US3015185A

US3015185A - Adjustable drying rack

Info

Publication number: US3015185A
Application number: US788877A
Authority: US
Inventors: Okunami Hideo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-01-20
Filing date: 1959-01-20
Publication date: 1962-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1979-01-02
Also published as: FR1245289A

Description

Jam 1962 HIDEO OKUNAMI 3,015,185

ADJUSTABLE DRYING RACK Filed Jan. 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet Z INVEN TOR H1050 UKUNAMI Patented Jan. 2, 1962 3,015,185 ADJUSTABLE DRYING RACK Hldeo Okunami, 12744 S. Ada St., Chicago, Ill. Filed Jan. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 788,877 2 Claims. (CI. 45-24) This invention relates to improvements in drying racks. More particularly this invention relates to a drying rack that is adjustable in use and collapsible when not in use.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device for drying articles such as diapers, towels, dish cloths, and the like, which is capable of ready adjustment to the size of the article for which it is employed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for drying articles which permits facile and eflicient attachment and removal of a plurality of articles.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device for drying articles which is easy to manipulate, space and time saving, and inexpensive.

Additional objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

7 FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the device.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the device.

- FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of the device at 90 to the view shown in FIGURE 2. 7

@FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

. FIGURES is a perspective view of the device illustrating a plurality of articles suspended in position for drying.- p

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view illustrating the device in a collapsed or folded position.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a frame preferably comprising the substantially parallel paired members or

bars

11 and 12, and the transversely disposed substantially parallel paired members or

bars

13 and 14. The bars may be made of any suitable material such as wood, plastic, or metal. In the illustrated embodiment of this invention these elements are constructed of wood.

The

bars

11 and 12 at their extremities are preferably provided with grooves or slots 15, the openings of which are provided with stop means such as pins 16. The function of the pins 16 will be explained later when the operation of the device is discussed. The grooves or slots 15 may be of any suitable length and of suflicient width to accommodate releasable fastening members such as the bolts 17 provided with wing nuts 18. Although bolts and wing nuts are preferred as fastening members, other means such as clamp knots may also be employed to equal advantage.

Referring now by way of example to FIGURE 4 of the drawing, the shoulder 19 and the shank portion 20 of the bolt 17 are inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the bar 13 until the head 21 of the bolt 17 abuts the bar 13. The shoulder 19 of the bolt 17 is preferably of the square type and fits snugly in the bar 13 to prevent rotation of the bolt; The shank portion 20 of the bolt 17 is of sufficient length to pass through the groove or slot 15' in the bar 12 and to accommodate a washer 22 and the wing nut 18. The washer 22 is preferably large enough to span the slot 15. This preferred arrangement of bolt, washer, wing nut and slotais found to greatly facilitate adjustment of the frame 10 to the desired size.

The

bars

13 and 14 are preferably provided with a plurality of retaining members 23 in spaced relation to one another along substantially the entire length of the bars, see FIGURE 2. The retaining members 23 may be made of any suitable non-corrodible material and should be of suflicient strength to withstand the weight of articles attached thereto for drying. When the bars are made of such materials as plastic or metal, the members 23, for example, may be molded or cast as an integral part of the bars, or alternatively in the case of metal bars, may be secured thereto by solder brazing, etc.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the retaining members 23 are passed through pre-drilled holes in the

bars

13 and 14. One end of each of the members 23 is preferably provided with an eye or loop 24, see FIGURE 4, which serves to anchor the members 23 in the bars and to prevent their rotation from the desired posit-ion. The opposite end of the members 23 are preferably sharpened to a point sufliciently dull to be unable to pierce the flesh and to tear the fibers of articles, and yet sufiiciently sharp to be able to cause the threads of closely woven articles to spread apart enlarging the interstices therebetween to enable the article to slip onto the body portion of the retaining members.

It is preferred that the body portion of the members 23 be in the shape of a hook, see FIGURES 2 and 4. This preferred curvilinear shape of the body portion of the members 23 not only permits ready attachment and removal of articles therefrom, but prevents articles from being dislodged due to jarring or swaying of either the articles or the frame 10.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the

bars

11 and 12 of the frame 10 are preferably provided with a plurality of supporting members or hooks 25. The

bars

13 and 14 may similarly be provided with such hooks,

' but for ease in manipulating the apparatus it is preferred that the hooks be attached'to the

bars

11 and 12. The

hooks 25 maybe secured to the bars by any suitable means and should be made of a material sufiiciently strong to support the apparatus when a large number of relatively heavy articles are attached thereto fordrying.

