GB1569044A

GB1569044A - Washing pole retaining assembly

Info

Publication number: GB1569044A
Application number: GB3351/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Nelson R R; RENGASAMY C
Current assignee: Nelson R R; RENGASAMY C
Priority date: 1978-01-27
Filing date: 1978-01-27
Publication date: 1980-06-11

Description

(54) WASHING POLE RETAINING ASSEMBLY (71) We, CHARLES RENGASAMY, a citizen of Singapore, and RODNEY RUSSET NELSON, a citizen of the United States of America, trading as STA-POLE COMPANY, of 77/A Wing Yip Building, Lorong 19, Geylang, Singapore 14, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a tent may be granted to us, and the method sty which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the followng statement: The present invention relates to a retaining assembly for retaining a bamboo washing pole in an open ended support pipe.

In certain Eastern countries e.g. Hong Kong and Singapore, it is common practice to install on the outer walls of houses and particularly high-rise buildings, open-ended pipes for supporting bamboo washing poles on which washing is hung out to dry.

Usually about four to six open ended pipes are arranged in a horizontal line beneath a window. The poles extend horizontally outward from the building wall, which may form the closed end of each pipe.

Washing is usually loaded onto the washing pole, the pole passed through the window and an end of the pole located in a support pipe. Alternatively, washing may be hung on the pole irFsita, however, this may involve leaning far out of the window.

It has been found that a loaded washing pole tends to bend downward under the load of washing and may eventually work its way out of the support pipe, particularly if the weather is windy. In the case of a highrise building the washing may then fall a great distance and be scattered over a wide area ? leading to a great inconvenience.

The present invention provides a retain ing assembly for retaining a bamboo wash- ing pole in an open ended horizontal support pipe, the assembly comprising a first clamp adapted to be clamped around the support pipe; a second clamp adapted to be clamped around the washing pole; and connecting means for detachably connecting the first damn to the second clamp which comprises a hook member and an eye member, the eye member fitting over the hook member.

Generally, the eye member is attached to the first clamp and the hook member is attached to the second clamp. However, in certain cases it may be desirable to reverse this arrangement.

So that the relative disposition of the first clamp and the second clamp is not too critical, it is preferred that the eye member be attached to the first clamp by means of a flexible cord. In this case the hook member may then be mounted directly on the second clamp.

Although it is not essential, it has been found advantageous to provide an elastically extensible cord, whereby the retaining assembly in use is such that the elastic cord is in a stretched state, thereby biassing the washing pole inward into the support pipe.

A particularly preferred form of elastically extensible cord is braid covered and has a core comprising plurality of filaments of elastomeric material. The braid-covering is generally of a plastics material and provides a limited stretch to the elastic cord, thereby preventing overstretching.

Preferably the first clamp comprises an integrally formed boss, the cord being secured to the first clamp by means of a through bore in the boss. One end of the cord passes through the bore and is doubledover and held thus by a loop of wire. so as to retain the cord end in the boss. Clearly, other methods of retaining the cord in the bore are well known and include knotting, stapling the doubled-over end and embedding the cord end in a piece of plastics material.

The other end of the cord may be secured to the eye member in a similar fashion.

So as to improve the appearance of the retaining assembly and to give it a relatively smooth outline so that washing does not snag on it, it is preferred that the ends of the cord be accommodated and partially concealed in a respective recess in the boss and eye member.

Generally, each clamp is a circular loop having a flange at each loop end, the flanges of a clamp facing each other and each flange having g a through hole. In order to allow the flanges to be drawn together a nut and bolt passes through the holes in each pair of flanges and by tightening the nut and bolt the clamp itself may be tightened.

Preferably, the first clamp, eye member and second clamp are respectively formed of a plastics material, preferably by injection moulding.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a retaining assembly according to the invention: Figure 2 shows in perspective view the retaining assembly of Fig. 1 in use for securing a bamboo washing pole in its support pipe.

The embodiment of Fig. 1 consists of an eye device 1 and a hook device 2. The eye device 1 for clamping around a support pipe comprises an adjustable clamp 3, and an eye member 4 connected thereto by way of an elastic cord 5.

The hook device 2 for clamping around a bamboo washing pole comprises an adjustable clamp 6 and an integral hook 7.

As is well known and illustrated in Fig.

2 it is common practice in certain countries to provide on the outside walls of high-nse buildings a series of open-ended support pipes 20, usually next to a window, for supporting bamboo washing poles 21 on which washing is hung out to dry.

The eye device 1 shown in Fig. 1 comprises an adjustable clamp 3 havng facing integral end flanges 8 and 9 and an integral boss 10 at an opposide of the clamp for retaining the elastic cord 5. The adjustable clamp 3 and boss 10 are integrally formed of a plastcs material. In order to secure the clamp 3 of the eye device 1 to a retaining pipe 20, a bolt 11 extends through holes 13 in each flange 8, 9 and engages a nut 12, as shown.

The elastic cord 5 is a braid covered multifilament elastic cord and is secured in a frusto-conical end portion 14 of eye member 4.

