US3926315A

US3926315A - Add-on clothes hanger for appliance

Info

Publication number: US3926315A
Application number: US540155A
Authority: US
Inventors: James A Bernard
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1975-01-10
Filing date: 1975-01-10
Publication date: 1975-12-16
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-16

Abstract

An add-on adjustable clothes hanger assembly adaptable for attachment to the venting slots of free standing domestic appliance cabinets having an extensible hanger rack for clothing and the like. A vertical tubular member of the hanger assembly is attached to a cabinet panel by bracket means including a mounting plate having a pair of slots arranged to align with the vertical extending venting slots formed in a wall of the appliance. A tube strap has a curved portion conforming to the curvature of the tube and a pair of outwardly extending offset feet one of which is positioned through one set of aligned slots for retention by a threaded fastener extending through the other set of aligned slots while the remaining foot is spaced outwardly from the mounting plate whereby a fastener is in threaded engagement with the remaining foot and the plate to clamp the tube between the strip and the plate. A one-way catch in the form of a push-up arm allows an adjustable clothes supporting tube, telescoped in the tubular member, to be lowered to a retracted position or extended to various heights above the appliance.

Description

United States Patent [191 Bernard Dec. 16, 1975 [54] ADD-ON CLOTHES HANGER FOR APPLIANCE [75] Inventor: James A. Bernard, Dayton, Ohio [73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich.

[22] Filed: Jan. 10, 1975 [21] Appl. No.: 540,155

[52] US. Cl. 211/102 [51] Int. Cl. A47F 5/08; A47F 7/24 [58] Field of Search 211/96, 102, 103, 87, 123, 211/176, 182, 48, 166, 86; 248/351, 354,

Primary ExaminerRoy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Terrell P. Lewis Attorney, Agent, or FirmEdward P. Barthel [57] ABSTRACT An add-on adjustable clothes hanger assembly adaptable for attachment to the venting slots of free standing domestic appliance cabinets having an extensible hanger rack for clothing and the like. A vertical tubular member of the hanger assembly is attached to a cabinet panel by bracket means including a mounting plate having a pair of slots arranged to align with the vertical extending venting slots formed in a wall of the appliance. A tube strap has a curved portion conforming to the curvature of the tube and a pair of outwardly extending offset feet one of which is positioned through one set of aligned slots for retention by a threaded fastener extending through the other set of aligned slots while the remaining foot is spaced outwardly from the mounting plate whereby a fastener is in threaded engagement with the remaining foot and the plate to clamp the tube between the strip and the plate. A one-way catch in the form of a push-up arm allows an adjustable clothes supporting tube, telescoped in the tubular member, to be lowered to a retracted position or extended to various heights above the appliance.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 3,926,315

ADD-ON CLOTHES HANGER FOR APPLIANCE This invention relates to home appliances with an add-on clothes hanger rack and more particularly to bracket means for the clothes hanger which may be interchangeably secured to the venting slots of major appliances such as clothes washers or dryers.

Most domestic clothes dryers have cycles for permanent press clothing which require that the permanent press clothing that is being dried be removed as soon as the tumbling drum of the dryer has stopped rotating in order to prevent wrinkles being imparted to the clothes. For this reason it is desirable to provide domestic clothes dryers with a readily accessible add-on hanger rack for supporting garments exterior of the dryer cabinet which may be used by the housewife to hang garments thereon after being removed from the dryer while allowing the rack to be easily adjusted into a retracted position when not being used.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved clothes hanger rack and mounting bracket therefore which may be used interchangeably on major appliances such as clothes dryers and washers while being merchandised as an add-on item that allows a homemaker to readily attach the bracket to the appliance without the need for special tools to provide mounting holes in the cabinet walls, and which bracket is designed to be secured adjacent either side of the appliance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved clothes hanger rack bracket assembly for an appliance including a mounting plate and strap for clamping the rack vertical socket tube by means of the existing venting slots located in the appliance cabinet. The mounting plate includes means for removably mounting same flush with the cabinet such that a pair of slots therein are aligned with a pair of the venting slots, while the strap has a semicircular portion conforming to the socket tube and a pair of offset feet spaced a defined distance allowing one foot to be positioned through a first set of aligned slots for retention by a threaded fastener extending through the second set of aligned slots, and the remaining foot is spaced outwardly from the mounting plate whereby a fastener is in threaded engagement with the remaining foot and the plate to clamp the socket tube between the stap and the plate.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of an appliance cabinet illustrating the location of the removable clothes dryer rack supported by the bracket assembly of the present invention with the adjustable rack being shown in both its retracted and extended positions;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical elevational view, partly in section, of the adjustable clothes hanger and supporting bracket; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 3.

