US3288415A

US3288415A - Support stand

Info

Publication number: US3288415A
Application number: US529356A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas H Eickhoff
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-02-23
Filing date: 1966-02-23
Publication date: 1966-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 1983-11-29

Description

Nov. 29, 1966 T. H. ElcKHoFF SUPPORT STAND Filed Feb. 25, 1966 United States Patent Ofiice 3,288,415 Patented Nov. 29, 1966 3,288,415 SUPPORT STAND Thomas H. Eickhof, 2250 Beechmont Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio Filed Feb. 23, 1966` Ser. No. 529,356 Claims. (Cl. 248-226) This invention relates to portable support stands and particularly to a stand of the type which is adapted to be connected to a convention-al piece of household furniture to securely hold a supported item, as for example, a w1g block, against accidental or inadvertent movement. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved and portable wig block stand which may be easily and securely attached to conventional items of household furniture.

Wigs have been used for ycenturies as disguises, covers for bald heads, and to satisfy courtroom protocol. More recently, it has been the vogue for women to keep and maintain several different hairdos or coiffures -in the form of wigs. Regardless of the reason for wearing the wig, the user must often `store and comb it. For both of these purposes, the wig is usually supported -upon a so-called wig block, a configurated block which has a top surface that generally conforms to the contour of the top of a head. So long as the block is securely held in place, it 1s a simple matter to comb a wig while supported upon the block. However, if the block is insecurely mounted, combing can be troublesome. This is partic-ularly true in the case of portable blocks of the type used when traveling because of the relatively small and -l-ight bases provided with these blocks.

It has, therefore, been a principal -objective of this invention to provide a portable wig block support which may be easily attached to a common item of bedroom furniture to xedly and securely hold a wig block against accidental movement. Since nearly every bedroom includes a dresser, a convenient height item of furniture at which to comb a wig, the support of this invention is par ticularly adapted to be securely attached to any dresser, irrespective of its design, shape or size. It also is, however, equally capable of being attached to a chest of drawers or any other item of furniture which includes a drawer since it relies upon an open top corner structure for a -mounting base.

Generally, the wig block support of this invention may be envisioned as consisting of a horizontal clamp having a corner element or block fixedly depending from one end of the clamp and a cooperating movable V-shaped bracket attached to the opposite end. The open section of the V of the bracket faces the corner 'block so that a vertical corner portion of a drawer may be clamped between the block and the bracket. A tapered vertical post extends upwardly from the block so as to provide a coupling element for reception of a hole in the base of a conventional wig block or supported surface.

The primary advantage of this invention is that it provides an inexpensive and uncomplicated portable wig block support which may be attached to `any size or shape drawer. Since every bedroom includes numerous drawers located at different heights, the support of this invention enables 4wigs to be stored at any optimal level, such as high out of reach of children or at lower levels which are more convenient for purposes of combing the wig. Because the support is easily attachable to and detachable from drawers, it facilitates movement from one location to another during trips or simply :to change from a storage site to a convenient combing position.

Another advantage yof this invention is that it provides a rigid portable support which may be easily attached to any convenient item of furniture to securely hold a supported surface or element against accidental or linadvertent movement.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from the following description of the drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of the stand of the invention being utilized as a Wig block support stand attached to a dresser,

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional View through the stand taken along line '2--2 of FIGURE l,

FIGURE 3 is a side-elevational View of the stand,

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged elevational view, partially in crosssection, of the iniitting portions of the wig block and the supporting stand.

Referring first to FIGURE l, it will be seen that the support stand 10 of this invention is illustrated as supporting a wig block 11 although it may, with equal facility, be utilized to attach or anchor other items to the corner of an open top box or drawer 12. The drawer 12 may be a part of any item of furniture such as a dresser, chest of drawers, desk, etc. but when utilized to support a wig block, the drawer will usually be a part of a dresser 13.

As may be seen most clearly in FIGURE 3, 'the 'supporting stand 10 includes a right angle body 14 having a horizontal section 15 from one end of which depends a vertical section 16. The body is generally I-shaped in cross section and has a corner block 17 depending from the end opposite from the section 16. This block is generally of a hollow cylindrical shape and is formed integral with the Ebody 14.

