US1910597A - Flexible line holder or bobbin - Google Patents

Description

May 23, 1933. F. F. ELLIOTT FLEXIBLE LINE HOLDER OR BOBBIN Filed April 29, 1929 IN V EN TOR.

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Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES FLORENCE F. ELLIOTT, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI FLEXIBLE LINE HOLDER R BOEBIN Application filed April 29,

This invention relates to reels or bobbins for thread or rope-like material and is particularly adaptable for clothes lines and has for its primary object toproduce a unitary 5 device provided with certain securing or sustaining clips having openings making them practically universal in their ready application to most any point of support, and which, although strong and sturdy, is light in vweight. A device of this nature is therefore particularly adaptable for use by travellers, campers and the like, and is especially suited for those living in apartment houses where injury to woodwork is not countenanced, or

even by householders desiring to stretch a temporary clothes line for over night use or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compact device having the general characteristics above outlined which provides a small, strong, durable and efficient clothes line bobbin or holder when the line is not in use, of such nature that the line is more or less protected by a part of the holder,

and which provides locking means preventing accidental withdrawal or unrolling of the line when the device is carried in a pocket, in a suitacase, or under other storage or periods of non-use.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the line may be readily and securely locked to maintain tension against the force or weight imposed thereon, such as by clothing supported by the line, and also against further unrolling or unwinding of the unused portion of the line.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a device of the character outlined of extremely simple, strong, durable, eflicient and inexpensive construction with no working parts to get out of order; and in order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

5 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device as it will appear when carried by a chair back or similar support.

Figure 2 is a side View of the bobbin as it will appear when supported by a bar, such 59 as a towel bar or chair round or the like.

1929. Serial No. 358,913.

Figure 3 is a side view of the device partially in section as it will appear when supported by a nail or other headed support.

Figure 4: is a perspective view showing the cooperation between the free clip or hook and the bobbin in retaining the line against unrolling when the device is not in use and in protecting said line against soiling.

In the said drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in '69 all of the figures, 1 indicates a clip which is preferably made of spring metal and comprises a PELlIQOf legs capable of extendin; or opening to receive relatively wide objects, such as chair backs 2 and the like, one of said legs being preferably provided with a keyhole opening 3 for locking engagement with a headed object such as a nail 41 (see Figure 3) The other leg of the clip 1 permanently i carries a T-shaped bobbin comprising a stem 5 and a cross head 6, said cross head preferably extending in alinement with the adja cent leg of the clip 1, said leg thus forming one side wall of the bobbin and providing, a construction which gives free, uninterrupted access to the bobbin in winding or unwinding the line 7 It will be apparent that a bobbin of the character above outlined forms a convenient receptacle or spool for a. clothes line or the like, the clip 1 providing means whereby the bobbin may be conveniently and quickly attached to a support and that such a device is compact and light in weight for easy storage or transportation. In the construction illustrated, the stem 5 is hollow, and if desired a pencil or the like may be inserted in said stem to constitute a shaft for the rotation of the bobbin in the unwinding of the cord or line.

In the use of a bobbin and clip of the character above outlined, it has been found desirable to'provide means to protect the line to some extent against soiling, when not in use, and alsoto provide a guard which will prevent entanglement of the line with other objects and hold said line against accidental unwinding or unrolling. To provide such a guard I have secured to the free end of the line 7 a spring clip 8, the diameter of the line when rolled on the bobbin being such as to cause clip 8 to snugly embrace the line and partially encircle the same, said clip being received between the cross head 6 of the bobbin and the adjacent leg of the clip 1, as shown most clearly in Figure 4:. The clip 8, besides having the guard function above de scribed, is formed with a key-hole opening l) to provide engaging and interlocking means for the end of the headed object such as a nail 10, and is furthermore adapted to hook over a chair back or over a bar or chair round 11 as described in connection with clip 1.

It has sometimes been founddifiicult to secure the desired tension on the line without having means whereby the line may be locked against unwinding beyond the point desired. It has therefore been found desirable to provide the bobbin with a lock or clamp which in its simplest form comprises a V-shaped notch or a plurality of such notches 12 located at any convenient point on the bobbin, but being illustrated at the opposite ends of the cross head 6 thereof. When the clip 1 engages an object such as a towel bar where there'is nothing to prevent the gravitative tendency of the bobbin and clip to swing their center of gravity to a point vertically below the center of support, it has been found necessary with the type of locking device illustrated, to pass the line 7 through both the up per and lower notches 12 substantially as. illustrated in Figure 2, the line passing from the lowermost notch to the hook or clip 8 as shown. If the line is passed through the top notch only, the pull on said line usually effects rotation of the bobbin around the rod or support and the line of pull becomes such that the line will slip from the notch 12, or the clip 1 will become disengaged from the towel bar or other support.

It will be apparent from the above description that the possible points of support for the bobbin are multitudinous and that a clothes line may thus be quickly and easily strung or removed without necessitating auxiliary attaching devices such as screws, nails or the like. Also if desired the operating faces of the clips may be covered with a protecting felt pad to avoid the possibility of marring the finish of the finest chairs or sim ilar supporting points.

From the above description, it will be apparent that I have produced a clothes line bobbin or reel possessing the features of advantage set forth as desirable in the statement of the objects of the invention, which may be made, of any suitable material possessing the requisite strength for the purpose in view,

' such as wood, metal, rubber, papieranach or celluloid, and which is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the principle of construction involved and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. A device of the character described comprising a bobbin of generally H-shape in side elevation, one of the sides of the bobbin being prolonged at one end and curved outwardly and downwardly to form, in conjunction with the side of which it is a prolongation, a gen erally U-shaped supporting clip for said bobbin, the extremity of said prolongation being formed with a key-hole opening.

2. A device of the character described comprising a bobbin of generally H-shape in side elevation, one of the sides of the bobbin being prolonged at one end and curved outwardly and downwardly to form, in conjunction with the side of which it is a prolongation a generally U-shaped supporting clip for said bobbin, the free end terminating substantially flush with the parallel sides of the bobbin, and a U-shaped clip fitted in and filling the space between the side walls of said bobbin and being adapted to embrace a line wound on the bobbin.

3. A device of the character described comprising a tubular member adapted to be rotatably mounted, a pair of parallel plates having openings in which the opposite ends of said tube are rigidly secured, said tubular member and end plates constituting a gener ally H-shaped bobbin, one of said end plates being prolonged at one end and curved outwardly and downwardly to form in conjunction with the side of which it is a prolongation a generally U-shaped supporting clip for the bobbin.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FLORENCE F. ELLIOTT.

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