US2657875A - Clothesline reel - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 3, 1953 R. J. KINGSLEY CLOTHESLINE REEL Filed June 21, 1951 INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 3, 1953 Application .Tune 21', 1951-, ,vSerial No.

2' Claims; (Cl. 242-'-l01') This" invention relates to* iinprovements-- in clothesl ine reels'up'on which one or more clothes lines may be wound when not in use; and from which the clothesline orlines maybe read ilyun' wound for use;

of a clothesline' reel embodying this invention showing: the clothes=- line in position for use;

Fig. 2 is 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3-is a transversesectional elevation there'- of-, Fig. 2, Orr-em. enlarged scale. a; fragmentary section" thereof-, on Fig. v3', onastill larger scale;.

Fig. is a transverse sectional: elevation thereof, on line 55-, Fig; 2.

The clothesline reel is preferablymount'edon or web l5 extending substantially paralle ,to the plate-or, webl4. and spaced: therefrom a, sectional plan view thereofioon" line" The drum 9 may be rotatably'mounted on the plates or'webs' I 4 and I5 by shaft l6 extending through be readily seen. thettt'he shaft I i-when revolved by means of ther'cranle f8: will transmit" rotary motion: to the; windingdrumi bymeans of the plate-onikey and: the shaft? l6: may be moved :drmnito: a'limited ex are preferbar 26. which maybe-re wall: or other support? 21;

lie-secured total. plate 29 which i-nsturnflis secureeli tow the. 3.112013 support 231 the: clothe'slines' are? to be strung betweenvtwo=walls-of a. room.. 'Iheev ban zfirmay readilybe'disengaged from the hooks; 2'8 and. perm-tttedvto move. tovlrarcl the reel so that the clotheslines may be wound on the: winding rum. S. Any other meansmaylee-providedforsuppontingtheouter ends of the: clothes-lines.

will hold the drum 9 against turning in a direction to unwind the clotheslines therefrom. In the construction shown, I have provided the supporting plate or web [5, which also forms an end wall of the housing of the clothesline reel, with a plurality of ratchet teeth. This may, for example, be done by providing on the wall or plate I5 9, series of cuts 32 arranged in a circle concentric with the shaft [5. and then forcing the metal adjacent to one side of each of the cuts outwardly as shown at 33, see particularly Fig; 4. In this manner, there will be formed a series of projections having sloping or inclined sides terminating at the cuts 32 in abrupt edges. The end wall or web I5, consequently, constitutes a ratchet and this ratchet cooperates with a latch member 35 of any desired shape or form secured to the winding shaft Hi. In the particular construction shown, this ratchet member is in the form of a rectangular plate or bar having a hub portion 36 which may be suitably secured to a winding shaft 16. It will, consequently, be seen that when the latch member erative position in close proximity to the plate or wall 15, the edges of this engage with the abrupt faces of the ratchet teeth 33, and thus prevent rotation of the winding shaft in one direction. If the winding shaft is turned in the opposite direction, the latch member will readily ride over ratchet teeth, which faces will not interfere with the turning of the shaft IS in such direction.

Means are provided for normally urging the latch member 35 into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet, and in the construction shown for this purpose, a yielding member, such as a coil spring 38 extends about the shaft Hi. This spring at one end thereof bears against the supporting member or plate H and, if desired, a washer may be interposed between this spring and the plate.

The other end of the spring engages the hub portion 36 of the latch member, thus urging the latch member 35 into engagement with the ratchet member or end wall 15. However, since the shaft I5 is movable lengthwise of the winding drum 3, it will be obvious that if pressure is applied to the outer face of the wheel or disk H, the latch member 35 will move against the action of the spring 38 out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet member,

direction to permit unwinding of the clothesline therefrom.

