US3417875A

US3417875A - Convenience rack storable as a decorative hanging

Info

Publication number: US3417875A
Application number: US615947A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stanley G Barker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-02-14
Filing date: 1967-02-14
Publication date: 1968-12-24
Anticipated expiration: 1985-12-24

Description

Dec. 24, 1968 s. G. BARKER 7,875

CONVENIENCE RACK STORABLE AS A DECORATIVE HANGING Filed Feb. 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 24, 1968 s. e. BARKER 3,

CONVENIENCE RACK STORABLE AS A DECORATIVE HANGING Filed Feb. 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JMA/Li) 6. JAIL/2,

United States Patent 3,417,875 CON"ENIENCE RACK STORABLE AS A DECORATIVE HANGING Stanley G. Barker, 607 Madison St., Joliet, Ill. 60435 Filed Feb. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 615,947 9 Claims. (Cl. 211-126) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A convenience rack which includes a tray and support members which laterally extend from opposite sides of the tray. The tray and support members are each formed and related to the other so that the rack may be bridged between the opposed sidewalls of a bathtub or the like in which position the tray provides a horizontal portion which may be 'used as a rest for whatever comfort items the user wishes to have at hand and an inclined portion which may be used as a reading material support, and so that the rack may be stored as a decorative hanging from a generally horizontal support in which case the tray provides a geometrically pleasing face which is symmetrical about the vertical plane passing through the support. Additionally, the surface of the tray is perforated to provide drainage therefrom thus adapting the rack for use as a drying support.

This invention relates to a convenience rack and, in particular, to a rack which may be used as a rest for reading material and comfort items, as a drying tray, and as a decorative hanging.

The rack is disclosed in a typical environment as a bathing accessory and decorative addition to the bathtub alcove, but as the description proceeds it will become apparent that its use is not limited to that environment. To the contrary, the rack may be bridged across any of various furnishings such as hospital beds, arm chairs and the like characterized by opposed sidewalls with generally horizontal, co-planar upper surfaces. Likewise, the rack may be hung as a decorative item wherever desired.

Many readers use a book rest so that they may have their hands free and avoid the discomfort and fatigue resulting from holding reading material for a prolonged period. Furthermore, reading is often done in an environment where no convenient rest for comfort items such as refreshments, cigarettes and other personal articles is to be found. Persons who enjoy reading as they relax in a bath are striking examples of those who find a convenience rack such as provided by the instant invention to increase their comfort for the rack does away with the difficulty otherwise experienced in keeping the reading material dry while positioned in the proper reading position. Likewise, the bathtub is typical of those environments without a readily accessible rest for comfort items.

Consequently, various convenience racks have been suggested in the past. However, these racks have suffered to varying degrees from a number of faults as unnecessarily complex construction leading to high manufacturing costs and lack of durability, specialized use, and unsightly appearance requiring the use of valuable closet or cabinet space for storage.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a convenience rack which may be stored as a decorative hanging.

Another object is to provide a durable, inexpensive, convenience rack which is suitable for concurrent use as a rest for reading material and comfort items, for alternative use as a drying rack, and for storage as a decorative hanging.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the convenience rack bridged across a bathtub;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation showing the lateral extension of the support members;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the rack illustrating the perforations which provide drainage from the upper surface of the tray, and the crested contour of the support members, and is partly in section to show the construction of the mounting blocks which permit adjustment of the lateral extension of the support members;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the rack as bridged across a bathtub and illustrates a suitable relationship between the shape of the tray and the form of one of the support members;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3 to show the symmetry of the tray and frame;

FIG. 5A is a fragment of a section generally the same as FIG. 5 to show the construction of an alternative mounting block;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rack hung from a showerhead as a decorative addition to the bathtub alcove; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective of an arrangement where the corresponding end sections of the respective support members are gripped against separation by spring clamps.

While the invention will be described in connection with a particular embodiment, it will be understood that the intent is not to limit it to that embodiment. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, equivalents and modifications as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference designations refer to like parts, and, particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 5, it can be seen that the convenience rack of the present invention includes a fixed, V-shaped tray 11 recessed within a bordering frame 12 from the opposed sides of which support

members

13 and 14 laterally extend. Due to the recess, the upper edges of the frame act as retainers to prevent articles from accidentally slipping or rolling 01f the tray.