With reference to FIG. 1, a portion of a major appliance, such as a domestic dryer, is shown at 10 having an enclosed cabinet with one side panel or wall being shown at 12 and the rear panel or wall of the cabinet shown at 14. An example of a domestic clothes dryer which may be used with the present invention is disclosed in 1.1.8. Pat. No. 3,541,303 issued Nov. 17, 1970 to T. .l. Brinkman, et al, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. An elongated box-like control housing 20 is removably mounted on its base 21 (FIG. 4) at the rear of the cabinet top deck 22 with the control housing rear wall 24 positioned flush with the deck wall portion or rear flange 26 and cabinet rear panel 14. It will be noted in FIG. 3 that the deck rear flange 26 has a return flange 28 juxtaposed to top flange 30 of the rear panel 14 to define a clearance space 32 between the deck return flange 28 and the top flange 30.

A clothes drying hanger or rack, generally indicated at 34, is removably positioned on the appliance by means of a bracket assembly generally indicated at 40. The bracket assembly includes a generally rectangular mounting plate 42 positioned substantially flush with the cabinet rear wall 14 and the deck rear flange 26 so as to overlie the clearance space 32. The mounting plate 42 has a pair of forwardly or inwardly projecting

flange fingers

44 and 46 struck from the mounting plate side edges, at substantially right angles to the plate. The plate is of a gauge or thickness such that upon the finger flanges being press fitted in the clearance 32 with the lower plate portion 48 flush with cabinet rear wall 14 the mounting plate is secured in a removable manner to the appliance.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the deck rear flange 26 of the appliance 10 has venting means in the form of a plurality of vertically extending venting slots which in the disclosed form are provided in two groups of four slots each at both the left hand and right hand sides of the deck rear flange as shown by the left hand slots 52. The right hand venting slots are shown at 54a, 54b, 54c and 54d in FIG. 2 and which in the disclosed form are about 3/16 inch wide and 13/16 inches high while being located on about 9/16 inch centers.

The mounting plate 42 has formed thereon a pair of vertical slots, shown at 55 and 56 in FIG. 2, which are dimensioned to coincide with a pair of adjacent mounting plate vent slots 54. Thus, by virtue of the planar finger flanges being shiftable in a horizontal planar direction within the clearance space 32 it will be appreciated that the mounting plate can be readily adjusted to align its

slots

55 and 56 with the vent slots 54a and 54b, for example, to provide two sets of coinciding slots for the reception of portions of the bracket assembly to be described.

As shown in FIG. 2 the bracket assembly 40 includes a strap retainer generally indicated at 60, constructed in accordance with the present invention for mounting tubular socket or sleeve member 62 on the mounting plate 42. The strap 60 is of a generally U-shaped configuration having a retaining portion in the form of a semicircular curved portion 64 being of a size which closely conforms to the outline or curvature of the sleeve member 62. While in the disclosed form of the invention the sleeve 62 is cylindrical in cross section to telescopically receive therein a vertical cylindrical tube portion 66 of the clothes hanger assembly, it will be appreciated that the other shapes such as a squaare cross section could be substituted for the sleeve 62 and tube 66 without departing from the scope of the invention.

The strap member. 60 is asymmetrical in shape having a tangentially extending leg 72 on one end of the portion 62 extending toward the mounting plate so as to be normally disposed thereto and projecting through the set of aligned slots 56 and 54b. The strap 60 has a first foot portion thereon in the form of a right angle foot flange 74 extending outwardly a defined distance beyond the outboard adjacent set of aligned slots 55 and 54a. The ,foot flange 74 has a threaded opening 76 therein for the reception of threaded fastening means in the form of pointed machine screw 78 such that upon tightening the screw 78 draws up the foot 74 to clamp the mounting plate to the deck rear flange 26.

The other end of the strap retaining portion has a second foot, flange in substantial alignment with the vertical axis of sleeve 62 and which extends radially outwardly from the sleeve a defined distance to substantially coincide with the vertical edge 82 of plate 42. The second foot flange is thus located in a vertical plane offset a defined distance from the vertical plane of the first foot flange 74, which in the disclosed form is about one-half the diameterof sleeve 62 plus the combined thickness of plate 42 and wall portion 26. An opening is provided on foot 80 for threaded fastener means 84 which in the disclosed form is a machine screw similar to or interchangeable with screw 78. Threaded receptacle means in the plate in the form of a boss 86 whose base 88 is secured as by welding to the outer face of plate 42 such that the boss s threaded bore is aligned to receive the screw 84 whereby upon tightening the second foot flange 80 is urged toward the plate 42 to clamp the sleeve 62 between the strap portion 64 and the plate.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the hanger member .34 has its vertical tube 66 slidably and rotatably positioned in sleeve 62 such that a clothes rack portion, shown in the disclosed form as a right angled bar 89 joined tothe upper end of the vertical tube 66, may be lowered to its retracted solid line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 or raised to its-dashed line position extending above the top or deck 22 at any desired height by means of a oneway catch mechanism shown generally at 90. The one way catch 90 includes a one piece pipe clamp 92 having a pair of securingflanges gripped by a fastener 94 together with pivotal link 96 having an eyelet 97 through which the fastener 94 extends while the link 96 large eyelet 98 pivotally supports a push-up arm 99. The arm 99 has an aperture 102 therein for receiving the tube 66 while the aperture has a frustoconical section (not shown) providing an upper sharp edge to engage the hanger tube 66. I