In the use of the clothesline reel described, when it is desired to unwind the clotheslines from the winding drum, it is merely necessary to apply pressure to the outer face of the wheel or disk IT to move the latch member 35 out of engagement with the ratchet teeth. The clotheslines can then be unwound from the winding drum by merely pulling the same outwardly to the desired extent. After the outer ends of the clotheslines have been secured to a support, for example, when the bar 26 has been secured to the hooks 23, the crank l8 may be turned in a direction to wind the clotheslines on the drum 9, during which rotation the latch member 35 will ride over the inclined faces of the ratchet teeth 33. This may be done without pushing the wheel or disk I! and the shaft inwardly toward the winding drum, in which case the latch member 35 will ride over the ratchet teeth. When the clotheslines have been tightened to the desired extent, the ratchet mechanism will prevent unwinding of the clotheslines from the winding drum. If desired, the shaft may be turned in the direction for windin latch member will the inclined faces 33 of the whereupon the drum may be turned in a the clotheslines on the drum while pushing the crank l3 toward the drum. in which case, the latch member will rotate without contacting the ratchet teeth. When the clotheslines have been wound on the drum to the desired extent, the crank I8 is released, whereupon the spring 33 will move the latch into engagement with the ratchet teeth, thus preventing unwinding of the lines from the drum. Consequently, when the desired tension has been applied to the clotheslines, they will be maintained in this position by means of the ratchet mechanism.

40 represents a cover of sheet metal or other suitable material which may be secured to the base or to the outwardly extending supporting members l0, I4 and I5, in any suitable or desired manner. In the construction shown, the cover member is provided with flanges 4|, Fig. 3, which may be secured by screws or other means to the base 1. The cover member is provided with suitable holes or apertures 42 through which the clotheslines may pass. When the clotheslines are not needed, the winding drum may be rotated by means of the crank l8 to wind the clotheslines on the winding drum, whereupon the bar 26 will lie against the outer surface of the cover member 40 of the reel.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in Order to explain the nature of the invention. may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: I

1. In a clothesline reel including a winding drum on which a clothesline may be wound and a base, that improvement which includes a supporting member secured to said base and extending outwardly therefrom in position to rotatably support one end of said drum, a pair of supporting members secured to said base and extending outwardly therefrom in spaced relation to the other end of said drum and spaced apart lengthwise of each other, a shaft rotatably mounted in said last mentioned supporting members, said drum having an axial bore in the end thereof adjacent to said shaft into which said shaft may extend, said drum also having a diametrical slot in said last mentioned end of said drum intersecting said bore, a plate secured to said shaft and extending radially with reference to the same and slidable lengthwise of said slot in said drum and forming a driving connection between said shaft and said drum, a ratchet mechanism including a stationary ratchet member, a latch secured to said shaft and movable into and out of engagement with said ratchet by movement of said shaft relatively to said drum, said ratchet member having teeth with which said latch cooperates to hold said shaft and drum from rotating in a direction to unwind said clothesline from said drum, a spring normally holding said latch in engagement with said ratchet, said latch being movable out of engagement with said ratchet when said shaft is moved toward said drum, to permit rotation of said drum for unwinding of a clothesline therefrom.

2. In a clothesline reel having a winding drum on which a clothesline may be wound and a base, that improvement which includes a supporting member secured to said base and extending outwardly therefrom in position to rotatably support one end of said drum, another supporting member of U-shaped form having its intermedisaid base and having legs other direction, said shaft when moved toward ding outwardly from said said drum disengaging said latch from said teeth mounted on said legs and to permit unwinding of said clothesline from said of its length to a limited drum.

d formed to engage with 10 tion between said shaft 5 RALPH J. KINGSLEY.

' drum one of said legs References Cited in the file of this patent tending outwardly there- UNITED STATES T N Number Name Date 590,940 Ayer Sept. 28, 1897 1,415,489 Simpson May 9, 1922 2,080,815 Gasstrom May 18, 1937 2,129,582 Johansson Sept. 6, 1938 2,206,174 Falk July 2, 1940 2,499,123 White Feb. 28, 1950 enable said shaft to ro- 15

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