Additionally, frame 12 serves to enhance the appearance of the rack as a decorative hanging such as shown in FIG. 6. To this end, the lower edges of frame 12 lie in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of tray 11, this plane of symmetry being the plane which bisects the angle between

arms

15 and 16, which are formed by the trays V-shape. Thus, the lower edges of frame 12 form a backing when the rack is hung over showerhead 18 which serves as a generally horizontal support. The symmetry of the face presented when the rack is stored as a hanging (i.e., the upper surface of tray 11) is preserved by the upper edges of frame 12 which conform to the shape of tray 11. This face may advantageously be embellished with a suitable colorful design (not shown).

Tray 11 and frame 12, which may be either .of single or multiple piece construction are preferably formed of plastic. Vacuum forming and injection molding techniques are particularly suitable. Of course it should be understood that other materials such as fiberboard, metal and wood may be used if properly treated to prevent moisture damage.

Support members

13 and 14 serve the dual function of providing a means by which the convenience rack may be bridged between the sidewalls of a bathtub or similarly characterized furnishing and a means by which the rack may be suspended as a decorative hanging. Since these members are preferably identically shaped (although oppositely formed) to reduce manufacturing costs, only support member 13 will be described in detail, it being understood that the description applies equally well to support member 14, and that support

members

13 and 14 cooperate to bridge tray 11 between the

opposed sidewalls

19 and 20 of a bathtub or other furnishing similarly characterized by opposed upstanding sidewalls with generally co-planar, horizontal upper surfaces.

A typical support member adapted to the aforementioned dual function is shown by support member 13 to include

end sections

22 and 23 which laterally extend away from tray 11, support

fingers

24 and 25 which laterally extend from bases 26 and 27, respectively, to

tips

28 and 29, respectively, and an intermediate section 31.

Of primary importance to the use of the rack as a decorative hanging, is that it presents a geometrically pleasing appearance when suspended as shown in FIG. 6. To this end, intermediate section 31 lies in a plane which passes approximately through the center of gravity of the rack substantially perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of the rack. For the same reason,

end sections

22 and 23 are approximately equally spaced on opposite sides of a center line which passes approximately through the center of gravity of the rack parallel to the nadir between

arms

15 and 16, and define a plane which intersects the aforementioned plane of intermediate section 31 approximately along this center line (FIG. 1). Consequently, when the rack is hung over showerhead 18 as shown in FIG. 6 in such a manner that the previously defined center line passes approximately through showerhead 18, the relationship of intermediate section 31 to tray 11 insures that the nadir between

arms

15 and 16 will be substantially vertically oriented while the relationship of end sections 22 and '23 to intermediate section 31 and tray 11 insures that tray 11 will be positioned so that

arms

15 and 16 make substantially equal acute angles with wall 17 and so that the backing provided by the lower edges of frame 12 is substantially parallel to wall '17.

On the other hand, when the rack is bridged between

opposed sidewalls

19 and 20, it is desired that one portion of tray 11 provide a horizontal comfort item rest and that another portion thereof provide an inclined reading material support. To this end, support

fingers

24 and 25 define a plane which is substantially parallel to arm 15. Consequently, when tray 11 is bridged between

sidewalls

19 and 20 by resting

support fingers

24 and 25 on the upper surface of sidewall 19 and the similar support fingers of support member 14 on the upper surface of sidewall 20 (FIG. 1), the forward tray portion formed by arm 15 is horizontal while the rearward tray portion formed by arm 16 is inclined. The inclination of the rearward tray portion 16 is such as to hold reading material in a comfortable reading position which, for most people, is believed to be at an angle of between approximately 20 and 60 degrees requiring an angle between the forward and rearward tray portions '15 and 16 of between approximately 160 and 120 degrees.

In order to provide the rack with the flexibility necessary to permit its use with furnishings having differently spaced

sidewalls

19 and 20, the lateral extension of

support members

13 and 14 from tray -11 is adjustable. Thus, referring to FIGS, 3 and and support member 13, the laterally extending

end sections

22 and 23 are frictionally gripped within

mounting blocks

32 and 33,

respectively, which are fixed to frame 12 below the surface of tray 11. The mounting blocks may either be apertured cubes as shown at 32 and 33 in FIG. 5 or snap in type clamps as shown at 32A in FIG. 5A. Each of these forms has particular advantages and disadvantages. Thus, on the one hand, a greater variety of materials can be used in forming the cubical block since the material need not be elastic as is required for the clamp type block. On the other hand, the support member end section can be quickly pressed into the clamp type block while it must be threaded through the apertured type. In order to provide sufiicient rigidity between the support members and the remainder of the rack, the support member end sections are each fixed against deflection toward or away from the rack at a pair of spaced points, one being the associated mounting block and the other being the aperture in the frame 12 through which the end section passes (FIG. 3).

