefore be clear that when base member I90 is placed against wall 2'! with the screws 35 Within the enlargements of slots 34 and then slid downwardly the base member is securely held in position against wall 2'1. To disconnect the base member from wall 27 it is slid upwardly until it can be shifted away from screws 35.

By means of a rack constructed as above described an individual may store a plurality of ties in a compact group where they are readily accessible and conveniently displayed for selection, the blade or form on which each tie is mounted serving to hold its tie in fiat distended condition so as to have the same effect thereon as ironing. While I have herein shown racks adapted to hold neckties, it will be obvious that blades or forms of other designs may be substituted to adapt the racks to support stockings or other articles.

What I claim is:

1. A rack for supporting and displaying Wearing apparel, said rack comprising a base memher and a plurality of fiat elongate forms each consisting of a single blade of sheet material adapted to be fitted telescopically endwise into a tubular article of wearing apparel so as to maintain the same distended, said base member being made upon its top side with a row of form receiving slots disposed side by side into each of which the lower end of one of said forms is removably fitted so that the latter is supported in an upstanding position by said base member, and each of said forms having its lower end provided with a longitudinal medial slot that is open atone end, and means permanently and fixedly connected with said base member intermediate the opposite ends of the slots thereof for occupying the longitudinal medial slot of each form so as to engage the opposite sides only of said medial slot thereby to hold said form against lateral edgewise displacement in either direction relatively to said base member and to maintain the several forms in alinement.

2. A rack of the character described constructed in accordance with claim 1 and wherein said bas member is a bracket that is attached to a vertically disposed supporting fixture.

3. A rack of the character described constructed in accordance with claim 1 wherein the slots of said base member are arranged in a circular row and wherein there is also provided a pedestal member upon which said base member is mounted for rotative adjustment on a vertical axis.

ROLAND L. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Marsh June 17, 1913

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