US3424314A

US3424314A - Clothes bar

Info

Publication number: US3424314A
Application number: US608698A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wayman H Cornelsen
Original assignee: WAYMAN H CORNELSEN
Current assignee: WAYMAN H CORNELSEN
Priority date: 1967-01-11
Filing date: 1967-01-11
Publication date: 1969-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 1986-01-28

Description

Jan. 28, '1969 w. H. coRNELsEN CLOTHES BAR INVENTOH.

Mm/14N A( faena-55M BY V Arrow/LYS United States Patent O 3,424,314 CLOTHES BAR Wayman H. Cornelsen, Fairview, Okla. 73737 Continuation-impart of abandoned application Sel'. No.

584,809, Oct. 6, 1966. This application Jan. 11, 1967,

Ser. No. 608,698 U.S. Cl. 211-105.3 Int. Cl. A47h 1/08 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cross-references to related applications This application is a continuation-in-part of my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 584,809, filed Oct. 6, 1966, now abandoned.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a clothes bar which can be A placed in any location where a pair of horizonally spaced protuberances or hooks are available for suspending the bar. More specifically, Ibut not 'by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a telescoping clothes bar having a pair of upstanding hanger rings near each end thereof, which bar is constructed in a manner permitting it to be usefully employed in automobiles for hanging .clothes therein, and which can be easily detached from' the automobile and stored when not in use.

Elongated metal bars or rods of a telescoping character have heretofore been widely used in automobiles for the purpose of permitting articles of apparel to be hung therefrom upon standard wire clothes hangers when the bar is extended transversely across the auto-mobile adjacent the ceiling thereof. When once installed, these telescoping rods or bars have functioned well for the purpose of supporting a number of clothes, but have been inconvenient to install, sometimes requiring the installer to move from one side of the -automobile to the other one or more times, rather than being able to simply install the bar from one location after entering the automobile through one of the side doors. Moreover, most of the bars have been constructed in cylindrical cross-section so that a problem is presented of the -bar rolling -about on the floor or back Window panel of the car 'Where it is often placed when it is not in use for supporting clothes. Frequently too, the previous telescoping bars have fitted so loosely together that they rattle when in use, and when not in use to an even greater extent, due to the vibrations oi the automobile.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides an improved telescoping clothes support bar which can -be more easily installed, and 'which will not roll about in a random fashion or rattle when it has been disconnected from its points of support and placed on a flat or inclined surface. Broadly described, the present invention comprises Va first elongated tubular member of polygonal cross-section, and a second elongated tubular member of polygonal crosssection which is slightly telescoped in the first tubular ice member. The first and second tubular members thus conjunctively form an elongated, variable length support bar or rod. Secured to the support bar adjacent its opposite ends are a pair of supporting rings which are configured and secured to the variable length support fbar in such la way that these rings constantly, and in every position of the support bar, provide a bight portion which stands away from the support bar, and thus permit spaced hooks or other protuberant structures to be passed through the bight portions without the necessity of manually manipulating the supporting rings. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, both of the elongated tubular members are constructed of either rectangular or square cross-sectional configuration, and the supporting rings which are provided are constructed of a spring metal material which frictionally engages the sides of the elongated tubular members adjacent the ends thereof, and thus tends to remain in the same standing position, regardless of the location or position of the support bar. The preferred embodiment also provides a very slight bend in one of the elongated tubular members, so that a snug frictional fit results, and rattling is eliminated.

The clothes supporting bar of the invention will not roll about on a flat or inclined surface when it is laid thereon when not in use for supporting clothes. Moreover, it can be easily placed in position in an automobile by manipulating both ends of the support bar from only one side of the automobile, and no necessity exists to cross to the other side of the automobile to manually position the supporting ring of the support rod over a hook or protuberanoe from which it is to be suspended.

From the foregoing description of the invention, it will have become apparent that it is an important object of the invention to provide a simple, low cost clothes support bar which can be Varied in its length, and which can be easily installed in any location where a pair of spaced hooks or other supporting protuberances are available.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a clothes support bar which can be placed on a fiat or inclined surface, and which will not roll around on said surface in a random fashion as a result of vibration, or of the application of external forces to the supporting surface or to the support bar.

Other objects and advantages of the invention in addition to those described will become apparent `as the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a telescoping clothes bar which does not rattle as a result of vibration when in use or when stored.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a telescoping clothes bar which can be used to position and retain clothes at any desired pre-selected location along the bar.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a clothes support bar constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view in elevation of the clothes support bar of FIGURE 1 with a part of the bar broken away for clarity of illustration.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 0f FIGURE l.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly, to FIGURE 1, the clothes support bar of the invention is designated generally by reference numeral and includes a first elongated tubular member 12 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is of square cross-section as best illustrated in FIGURE 2. The tubular member 12 slidingly receives a second elongated tubular member 14 which has also a square cross-sectional configuration (see FIGURE 2) and fits relatively snugly within the first elongated tubular member 12. The tubular member 14 is bent very slightly from true linearity about twothirds of the way along its length (from the inner toward the outer end) as shown by the small arrows in FIGURE 2 indicating the angles a of bend. The purpose of this bend will be subsequently explained.