The body portion of the hooks 25 is shaped to accommodate supporting means for the device such as clothes line, wire, etc., and is preferably constructed in one area to snugly engage the supporting means. Thus the device is not only prevented from sliding along the supporting means, but is prevented from being blown or jarred free from it.

In use, the device is suspended from supporting means such as, for example, clothes line 26, by means of hooks 25, see FIGURE 5. The

adjustable bars

13 and 14 are independently and selectively spaced either toward or away from each other by loosening the wing nuts 18 and sliding the bolts 17 along the slots 15 in the

bars

11 and 12 until the

bars

13 and 14 are the desired distance apart as determined by the size of the articles to be dried. The wing nuts 18 are then tightened and the articles attached to the retaining member 23 for drying. The pins 16 afford stop means to limit the extent to which the

bars

13 and 14 may be adjusted outwardly with respect to each other thereby preventing the frame 10 from coming apart.

It has been demonstrated that the members 23 should be suitably spaced to permit circulation of air in and around the suspended articles. Although it is apparent that this distance may be subject to considerable variation, it has been discovered that when the members23 are spaced at approximately 1 /2 inch intervals, articles such as diapers dry in substantially the same length of time as diapers hung end-to-end on a clothes line by means of clothespins. 1

Removal of dried articles from the device is an extremely facile and efiicient operation. A large number of items may be detached by simply grasping them with both hands and sliding them ofl? the retaining members. Moreover, the articles when dry are substantially wrinkle-free, uniform in shape, and ready for folding. Thus to a large extent the arduous task of ironing is materially lessened.

To store the apparatus when not in use it is merely necessary to loosen the wing nuts 18 and move the

bars

13 and 14 toward each other until the frame is collapsed or folded into a compact, easily stored unit, see FIGURE 6. The pins 16 prevent the bolts 17 from slipping out of the slots and thus keep the frame 10 to-' gether. i i The dryingrack hereinabove described is particularly suitable for use in apartments, trailers, kitchens, bathrooms, basements, etc., where space is at a premium. It permits the drying of largenumbers of items in a minimum of space and time, while eliminating cumbersome and costly auxiliary laundry accessories such as clothespins and long lengths of clothes line. What is more important, it materially reduces thework load of the housewife and mother. Its simplicity of operation and its relative inexpensiveness are added features of this valuable development.

In view of the fact that the objects of this invention noted hereinabove are capable of being accomplished by other than the specific arrangement and combination of elements illustrated and described, it is intended that all such other arrangements and combinations as are suggested hereby to those skilled in the art and coming within the spirit of this invention are included within its scope as best defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable and collapsible drying rack comprising a substantially rectangular frame formed of two pairs of bars, the ends of one pair of said bars being provided with slots for receiving releasable fasteners connectable to the second pair of saidbars to permit selective adustment toward and away from each other of the bars comprising the second pair of bars and to enable said frame to be collapsed, a plurality of depending, evenly spaced retaining members anchored in each of said second pair of bars, each of said retaining members in one bar of said second pair of bars being directly opposite a retaining member in the other bar of said second pair of bars thereby form ing pairs of said retaining members in spaced relation to one another along the lengthof said second pair of bars, said retaining members having the shape of hooks the curvilinear portion of each of which lies along the longitudinal axis of the bar in which the said retaining member is anchored, said curvilinear portion of each of said retaining members being adapted to permit ready attachment and detachment of one end of an article to be suspended therefrom for drying and still prevent involuntary dislodge'ment of the saidattached end of :said article while drying, and at least two restrictively curved open-end members anchored in the upper portion of ,each bar of at least one pair of said bars for engaging supporting means for said rack.

2. An adjustable and collapsible drying rack as e a q s in claim 1 wherein said retaining members are spac intervals of approximately 1% inches on each bar said second pairof bars whereby air can more readily circulatei in and around articles suspended therefrom fondr'yir' g.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 648,745 Hofi May 1, 668,126 Gammill .I Feb. 12, 19111 813,707 Jackson Feb. 27', 19506 919,007 Hargrave Apr. 20, 1209 1,298,954 Johnshoy 1Ap r. 1, 19.19 1,410,964 Spero Mar; 28, 1922 1,616,563 Allen Feb. 8,, 1927 1,621,765 Bonsworl; Mar. 22,1927 1,962,889 Bateman June 12,1934 2,228,645 Schmitz Jan; 14, 1941 2,372,388 Clements Mar. 2, 1943 2,483,792 Ten Cate Oct. 4, 1949