US551045A

US551045A - Clothes-line

Info

Publication number: US551045A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1895-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 1912-12-10

Description

(No Model.)

' J. R. lPHELPS.

CLOTHES LINE.`

Patented Dec. 10, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES R. PHELPS, OF MARYSVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

CLOTHES-LINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551,045, dated December 10, 1895. Application filed February '7, 1895. Serial N0. 537,653. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may-concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES R. PHELPS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Marysville, in the county of Yuba and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes -Linesg and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. Y

My invention relates to certain improvements in metallic clothes -lines of the class commonly designated as pinless lines and in which loops are formed between opposing wires to receive the clothes and securely hold them without the assistance of pins and similar articles.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification,the figure represents a section of a clothes-line embodying my invention.

In the said drawing, A represents one strand of wire,which extends from one end of the line to the other, straightway for its entire length, and will hereinafter be designated as the supporting-wire, since its main object is to suspend or support the companion strand of wire B, which is formed, as I shall presently disclose, to receive and properly support and secure the articles of clothes hung thereon.

The strand of wire B is formed atintervals with loops, and while these may be of various forms the form I prefer -to use is shown in the drawing, in which the said wire B is bent to form two contiguous loops b, joined by a short intermediate portion b', which latter portion is connected with the suspending-wire by a clip c or other fastening means. From each outer side of the loops b the wire B converges toward the suspending-wire A to form spaces d of gradually-decreasing capacity, whereby the corner or portion of the clothes being first placed within or through the loop b may then be pulled or forced into the space cl and be held between the wires, the clip c preventing the other contiguous loop from being affected by such movement.

To more perfectly hold the clothes and to securely clamp them between the two wires A B, I employ a series of slides C, which are loose upon'ithe wires, which pass fre ely through them. The slides are normally located at or near the points where the two wires come nearest together, and when the clothes have been passed into the loops and drawn into the spaces d the slides are then moved so as to draw upon the wire B and gradually close the space d and clamp the clothes between the wire Band the suspending-wire. By using the two contiguous loops, if the article to be hung is large it may be made to engage each of the loops and be suspended at such points, while if the article is small a single loop may answer the purpose.

From this description it will be seen that while I use two strands of wire in my line only one wire is bent to form the loops and spaces, the other wire remaining as a supporting-wire and to prevent the bent wire straightening out and closing the spaces by reason of its own weight, combined with the weight of the clothes and the strain due to drawing the line tight between the usual end posts or points of fixture, and no matter in what direction outward the loops extend from the supporting-wire A this wire remains in its originnl position and the spaces remain unchanged.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a clothes line, a wire extending straightway along the line as a supporting wire, a second wire having double bends made in its length to form two contiguous loops joined by an intervening neck from each of which loops a tapering space leads outwardly, slides on the wires for closing said spaces, and clips connecting the intervening neck portion between adjacent loops with the main suspending wire.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES R..PHELPS. Witnesses:

GEO. JACKSON, G. B. BARNES.