US2477920A

US2477920A - Wire clothespin

Info

Publication number: US2477920A
Application number: US4731A
Authority: US
Inventors: Allen L Atkins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-01-28
Filing date: 1948-01-28
Publication date: 1949-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 1966-08-02

Description

1949- I A. L. ATKINS 7 2,477,920

" WIRE CLOTHESPIN I Filed Jan. 28, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

al fe o L @ijl 5% BY 0? wit Patented Aug. 2, 1949 f Allen L. Atkins, Qhicagoplll."

samehaveto be spreadagainst opposition offered 7 testis sp e di -births re i c o a d legs. i

whe e n th n is dap d o b co od ed after having been movedthereto,aand the pin being iso constructed that. when-the line has reached the line loop, the [arms can move towards one anotherthereby locking the line in theloop.

' ."Tlie principal object of the'invention lies inthe provisionoffnovel means for fastening the loops .l l 3 ld he n to ether.

Another object of the invention is to form a clothes pin out of a. 'p a ir of loops nested one within the other and fastened together at one end thereof in amovel mannersozthat the opposite end are free and resist spreading.

-' Still another 'object'of theinventiorfis to provide a novel end piece for holding the pin in as-' sembly. Q5171; .3 I

With the foregoing andother objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, arrangement and'la combination of parts hereinafter'fully described, illustrated'in the accompanying "drawings, "and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of thestructure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a clothes pin embodying my new invention and showing the parts thereof prior to assembly.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the clothes pin of Fig. 1 in assembled condition.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the clothes pin of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the clothes pin similar to that of Fig. 3 but showing the manner in which same is associated with a clothes line.

Referringtnow to the figures, the reference character J0 refers generally tothe preferred embodiment of my invention; Same is shown to consist oftwo looped legs II and I2 nested one within the other. For this purpose the looped leg l2 isl of smaller diameter than the leg :lll These ,legs are formed of resilient wire andrare arrangedfinthe same plane byreason of their nesting, as will be noted by reference .to The legs II and IZhave their free. ends rounded as shown at I t, and I5 andsaid rounded ends are bent away one from the other to thereby form a V-shaped entrance to the pines shown at .16. Theoppos-ite ends of each of the legs li and l2 are adapted to be permanently attached one to the other. For this purpose eachis provided with squared abutting ends [land 18 respective; ly'inwardly bentjfrom theirsides which pre the necessary spacing of. the loopslj'; These ,ends are fixed within an end piece I9 'whichljensheaths Sal-( 6 andgives a neat appearance tofthe pin Thecenter of the end piece. betwleenfthe' V of the center loop is-pinched together" as shown at 20 and the top of the end piece is rounded over the "abutting endsll as at-2l wherebythe end piece is rigidly and cleanly attachedto the'loo'ps. The end piece is preferablyformed ofa'section of flattened tubing as shown in Fig. 1 whichis slipped'over the assembledflends of the loops 1H and I2 and stamped into the formation just described. By this novel structure the operation of forming the end piece I 9j onth'e clothes pin l0 can be done in one stroke.

Each of the sides of the two legs II and I2, is provided intermediate its ends with a rounded loop or bight, all being at the same position along the pin. Said loops are shown at 22 and 23. The loops 22 on the leg II are bent from the sides in semi-circular formation in planes at right angles to the plane defined by the sides of the leg H, and on the same side of the leg I l as the bent end portion [4. Similarly the loops 23 are formed as semi-circular offset bends in the sides of the leg I2, in planes perpendicular to the plane of the sides of the leg [2 and in the same direction as the bent portion Hi.

The

semi-circular loops

22 and 23 cooperate to form a substantially circular space 24 on each edge of the clothes pin l0, said spaces 24 being aligned for the accommodation therein of the clothes line.

The clothes pin is used in the conventional manner for clamping an article of cloth 25 to a clothes line 26. The operation of the device is as follows: 7

After the cloth member 25 has been draped on the line 26, the clothes pin Ill is grasped in the hand by pinching the end portion I9 between the fingers. This leaves the legs II and I2 free to bend. The clothes pin in is poised with the V- 3 shaped space l6 above the line 26, and moved downwardly so that the line 26 and cloth enter said V-shaped entrance space. The pressure upon the pin l0 causes the line 26 to spread the legs l2 and I I one from the other in the directions in which the bent portions l4 and I5 extend. This movement is opposed by the resilience of the legs H and I2. As the line 26 passes the apex of the V-shaped entrance space I6 it enters between the sides of the legs II and I2 prior to entering the space 24. As the pin I0 is further pushed home, the line finally enters said space and, since the pressure upon the sides is partially relieved, the legs II and I2 partially close upon the line 26 and the cloth member 25 until the line loops 22 and .223 engage same. This confining action serves to substantially lock the clothes pin I 0 upon the line 26 in a manner in which the clothes pin will not readily be removed other than by pulling same off the line.

The structure above described is such that the clothes are at no time subject to being pinched or torn by reason of shearing action between metal edges. The wire used may be of a non-corrosive type to keep the clothes and line clean.

It, is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also 'be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, thestructural details are nevertheless capable of wide varia-- tion within the purview of my invention as defined inthe appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clothes pin comprising a pair of legs fastened together at one end and each having diverging portions at the opposite end thereof, said legs being formed .of nested elongated resilient wire loops each having two sides and adapted to spread when a clothes line is moved between said diverging portions and forced between said loops towards the fastened end, there being a space formed by thelegs and intermediate the ends to accommodate the line and lock said pin there- 4 onto when said line has been moved along the legs between the loops to said space and thereinto, said fastened ends each being provided with squared abutting extensionsbent at righ angles from each side of eachloop for maintaining the spacing between the sides of the respective loops,

and a fiat tubular member completely enclosing said abutting extensions of said loops on all sides thereof, said tubular member having a pinch closing off the same, and the inner end portion of the tubular member extending down the nested loops beyond the abutting extensions and having a pinch between the sides of the inner loop and adjacent the extensions of the inner loop.

2. An end fastening member for a wire clothespin which is formed or a pair of nested loops of wire fastened together at their open ends "and free to spread at their closed ends, the fastening member adapted to be installed in one stroke of a. crimping mechanism, the loops each having two wire sides, the fastened extremities of each side being bent at right angles inwardly towards its mate; said member comprising a flat tube engaged upon all of said inwardly bent extremities, having rounded edges, a closed, smooth-jointed pinch on its outer end, and an inwardly deformed pinch upon its inner end, saidqlatter pinch being disposed between the inner wire sides and adjacent said inwardly bent right angle extremities of said inner wire sides whereby said member completely confines all of said inwardly bent extremities.

ALLEN L. ATKINS.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS