GB2317557A

GB2317557A - Contractible rack

Info

Publication number: GB2317557A
Application number: GB9620110A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yung-Kai Lo
Original assignee: Emmarco Ind Co Ltd
Current assignee: Emmarco Ind Co Ltd
Priority date: 1996-09-26
Filing date: 1996-09-26
Publication date: 1998-04-01
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-26
Also published as: GB2317557B; GB9620110D0; HK1005515A1

Abstract

A contractible rack (10) for hanging towels, clothes or the like comprises a casing (11) formed by a body (12) for fixing onto a support structure and a lid (13) having two parts (13'). The lid parts (13') are pivotably connected to opposite sides of the body (12) for pivotal movement between a closed position lying close to the body and an open position extending substantially at right angles to the body. The lid parts have respective rails (14). The rack includes a plurality of elongate hangers (16) supported for lateral sliding movement into the body for storage in a contracted condition and out of the body for extending longitudinally in an expanded condition across and with opposite ends slidably engaging respective rails (14) of the opened lid parts. A linkage (17) is used to interconnect each opposite group of adjacent ends of the hangers for the hangers to slide together.

Description

CONTRACTIBLE RACK The present invention relates to a contractible rack for hanging towels, clothes or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, there is provided a contractible rack for hanging towels, clothes or the like, which rack comprises a casing formed by a body for fixing onto a support structure and a lid having two parts which are pivotably connected to opposite sides of the body for pivotal movement between a closed position lying close to the body and an open position extending substantially at right angles to the body, said lid parts having respective rails, a plurality of elongate hangers supported for lateral sliding movement into the body for storage in a contracted condition and out of the body for extending longitudinally in an expanded condition across and with opposite ends slidably engaging respective rails of the opened lid parts, and a linkage interconnecting each opposite group of adjacent ends of the hangers for the hangers to slide together.

Preferably, the linkages are adapted to fix the separation of the hangers from one another in the expanded condition.

It is preferred that the linkages are adapted to cause, when the hangers initially contract, the inner two hangers to contract into the body first.

In a preferred embodiment, each linkage is formed by a plurality of links, each said link interconnecting the two ends of a respective pair of adjacent hangers.

More preferably, the links of each linkage is in a zig-zag manner.

In a preferred embodiment, each lid part is provided with two rails for slidably engaging alternate ends of the respective group of adjacent ends of the hangers.

More preferably, the two rails of each lid part extend at substantially the same distance apart except at a position near the body where they diverge from each other.

It is preferred that each rail is in the form of a channel receiving the respective ends of the hangers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a contractible rack, for hanging towels, clothes or the like, in accordance with the invention, in an expanded condition; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional left side view of the rack of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional left side view corresponding to Figure 2, showing the rack in a partially contracted condition; and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional left side view corresponding to Figure 3, showing the rack in a fully contracted condition.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, there is shown a contractible rack 10, for hanging towels, clothes or the like, embodying the invention, which rack 10 has a elongate casing 11 formed by a box-like body 12 and a longitudinally extending lid 13 for closing an open front side 12' of the body 12.

The body 12 has opposite ends 12 n which extend laterally rearward for fixing by screws the body 12 horizontally onto a wall 9. The lid 13 is formed by separate left and right parts 13' which are hinged by screws 13" to respective opposite ends 12" on the body front side 12' for pivotal movement about respective vertical axes between closed and open positions. In the closed position (Figure 4), the lid parts 13' lie close to the body 12 and cover the front side 12'. In the open position (Figures 1 to 3), the lid parts 13' extend forward at right angles to the body 12.

Each lid part 13' is formed, on its inner side, with a pair of longitudinally extending upper and lower channel rails 14 which have respective C-shaped cross-sections. The rails 14 of each pair have respective front sections 14' which run parallel to each other at a small distance apart and respective rear sections 14" which run rearward apart at a diverging angle of about 30". Inside the body 12, each end 12" is formed with a pair of upper and lower horizontal channel rails 15. The internal rails 15 have the same Cshaped cross-section as and are in alignment with the respective rails 14 of the corresponding lid parts 13'. In the open position of the lid parts 13', the aligned rails 14 and 15 on each side meet end-to-end together and lie on the same vertical plane.

The rack 10 includes a series of eight horizontal rod hangers 16 and two linkages 17 which interconnect respective left and right groups of ends 16' of the hangers 16. The hangers 16 are supported with their left and right ends 16' slidably engaging, on opposite sides, the internal rails 15 and/or, when the lid 13 is opened, the lid rails 14. The rod ends 16' may be provided with respective coaxial rollers (not shown) for engaging with the respective rails 14/15 and smooth sliding therealong. With the lid parts 13' opened, the hangers 16 are extendable across and slidable laterally along the rails 14/15 on opposite sides.

More specifically, the upper and lower rails 14/15 on each side slidably engage the ends 16 of the hangers 16 in an alternating manner, namely with the upper rail 14/15 engaging four every other rod ends 16' and the lower rail 14/15 engaging the remaining four rod ends 16'.

Each linkage 17 is formed by a series of seven identical rigid link bars 17', each of which has opposite ends hinged with the respective ends 16 of the associated pair of adjacent hangers 16. The linkages 17 interconnect the hangers 16 for movement together, with the link bars 17 of each linkage 17 together extending in a zig-zag manner between the associated upper and lower rails 14/15.

While the lid parts 13' are opened, the hangers 16 are slidable, along the rails 14/15, forward out of the body 12 for hanging articles in an expanded condition (Figures 1 and 2) and rearward into the body 12 for storage in a contracted condition (Figures 3 and 4). The rails 14/15 determine the operating condition of the hangers 16. By virtue of the co-parallel and close together configuration, the rail front sections 14' spread the hangers 16 flat apart into the expanded condition. By virtue of the diverging configuration in a rearward direction, the rail rear sections 14" cause the link rod 17 to fold together, thereby bringing the hangers 16 into the contracted condition along only the internal rails 15. In the forward direction, the rail rear sections 14" cause the link rod 17' to unfold, thereby spreading the hangers 16 along the rail front sections 1'.

In operation, the lid parts 13 are firstly opened (from Figure 4 to Figure 3) and the hangers 16 are then slid out, being pulled out normally by the outermost hanger 16, from the body 12 to extend across the lid parts 13' (from Figure 3 to Figures 1 and 2) for hanging articles. The hangers 16 will spread out from the body 12 one by one, with the outer two hangers 16 expanding first and the inner two hangers 16 expanding last. For storage, the hangers 16 are slid or pushed back into the body 12 and then the lid parts 13' are closed. The hangers 16 will move into the body 12 together, with the inner two hangers 16 contracting first and the outer two hangers 16 contracting last.

In the expanded condition, the hangers 16 are spaced apart from one another positively by the link rods 17, whereby their separation between adjacent rods 16 are practically fixed and will not be altered during use when articles are hanged and removed.

The invention has been given by way of example only, and various modifications of and/or alterations to the described embodiment may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as specified in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A contractible rack for hanging towels, clothes or the like, which rack comprises a casing formed by a body for fixing onto a support structure and a lid having two parts which are pivotably connected to opposite sides of the body for pivotal movement between a closed position lying close to the body and an open position extending substantially at right angles to the body, said lid parts having respective rails, a plurality of elongate hangers supported for lateral sliding movement into the body for storage in a contracted condition and out of the body for extending longitudinally in an expanded condition across and with opposite ends slidably engaging respective rails of the opened lid parts, and a linkage interconnecting each opposite group of adjacent ends of the hangers for the hangers to slide together.

2. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the linkages are adapted to fix the separation of the hangers from one another in the expanded condition.

3. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the linkages are adapted to cause, when the hangers initially contract, the inner two hangers to contract into the body first.

4. A contractible rack as claimed in claim l, wherein each linkage is formed by a plurality of links, each said link interconnecting the two ends of a respective pair of adjacent hangers.

5. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 4, wherein the links of each linkage is in a zig-zag manner.

6. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each lid part is provided with two rails for slidably engaging alternate ends of the respective group of adjacent ends of the hangers.

7. A contractible rack substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.

7. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 6, wherein the two rails of each lid part extend at substantially the same distance apart except at a position near the body where they diverge from each other.

8. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each rail is in the form of a channel receiving the respective ends of the hangers.

9. A contractible rack substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN FILED AS FOLLOWS CLAIMS 1. A contractible rack for hanging towels, clothes or the like, which rack comprises a casing formed by a body for fixing onto a support structure and a lid having two parts which are pivotably connected to opposite sides of the body for pivotal movement between a closed position lying close to the body and an open position extending substantially at right angles to the body, said lid parts having respective rails, a plurality of elongate hangers supported for lateral sliding movement into the body for storage in a contracted condition and out of the body for extending longitudinally in an expanded condition across and with opposite ends slidably engaging respective rails of the opened lid parts, and a linkage interconnecting each opposite group of adjacent ends of the hangers for the hangers to slide together, each linkage being formed by a plurality of links, each said link interconnecting the two ends of a respective pair of adjacent hangers and the linkages being adapted to fix the separation of the hangers from one another in the expanded condition by virtue of the lengths of the links.

2. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the linkages are adapted to cause, when the hangers initially contract, the inner two hangers to contract into the body first.

3. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the links of each linkage is in a zig-zag manner.

4. A contractible rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each lid part is provided with two rails for slidably engaging alternate ends of the respective group of adjacent ends of the hangers.

5. A contractible rack as claimed in claim 4, wherein the two rails of each lid part extend at substantially the same distance apart except at a position near the body where they diverge from each other.

6. A contractible rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each rail is in the form of a channel receiving the respective ends of the hangers.