US866199A - Adjustable clothes-prop. - Google Patents

Description

No 866,199. PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1 90 7.' H. H. HAAS.

' ADJUSTABLE CLOTHES PROP.

' APPLICATION rmm MAR. 23, 1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADJUSTABLE CLOTHES-PROP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1'7, 190?.

Application filed March 23, 1907. Serial No. 364,187.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD HINTON HAAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Palo Alto, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Adjustable Clothes-Prop, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in adjustable clothes props.

The object of, the present invention is to improve the construction of adjustable clothes props, and to provide a simple, inexpensive and eilicient clothes prop having an adjustable or extensible section, adapted to be readily raised and lowered, and capable of being quickly and securely locked at any adjustment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a locking device adapted to permit the adjustable section to slide freely, and capable of gripping the same a without injuring the adjustable section.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable clothes prop, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the clothes prop, illustrating the manner of slidably connecting and locking the sections. Fig. 3 is a similar view, the locking device being disengaged from the adjustable section. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a similar view, taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the upper end of the lower section of the clothes prop.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

10 and 11 designate upper and lower slidably connected clothes prop members or sections, preferably constructed of light material to enable the clothes prop to be easily handled. The lower section 11, which is preferably painted to protect it, has a pointed lower end 12 of polygonal, or other shape to engage the ground, or

other supporting surface, and the upper end of the forations and grooves are transversely alined, and they receive the inner side portions 15 and shanks 16 of a rectangular guide loop 17, which is rigid with the lower section. The guide loop, which slidably receives the upper section 10, is constructed of a piece of stout Wire, or other suitable material, angularly bent to form the loop and the shanks 16. The inner side portions 15 of the loop are seated in the grooves 14 to permit the sections 10 and 11 to slide on each other, and the terminals 18 of the shanks 16 are clenched or upset against the outer face of the lower section, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The upper section, which is provided at its upper end with a notch 19 to receive a clothes line, is secured in its adjustment by a combined clamp and guide 20 of rectangular form. The sides of the combined clamp and guide 20 are provided with depending ears 21, which are pierced by a suitable pivot 22. The pivot 22 passes through the adjustable upper section near the lower end thereof, and the front 23 of the combined guide and clamp is provided with a jaw 24, consisting of a tapered or beveled flange and being of a length less than the width of the lower section, so that its terminals are spaced from the side edges or faces of the sections of the clothes prop. The jaw 24 engages the lower section at a point between the side edges thereof to avoid injuring the said section, as it has been found by experience that when the jaw extends entirely across the section, the edges thereof are broken and chipped off, making the clothes prop both unsightly and more or less dangerous to handle on account of splinters. The depending ears permit the pivot to be arranged in a plane considerably below the engaging edge of the jaw, so that when the locking device is swung upward from the position, illustrated in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing to that shown in Fig. 3, ample space will be provided to permit the upper sections to slide freely on the lower section.

The locking device is provided at the rear side with a projecting tang or shank 25, which is embedded in a wooden handle 26, which projects a sufiicient distance to counter-balance the weight of the locking device and to afford an easy and convenient grip for adjusting the upper section. When the handle is released, it automatically swings the locking device into engagement with the lower section.

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

An adjustable clothes prop comprising upper and lower sections, the lower section being provided with trans- 5 versely alined perforations and having short transverse grooves extending outwardly from the perforations and located at the inner face of the said lower section, a guide consisting of a loop embracing the upper section and having spaced inner side portions seated in the grooves of the 10 lower section and provided at their inner terminals with shanks passing through the said openings and bent at an angle to engage the lower section at the outer face thereof, and locking means for securing the upper section in its adjustment.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I 15 have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HOWARD HINTON HAAS.

Witnesses E. K. PHILLIPS, FRANK LITTLE.

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