Spaced along the length of the

tubular members

12 and 14 are a plurality of rubber stop rings 15. These rings 15 function to limit the movement of clothes hangers along the clothes support bar 10, so that, if desired, clothes may be kept away from the central portion of the bar to prevent obscurement of the view through the rear window of an auto in which the bar is used.

The open ends of the two elongated

tubular members

12 and 14 are closed by means of rubber or plastic end caps 16 which are preferably provided with radiused edges and corners, and function to prevent ripping or tearing of the upholstery of an automobile when the clothes support bar 10 is used therein. Adjacent the end of each of the elongated

tubular members

12 and 14 which carries the end cap 16 is a supporting ring 18. Each of the supporting rings 18 is configured (as best depicted in FIGURE 3) to include a trapezoidally shaped bight portion 18a which has a pair of substantially parallel legs 18b extending therefrom. Each leg 181) turns inwardly so that a pair of oppositely facing toes 18C are provided on the ends of the legs, and can be passed through suitable apertures provided in the sides of the elongated

tubular members

12 and 14. The supporting rings 18 are constructed of a spring metal material and are configured so that, `in their relaxed state, the legs 1811 are spaced from each other by a distance which is less than the transverse thickness of the respective elongated

tubular members

12 and 14 to which each ring is attached. As a result of the convergence of the side portions of the trapezoidal bight portion 18a of each ring, the rings are retained in a generally upstanding or upright position in all positions of the clothes supporting bar 10, and a hook or other supporting protuberance can be passed through the space defined between the trapezoidal bight portion 18a and the respective elongated

tubular member

12 or 14, though the person installing the clothes support bar 10 is only able to manipulate the rod from an end opposite that end where the hook to be engaged by the ring 18 is located. In other words, the clothes support rod can be easily and quickly installed from either side of an automobile without the necessity to cross over to the other side to effect the engagement of the supporting ring 18 on such opposite side with its engaging hook or other protuberant hanger structure.

From the foregoing description of the invention, it will be perceived that a very simple, economically constructed yet easily installed and used clothes support bar is provided by the invention. The nuisance of having the rod roll about on a fiat or inclined surface within an automobile when not in use, and while the automobile is in motion, is eliminated. Moreover, the particular construction of the supporting rings assures that a person can install the bar in an automobile without any dificulty, even though one side or the other of the automobile interior may not be readily accessible. Finally, the slight bend in the inner tubular member permits a slight binding Cir or frictional engagement of the telescoping tubular members when they are completely or nearly completely telescoped, such frictional engagement being sufficient to prevent rattling of the clothes bar, and to permit it to be hung up by one of the supporting rings in a vertically depending fashion while retained in the completely telescoped state.

Although a preferred embodiment of the .invention has been herein disclosed to illustrate its construction, it will be readily appreciated that certain minor variations of the depicted structure can be effected without departure from the basic principles of the invention. Thus, the cross-sectional configuration of the elongated tubular members can be made rectangular, or even, in some instances, triangular or other polygonal cross-sectional configuration. All such modifications and changes which do not depart from the basic principles of the invention are deemed to be circumscribed by the spirit and scope of the invention except as the same may be necessarily limited by the appended claims or reasonable equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A clothes support bar comprising:

a first elongated tubular member of polygonal crosssection;

a second elongated member of polygonal cross-section slidingly telescoped in the first tubular member and forming conjunctively therewith, an elongated, variable length bar, one of said members being bent along its length to cause binding between said members as they are telescoped; and

supporting rings secured to opposite ends of said variable length bar, said supporting rings being configured and attached to said variable length bar to provide, in the case of each ring, a bight portion which projects out from the variable length bar.

2. A clothes support bar as defined in claim 1 wherein said first and second tubul-ar members are of rectangular cross-sectional configuration;

and wherein said supporting rings are spring metal and each include:

a pair of substantially parallel legs frictionally engaging the opposite sides of said variable length bar; and

a trapezoidally shaped bight portion connected to the pair of legs.

3. A clothes support bar as defined in claim 1 and further characterized as including an end cap closing the exposed end of each of said tubular members.

4. A clothes support bar as defined in claim 1 and further characterized to include at least one resilient stop ring positioned around at least one of said tubular members for limiting the movement of clothes hangers along said clothes support bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,104,180 7/1914 Forlong 211-123 1,194,772 8/1916 Newman et al.

1,364,638 l/1921 Pardridge 2l1-123 2,223,282 ll/1940 Dover 211-105.2 2,825,469 3/1958 Watkins et al. 211-105.3 2,947,421 8/ 1960 Schaefer 211-1l3 XR 2,969,881 1/ 1961 Lilly 21 l-105.3

n JOHN PETO, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.