To aid in maintaining the rack bridged between the

opposed sidewalls

19 and 20 of a bathtub or similarly characterized furnishing as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and to facilitate storage of the rack as a decorative hanging as illustrated by FIG. 6, the intermediate sections of

support members

13 and 14 have crested contours. For example, intermediate section 31 of support member 13 flares out to a crest 34 which is laterally directed away from tray v11 along the center line passing through the center of gravity of the rack parallel to the nadir between arms 15 and 16 (FIG. 4). Thus, when the rack is bridged between

sidewalls

19 and 20 with the lateral extension of

support members

13 and 14 properly adjusted to the distance between the sidewalls, crest 34 and the corresponding crest on support member 14 are in frictional contact with the inside surfaces of

sidewalls

19 and 20, respectively. The wedging action thus obtained aids in maintaining the rack positioned by preventing the accidental jarring the rack suffers during ordinary use from dislodging it. Further, when the rack is hung for storage, crest 34 tends to center support member 13 over showerhead 18 so that the gravitational line of action passes through the showerhead in which case the rack will hang straight in the manner required of a decorative hanging.

Support members

13 and 14 can be conveniently formed from respective continuous lengths of wire bent to form the afore-described intermediate section 31,

end sections

22 and 23,

support fingers

24 and 25, and the required transitions between these various portions. The wire is preferably coated with a plastic or other nonabrading, non-staining material to protect the furnishing with which the rack is used.

It should be noted that the utility of the rack may be increased by providing tray 11 with a plurality of perforations 35 to provide drainage from the upper surface of tray 11. With such perforations, the rack may be conveniently used as a drying rack typically for items such as hand laundry. Perforations 35 may be spaced in most any pattern desired. For instance, they may be placed at regular intervals in a pegboard type fashion, or they may be arranged in a more ornate design such as in a spiral.

In order to expedite manufacture of the convenience rack, the corresponding end sections of the

support members

13 and 14 may be held in over and under relationship by respective spring clamps 41 and 42 as shown in FIG. 7. This arrangement is particularly suited for use in conjunction with snap-in type mounting blocks for the tray, frame and mounting block sub-assembly may be rapidly joined to the support sub-assembly by simply pressing the support member end sections into the mounting blocks. The spring clamps 41 and 42 prevent the support members from separating longitudinally with respect to the tray during this joining process. Additionally, the spring clamps act with the mounting blocks to establish a pair of spaced points at which the support members are rigidly held against deflection toward or away from the tray. Therefore unlike the situation shown in FIG. 3 it is not necessary or even desirable that

support members

13 and 14 pass through apertures in the frame 12. Accordingly, the support members are free from any Warpage effect that may be contributed by the frame.

From the foregoing, it should now be clear that a durable, easy to manufacture convenience rack has been provided, and that the convenience rack is suitable for a wide variety of uses while providing no storage problem.

As a matter of definition, when reference is made herein to a plane passing through or including a three dimensional object, it is thereby meant that the plane passes through or includes the longitudinal axis of the object unless the context otherwise required. Additionally, it should be understood that manufacturing tolerances may lead to some unavoidable deviation from the precise geometrical relationships described.

I claim as my invention:

1. A convenience rack suitable for use with a furnishing characterized by opposed upstanding sidewalls with respective generally horizontal, co-planar upper surfaces and for storage as a decorative hanging from a generally horizontal support, said rack comprising a tray of fixed, V-shaped longitudinal cross-section, a pair of support members laterally extending from opposite sides of said tray to provide means by which said tray may be bridged between said sidewalls with one arm defined by said V- shape in a substantially horizontal plane and the other arm defined thereby in an inclined plane, and mounting means securing said support members to said tray, at least one of said support members additionally providing means by which said rack may be suspended from said horizontal support with the line of action of the gravitational force acting upon the rack when so suspended passing through said horizontal support.

2. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein the lateral extension of said support members is adjustable whereby said tray may be used with a variety of furnishings having differing distances between their opposed sidewalls.

3. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein said means for bridging said tray between said sidewalls includes, for each support member, at least two laterally extending support fingers joined at their bases by an intermediate section having a laterally directed crest, the fingers of said support members defining a plane which is parallel to said one arm of the tray and below which said crests lie, said crests being spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the distance between said sidewalls whereby .a frictional contact exists between the crests and a respective one of said sidewalls when said tray is bridged between said sidewalls by resting the support fingers of each of said support members on a respective one of said sidewall upper surfaces whereby dislodgment of said tray from between said sidewalls by accidental jarring incidental to normal use is prevented.

