US796908A - Clothes-line fastener. - Google Patents

Description

No. 796,908. PATENTED AUG. 8, 1905.

S. A. HALL.

CLOTHES LINE PASTENER. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII .UN STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SILAS A. HALL, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CLOTHES-LINE FASTENER.

Application file d December 13, 1904. Serial No. 236,726.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SILAs A. HALL, a citizen of'the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented new and-useful'lmprovements in Clothes-Line Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to adevice for holding a rope after being stretched, and is designed particularly for use in connection with a clothes-line to enable the line to be drawn taut and easily secured without the necessity of tying the line.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clothesline holder embodying my invention, the ends of the clothes-line being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section.

Referring now more particularly -to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a block, preferably of wood, of suitable thickness and of oblong rectangular form. This block is provided near one end with shallow transverse concave grooves 4, formed in its upper and lower surfaces. Through'the block near each end are holes 2 and 3, through which the ends of the clothes-line are adapted to be passed, the hole 3 being made in the depressed portion of the block, so that its ends communicate with or intersect the grooves 4. The sides of the block are concaved to form vertical grooves, as shown at 5, for guidingone' end of the rope or line and holding it in proper position when adjusted to engage the grooves. The transverse and vertical concaved grooves of the block intersect each other and, as shown, form a continuous un: broken channel around the block.

6 and 7 denote portions or sections of a rope, which may be the sections of the clothes-line. In practice the contiguous ends of these ropes are passed through the respective openings 2 and 3 in the block and-knotted, and the rope 6 is then drawn until its knot8 bears against the under face ofthe block and is fastened at its opposite end to a suitable support. The free or unknotted end of the rope 7 is then secured to the support and the rope drawn to the approximate tautness desired and said rope tightened and secured against disconnection by passing its block-engaging end 9 laterally of the block and seating it one-half in section of the groove 4:111 the under side of the block,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1905.

thence extending it upward and seating it in the guide-groove 5 in one edge of the block, and finally extending it reversely across the block to the opposite side thereof and seating it in the upper transverse groove 4 beneath the overlying upper portion of the body of the rope, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, leaving the free extremity 10 free to hang down and form a grip which may be utilized for finally stretch ing the rope 7 to the required tension or tautness. By this mode of connecting the engaging end of the rope 7 with the block 1 a bight or loop 12 is formed, which encompasses the grooved portion of the block on one side of its transverse center and which frictionally engages the Walls of the top and bottom portions of the grooves 4 on one side of the center of the block and the walls of the outer connecting guide-grooves 5, and at the same time the upper portion of the rope lying transversely over the upper surface of the block lengthwise in the upper groove 4: is held beneath the contiguous portion of the body of the rope and frictionally held thereby against the wall of the upper groove, thus securely connecting the rope 7, so that it cannot loosen. After the rope 7 has been adjusted to the approximate degree of tautness and applied to the block in the described manner it may be finally adjusted to the desired tension by slacking the body portion of the rope and pulling upon the gripping portion 10, thus shifting and tightening the bight or loop 12 in an obvious manner. If desired, the grip portion 10 of the rope 7 may be knotted, as shown at 13, to afford a firmer grip and prevent slipping of the hand thereon. By disposing the opening 3 centrally of the grooves4 the rope 7 may be adjusted to lie within the grooves on either side of said opening and to project from either side of the block, and by forming the transverse grooves in both sides of the block and providing the guide-notches 5 the rope 7, when very loose, may be passed one or more times around the block and held seated in the grooves. Furthermore. by forming the grooves as described the block may be reversed when the walls of the grooves at one side of the center of the block are worn away, so that the grooved portions on the opposite sides of the center of the block may be employed. It will be understood that the bight 12 will grip the block with great force and that any increase of tension to which the rope may be subjected will cause the rope to be held more firmly.

Having thus described the invention, what -I claim as new is- A clothes-line fastener comprising a rectangular-shaped block constructed of suitable material having an opening near one end thereof, the block being provided near its opposite end with concave grooves which extend transversely and continuously across the upper and lower faces of the block, the opposite side faces of the block having vertical concave grooves which intersect the transverse grooves said vertical grooves serving to form with the transverse grooves a surrounding channel I

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