The horizontal section 15 of the body 14 also supports a coupling element 18 which extends upwardly from and is integral with the horizontal secti-on 15 of the body. This coupling 18 comprises a hollow tapered finger which has three equidistantly spaced longitudinal ribs 19 on its s-urface. As may be seen most clearly in FIGURE 5, this finger is adapted to be received in a -central bore 20 of the wig block so as to form a coupling between the stand 10 and the block 11. The ribs 19 function to minimize the frictional force which must be overcome to separate the block from the finger while the taper of the finger accommodates a large .amount of wear in the bore of the block.

The section 16 of the main body 14 has an enlarged boss 21 formed on its lower end through which extends a threaded aperture 24. This aperture 24 accommodates a threaded clamping screw 22 on one end of which is a handle 23. A generally Y-shaped corner fitting bracket 25 is rotatably attached to the opposite or inside end of the screw 21. The open or recessed section of the bracket 25 defines a generally right Iangular recess 26 which faces the corner block 17. To enable the screw 22 to be rotated relative to the bracket 25, a small diameter necked portion 27 of the screw passes through and is rotatable within an aperture 28 of the bracket. The bracket is secured to the screw by a flanged head 29 on the end of the screw 22. If desired, a resilient pad (not shown) may be adhesively secured to the inner recessed portion 26 of the bracket 25 so as to eliminate any possibility of the bracket marring the surface of the drawer 12 to which the stand 10 is attached.

In order to secure the wig block 11 upon the stand 10, the block 11 has a bore 20 in its bottom surface which is adapted to be received over the coupling element or finger 18. The fit between the block 11 and the ribs 19 of the coupling element 18 is such that friction precludes rotation of the wig block relative to the coupling `as a comb is passed through a wig supported upon the block but permits the block to be rotated relative to the coupling element 18 when the block is actually gripped and rotated. Thus, the block is not subject to inadvertent or accidental rotation or displacement but may be moved about with ease to provide access to different areas of a wig supported upon the block.

In use, the stand may easily be attached to the front corner of a drawer 12 by placing the corner block 17 inside the front corner of the drawer with the corner bracket located outside the drawer. The screw 22 may then be rotated by turning the handle 23 so as to move the corner bracket 25 into engagement with the outside corner surfaces of the drawer to clamp the drawer between the block 17 and the bracket 23 as illustrated in FIGURE 2. Because the corner block 17 is cylindrical, it permits the stand 10 to accommodate itself to various size and shape drawers even though the front walls of the drawers may overhang the side walls. This same result may be accomplished by making the corner block square or some other cross-sectional configuration, but it must then be pivotable about a vertical axis and cannot be made integral with the body of the stand as in the illustrated and preferred embodiment.

It will readily be appreciated that this support is particularly well suited for use with portable wig blocks because of its adaptability to any size or shape drawer and the ease with which it may be attached to a drawer to form a secure anchor for the wig block.

While in the preferred embodiment, the body 14 of the stand 10 is formed integral with the corner block 17 and the coupling element 18, it should be appreciated that these elements may be made separately and coupled together, as by a central dowel pin, without departing from the spirit of this invention. However, the unitary structure is preferred because it lends itself to injection molding of the body from a plastic material. In fact, when the stand is formed from injection molded pieces, it requires only three elements; the body 14 which is formed integral with the corner block 17 and the coupling element 18, the screw Awhich is molded integral with the handle 23, and the Vcorner bracket 25.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and claimed herein, those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will readily appreciate numerous changes and modications which may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention hereof. Therefore, I do not intend to be limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. For use in combination with an open top drawer of an item of furniture, a support stand comprising,

a horizontal element adapted to be located over the top of the open corner of a drawer,

a corner block depending from one end of said horizontal element and adapted to be fitted into the inside of said drawer corner,

a vertical element depending from the other end of said horizontal element, said vertical element having a threaded aperture therein,

a threaded screw extending through said threaded aperture of said vertical element, said screw including a manually turnable handle non-rotatably defined on its outer end by means of which the screw may be rotated to effect axial movement of said screw relative to said ange,

a corner fitting bracket rotatably mounted upon the inner end of said screw, said bracket defining a generally right angular recess in its inner surface adapted to fit against the outer right angular corner surfaces of said drawer, and

a support element attached to said horizontal element.