4. The convenience rack of claim 3 wherein the lateral extension of said support members is adjustable whereby said tray may be used with a variety of furnishings having differing distances between their opposed sidewalls.

5. The convenience rack of claim 3 wherein the lateral extension of said support members is adjustable whereby said tray may be used with a variety of furnishings having difiering distances between their opposed sidewalls, and wherein said tray has a plurality of perforations therethrough to provide drainage therefrom.

6. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein the means provided by which said rack may be hung from said horizontal support as a decorative hanging comprise, for at least one of said support members, a pair of end sections extending laterally from said tray joined by means including an intermediate section lying in a plane passing approximately through the center of gravity of said rack substantially perpendicular to a second plane which bisects the angle between the arms of said tray, said intermediate section having a crested contour with the crest extending laterally away from the tray along a line which passes approximately through said center of gravity parallel to the nadir of the V-shape of the tray, and said end sections being approximately equally spaced from said line on opposite sides thereof and defining a plane which intersects said perpendicular plane substantially along said line whereby, when said rack is suspended from said horizontal support, the crested contour of said intermediate section tends to center said rack in a decorative fashion with said nadir vertically oriented.

7. The convenience rack of claim 6 wherein the arms of said tray are of equal longitudinal length whereby said tray is symmetrical about said bisecting plane, and wherein said tray is recessed within a bordering frame the upper edges of which conform to the V-shape of the tray to maintain the symmetrical appearance of the upper surface of said tray and the lower edges of which define a plane parallel to said perpendicular plane to thereby provide a backing with a planar appearance when said rack is suspended from said horizontal support as a decorative hanging.

'8. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein the means provided by said support members by which said tray may be bridged between said opposed sidewalls and suspended from said horizontal support comprises, for each of said support members, a pair of end sections each laterally extending away from said rack, a pair of support fingers each laterally extending away from said rack from a base to a tip, an intermediate section, and transitional means joining the base of each of said support fingers to a respective one of said end sections and interconnecting the bases of said support fingers through said intermediate section, said intermediate section lying in a plane passing approximately through the center of gravity of said rack substantially perpendicular to a plane bisecting the angle between the arms of the tray and having a crested contour (with the crest directed away from the rack along a line passing approximately through said center of gravity parallel to the nadir of the V-shaped of the tray, said end sections being approximately equally spaced from said line on opposite sides thereof and defining a plane intersecting said perpendicular plane substantially along said line so that, when said rack is suspended by one of said support members from said horizontal support, the crested contour of the intermediate section of the support tends to center the rack with said nadir vertically oriented while the end sections maintain the tray positioned so that the arms thereof form substantially equal acute angles with said perpendicular plane whereby the suspended rack presents a geometrically pleasing appearance, said support fingers defining a plane substantially parallel to said one arm and the lateral extension of the end sections of at least one of said support members being adjustable so that the lateral distance between the crests of the intermediate sections of the respective support members may be adjusted whereby, when said rack is bridged between said sidewalls by resting the support fingers of each of said support members on the upper surface of a respective one of said sidewalls, said crests make frictional contact with the inner surfaces of the respective sidewalls to thereby prevent dislodgment of said tray from between said sidewalls by accidental jarring incidental to normal use.

9. The convenience rack of claim 8 wherein the arms of said tray are of equal longitudinal length whereby said tray is symmetrical about said bisecting plane, wherein said tray has a plurality of perforations therethrough to thereby provide drainage therefrom, and wherein said tray is recessed within .a bordering frame the upper edges of which conform to the V-shape of said tray and the lower edges of which define a plane parallel to said perpendicular plane whereby the upper edges of said frame and the upper surface of said tray combine to present a face which is symmetrical about said bisecting plane while the 7 8 lower edges of said frame providing a planar backing per- 1,732,520 10/1929 Leatherman 5118 XR pendicular to said bisecting plane. 3,164,254 1/1965 Gorc 21142 3,346,125 10/1967 Miller et a1 211-126 References Cited C CELL HA IS UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 HAN OR E. R Przmary Examiner. 1,555,038 9/1925 Thweatt 5118 XR 1,717,772 6/1929 Greenwald 21186 211-135, 175; 248-94