Thus, the homemaker can adjust the rack 89 to any vertical and rotational position desired by merely pushing up on arm 99 and raising and/ or pivoting the tube 66. A reverse procedure results in the arm lowering by 4 gravity to the retracted position shown in FIGS. 4, after which additional means,.not shown, may be used to securely lock the tube 66 in place adjacent the rear wall 24 of the housing 20. It will be noted that the rack bar 89 has a plurality of spaced notches 104 for separating clothes hangers on the bar 89.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

I claim:

1. A major appliance cabinet, said cabinet including a rear wall portion flush with a rear cabinet panel having a plurality of vertically elongated parallel vent slots therein, bracket means for removably mounting a clothes hanger assembly upon said rear wall portion; said hanger assembly including a vertically extending mounting sleeve member, said bracket means including a mounting plate, means for securing said plate in flush relation with said wall portion, said plate having a pair of vertically elongated slots arranged to coincide with a pair of said wall portion slots defining first'and second sets of aligned slots, a strap member closely conforming to a portion of the cross section of said sleeve, said strap having a leg on one end disposed normal to said plate so as to extend through said first set of slots, said strap having a first foot portion extending at right angles outwardly from said leg a defined distance beyond the adjacent second set of slots, a threaded opening in said first foot aligned with said second set of slots, a first threaded fastener extending through said second setof slots into threaded engagement with said first foot opening, said strap having a second foot extending outwardly from its other end in parallel offset relation with said first foot so as to be substantially aligned in the' plane of the vertical axis of said sleeve, a threaded receptacle on said plate, a second threaded fastener extending through said second foot into threaded engagement with said receptacle for urging said second foot toward said plate to clamp said sleeve between said strap member and said plate, said hanger assembly including a vertical tube shaped for telescopic reception into said mounting sleeve, said tube including a right angled clothes rack portion located on the upper end of said tube, one-way catch means positioned on said mounting sleeve for releasably gripping said tube whereby said tube may be adjusted to a plurality of vertical clothes hanging positions or a retracted position,- and said wall portion formed by the flange of a top deck of said cabinet, said top deck flange having a return flange juxtaposed to the cabinet panel top flange to define a clearance space between said deck return flange and said panel top .flange, and said plate securing means including flange fingers struck from said mounting plate at substantially right angles thereto adapted for a press horizontally adjustable fit in the clearance space.

Claims

1. A major appliance cabinet, said cabinet including a rear wall portion flush with a rear cabinet panel having a plurality of vertically elongated parallel vent slots therein, bracket means for removably mounting a clothes hanger assembly upon said rear wall portion; said hanger assembly including a vertically extending mounting sleeve member, said bracket means including a mounting plate, means for securing said plate in flush relation with said wall portion, said plate having a pair of vertically elongated slots arranged to coincide with a pair of said wall portion slots defining first and second sets of aligned slots, a strap member closely conforming to a portion of the cross section of said sleeve, said strap having a leg on one end disposed normal to said plate so as to extend through said first set of slots, said strap having a first foot portion extending at right angles outwardly from said leg a defined distance beyond the adjacent second set of slots, a threaded opening in said first foot aligned with said second set of slots, a first threaded fastener extending through said second set of slots into threaded engagement with said first foot opening, said strap having a second foot extending outwardly from its other end in parallel offset relation with said first foot so as to be substantially aligned in the plane of the vertical axis of said sleeve, a threaded receptacle on said plate, a second threaded fastener extending through said second foot into threaded engagement with said receptacle for urging said second foot toward said plate to clamp said sleeve between said strap member and said plate, said hanger assembly including a vertical tube shaped for telescopic reception into said mounting sleeve, said tube including a right angled clothes rack portion located on the upper end of said tube, one-way catch means positioned on said mounting sleeve for releasably gripping said tube whereby said tube may be adjusted to a plurality of vertical clothes hanging positions or a retracted position, and said wall portion formed by the flange of a top deck of said cabinet, said top deck flange having a return flange juxtaposed to the cabinet panel top flange to define a clearance space between said deck return flange and said panel top flange, and said plate securing means including flange fingers struck from said mounting plate at substantially right angles thereto adapted for a press horizontally adjustable fit in the clearance space.