2. The support stand of claim 1 wherein said horizontal element, corner block, vertical element, and support element are all a single integral plastic unit.

3. The support stand of claim 1 wherein said corner block includes a circular cross-sectional portion engageable with the inside corner of a drawer so as to enable the stand to be attached to various size and shapes of drawers.

4. The support stand of claim 2 wherein said support element includes a vertically extending post on the opposite side of said horizontal element from said corner block, both said post and said corner block having a coextensive vertical bore so that said post and said block are both hollow.

5. The support stand of claim 4 wherein said vertically extending post is tapered upwardly and includes longitudinally extending surface ribs.

6. For use in combination with a wig block, a wig block support stand adapted to be attached to an open top corner of a drawer, comprising,

a horizontal element adapted to be placed over said open top corner structure,

a corner block depending from one end of said horizontal element and adapted to be mounted inside said corner of said drawer,

a vertical element depending from the other end of said horizontal element, said vertical element having a horizontal threaded aperture therein,

a threaded screw extending through said aperture and including a manually turnable handle on the outer end of the screw operable to effect axial movement of the screw upon rotation of said handle,

a corner fitting bracket rotatably secured to the inner end of said screw, said bracket defining a generally right angular recess in its inner surface adapted to fit against the outer right angular corner surfaces of said drawer,

a wig block coupling element extending upwardly from said horizontal element and adapted to receive a bore of a wig block so as to support said wig block upon said stand.

7. The support stand of claim 6 wherein said coupling element comprises a vertically extending tapered post adapted to be received within a vertical bore in the bottom of said wig block.

8. The support stand of claim 6 Iwherein said horizontal element, corner block, vertical element and coupling element are all a single integral plastic unit.

9. The support stand of claim 6 wherein said corner block includes a circular cross-sectional portion engageable with the inside corner of a drawer so as to enable said stand to be attached to various side drawers.

10. The support stand of claim 9 wherein said coupling element comprises a tapered vertically extending post having longitudinally extending surface ribs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,660,329 2/1928 Fleming 269-98 2,896,896 7/1959 ReVZin 248-229 3,198,408 8/1965 Benner 223-66 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH AN OPEN TOP DRAWER OF AN ITEM FOR FURNITURE, A SUPPORT STAND COMPRISING, A HORIZONTAL ELEMENT ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED OVER THE TOP OF THE OPEN CORNER OF A DRAWER, A CORNER BLOCK DEPENDING FROM ONE END OF SAID HORIZONTAL ELEMENT AND ADAPTED TO BE FITTED INTO THE INSIDE OF SAID DRAWER CORNER, A VERTICAL ELEMENT DEPENDING FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID HORIZONTAL ELEMENT, SAID VERTICAL ELEMENT HAVING A THREADED APERTURE THEREIN, A THREADED SCREW EXTENDING THROUGH SAID THREADED APERTURE OF SAID VERTICAL ELEMENT, SAID SCREW INCLUDING A MANUALLY TURNABLE HANDLE NON-ROTATABLY DEFINED ON ITS OUTER END BY MEANS OF WHICH THE SAID SCREW MAY BE ROTATED TO EFFECT AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SCREW RELATIVE TO SAID FLANGE, A CORNER FITTING BRACKET ROTATABLY MOUNTED UPON THE INNER END OF SAID SCREW, SAID BRACKET DEFINING A GENERALLY RIGHT ANGULAR RECESS IN ITS INNER SURFACE ADAPTED TO FIT AGAINST THE OUTER RIGHT ANGULAR CORNER SURFACES OF SAID DRAWER, AND A SUPPORT ELEMENT ATTACHED TO SAID HORIZONTAL ELEMENT.