In order to secure the cord 5, boss 10 and eye member 4 are each provided with bores through which the cord is threaded.

Each end-of the cord is then knotted, or in this particular embodiment each end is doubled over and held thus by a loop of stiff wire (not shown) bent around the doubled end. An appropriately sized recess (not shown) is provided in boss 10 and end portion 4 to receive and conceal the doubledover ends, thus improving the appearance and performance of the assembly.

The eye member 4 of eye device 1 is composed of the frusto-conical end portion 14 and a loop portion 15 integrally formed therewith of the same plastics material.

Hook device 2 shown in Figure 1 consists of an adjustable clamp 6 of smaller diameter than the clamp 3 since it is to be fitted around the bamboo washing pole. Clamp 6 has two facing flanges 15 and 16 which may be brought together by means of a nut and bolt 17 extending through aligned holes in the flanges. Integrally formed with the clamp 6 and of the same plastics material is a hook 7 for engaging eye member 4.

Figure 2 shows a connecting assembly in place and a washing pole 21 in a pipe 20.

The following procedure may be used to install the assembly.

Clamp 3 of eye device 1 is slipped around an end of support pipe 20 so that cord 5 extends towards the open end of the pipe.

The clamp 3 is then positioned fairly close to the end of the pipe e.g. 1" away and the clamp is clamped to the pipe by tightening nut 12 and bolt 11 so as to draw flanges 8 9 together. The boss 10 may be positioned anywhere around the periphery of the pipe, but is usually at a position closest to the window of the building for ease of operation.

The position shown in Fig. 2 with the boss 10 uppermost is convenient for a window situated above pipes 20.

Hook member 2 is then slipped a short distance over an end of washing pole 21, the open end of the hook facing away from the end of the pole, but nut and bolt 17 are not tightened.

An end of bamboo pole 21 is inserted into pipe 20 until the end of the pole rests against the closed end of the pipe e.g. the wall of the building.

Cord 5 is then extended (through not stretched) along the bamboo pole and about 1" measured beyond the farthest end of the loop 15 to establish a position at which hook member 2 is to be located. The hook member is then slid along to this position and secured in place by tightening nut and bolt 17.

Loop 15 of eye member 4 may now be hooked over hook 7 by stretching cord 5.

Since the cord is now in an elastically stretched state, the pole 21 is biased against the closed end of the pipe 20 and prevented from slipping out of the pipe, even when loaded with washing. The amount of bias may, of course, be increased for heavy loads bv moving the hook member 2 further along the pole 21.

Whilst a particular preferred embodiment only has been described in detail above, it is clear that many variants may be made thereto. For example, the eye member may be mounted on the second clamp and the hook member provided on the cord end.

The cord might be attached to a boss on the second clamp. The clamps might be made of a metal, in which case other known types of clamp e.g. the so-called Jubilee clip, may be employed.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A retaining assembly for retaining a bamboo washing pole in an open-ended horizontal support pipe, the assembly comprising a first clamp adapted to be clamped around the pipe: a second clamp adapted to be clamped around the washing pole; and connecting means for detachably connecting the first clamp to the second clamp which comprises a hook member and an eye member, the eye member fitting over the hook member.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the eye member is attached to the first clamp and the hook member is attached to the second clamp.

3. An assembly according to either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the eye member is attached to the first clamp by means of a cord, and the hook member is directly mounted on the second clamp.

4. An assembly according to claim 3, wherein the cord is an elastically extensible cord.

5. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein the elastically extensible cord is braid-covered and has a core comprising a plurality of filaments of elastomeric material.

6. An assembly according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the first clamp comprises an integrally formed boss, the cord being secured to the first clamp by means of a through-bore in the boss, one cord end passing through the bore: the cord end being doubled-over and held thus by a loop of wire, so as to retain the cord end in the boss.

7. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein the other end of the cord is secured to the eye member by means of a throughbore therein, the other cord end passing through the bore; the cord end being doubled-over and held thus by a loop of wire, so as to retain the cord end in the bore.

8. An assembly according to either of claims 6 or 7, wherein a recess is provided in the boss and the eye member respectively to accommodate a respective doubled-over cord end.

9. An assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein each clamp is a circular loop having a flange at each loop end, the flanges of a clamp facing each other and each flange having a through hole; a nut and bolt passing through the holes in each pair of flanges and allowing the flanges to be drawn together on tightening the nut and bolt, thereby tightening the clamp.

10. An assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the first clamp, the eye member and the second clamp are formed of a plastics material.

11. A retaining assembly for retaining a bamboo washing pole in an open-ended horizontal support pipe substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. of a metal, in which case other known types of clamp e.g. the so-called Jubilee clip, may be employed. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A retaining assembly for retaining a bamboo washing pole in an open-ended horizontal support pipe, the assembly comprising a first clamp adapted to be clamped around the pipe: a second clamp adapted to be clamped around the washing pole; and connecting means for detachably connecting the first clamp to the second clamp which comprises a hook member and an eye member, the eye member fitting over the hook member.