US20070175848A1

US20070175848A1 - Sports clothes drying rack

Info

Publication number: US20070175848A1
Application number: US11/345,277
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank Mallen
Original assignee: Malenger Inc
Current assignee: Malenger Inc
Priority date: 2006-02-02
Filing date: 2006-02-02
Publication date: 2007-08-02
Also published as: CA2576662A1

Abstract

A base for supporting an upstanding post having a first base member and at least one second base member. The first base member includes a first socket portion and a first support portion. Each second base member includes a second socket portion and a second support portion. The first and second base members are connected to each other and the first and second socket portions together define a post socket. The post socket has a plurality of walls defining a perimeter and extending from a bottom support for surrounding an end of the upstanding post. The first and second support portions each include at least one bearing point remote from a respective one of the socket portions to engage a support surface. A sports equipment rack and a kit for an assembly of a sports equipment rack is also disclosed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a base member for an upstanding post, and more particularly to a base and rack for supporting various types of sport equipment such as a player's individual protection gear and clothing for a particular sport.
2. Background Art
Some sports and more particularly contact sports such as hockey and football utilize a great deal of equipment which have to be stored. The equipment cannot be stored immediately after use as generally it must be aired and dried. This is also the case even in some non-contact sports such as skiing and the like.
Since it is desirable that such racks be composed of elements that can be easily taken apart for storage and transport purposes, some prior art racks have a central post and a plurality of separate base members, for example having a triangular shape, which are deformed from a tensioned state to be removably inserted into receiving holes of the central post and retained therein by the tensioned state of the base member. To be assembled to the post, such base members require the presence of the specific receiving holes, and as such cannot be easily interchangeably used with various post members. Moreover, over time the connection between the base members and the post can become loose, for example through accidental widening of the receiving holes or loss of tension of the base member.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide an improved base for a rack supporting various pieces of equipment and/or clothing for the drying thereof.
It is another aim of the present invention to provide an improved rack which is formed of relatively few elements.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide an improved rack which is easily assembled and disassembled.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a base for supporting an upstanding post, the base comprising a first base member including a first socket portion and a first support portion, and at least one second base member each including a second socket portion and a second support portion, the first and second base members being connected to each other and the first and second socket portions together defining a post socket having a plurality of walls defining a perimeter and extending from a bottom support for surrounding an end of the upstanding post, the first and second support portions each including at least one bearing point remote from a respective one of the socket portions to engage a support surface.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a sports equipment rack comprising an elongated central post having opposed bottom and top ends, a plurality of hanger members extending from the central post and adapted to receive at least one article thereon, and at least two base members each including a socket portion and a support portion, the base members being detachably connected to each other with the socket portions together forming a post socket having a plurality of walls extending from a bottom support, the elongated post being retained by the post socket to extend substantially upwardly with the bottom end resting against the bottom support and retained by the plurality of walls, the support portion of each of the connected base members providing at least one bearing point remote from the socket to support the rack on a support surface.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a kit for an assembly of a sports equipment rack comprising a first base member including a first socket portion and a first support portion, at least one second base member each including a second socket portion and a second support portion, the first and second base members being connectable to each other and the first and second socket portions being complementary to together define a post socket having a plurality of walls extending from a bottom support when the first and second base members are interconnected, the first and second support portions each including at least one bearing point remote from a respective one of the socket portions to engage a support surface, an elongated central post having opposed bottom and top ends, the bottom end being receivable into the post socket to rest against the bottom support and be supported by the plurality of walls such that the central post extends substantially perpendicularly to the support surface, and a plurality of hanger members attachable to the central post and adapted to receive at least one article thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a particular embodiment of the present invention and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack according to a particular embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 2A is a side view of a first base member forming part of a base of the rack of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2B is a side view of a second base member forming another part of the base of the rack of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective, partial view of the two base members of FIGS. 2A, 2B in a partly assembled state;
FIG. 4 is a top, partial view of two base members of FIGS. 2A, 2B in an assembled state;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a top member of the rack of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 6 is a side view of a connecting member of the rack of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, a rack according to a particular embodiment of the present invention is generally shown at 10. The rack 10 comprises a base 12 adapted to rest on a support surface, the base 12 including a post socket 14 retaining a central post 16 in a substantially vertical manner, the central post 16 in turn supporting a plurality of hanger members 18 extending outwardly therefrom and a headgear support 20 extending substantially upwardly therefrom.
In the embodiment shown, the base 12 is formed of two interconnected base members 22 a,b. Referring to FIGS. 2A-2B, the first and second base members 22 a,b each have a planar body 24 a,b having a bottom edge 26 a,b and two substantially symmetrical angled top edges 28 a,b defining a substantially triangular shape. A plurality of openings 30 a,b, which are shown here as being circular but can also be any other appropriate shape, are optionally defined in each body 24 a,b to minimize a weight thereof.
Each base member 22 a,b includes a socket portion 32 a,b, which comprises a pair of opposed parallel walls 34 a,b with a substantially rectangular large slit 36 a,b in the body 24 a,b defined therebetween. The large slit 36 a,b extends downwardly from the top edges 28 a,b along a central vertical axis 38 a,b of the body 24 a,b, where a top apex of the triangular body 24 a,b would be defined, and is bordered on its two vertical edges by the two spaced apart parallel walls 34 a,b which extend substantially perpendicularly to the body 24 a,b. Referring to FIG. 3, the two vertical ends of each of the walls are in the form of hook members 40 a,b. The hook members 40 a,b of the first and second base members 22 a,b are engageable to each other, as will be further explained below.
Referring back to FIGS. 2A-2B, each base member 22 a,b also includes a support portion 42 a,b, which comprises a foot 44 a,b extending downwardly from the bottom edge 26 a,b at each of the bottom apex of the triangular body 24 a,b, each foot 44 a,b defining a bearing point for supporting the base onto a support surface.
The first base member 22 a includes a first thin slit 46 extending downwardly in the body 24 a along the central axis 38 a from a bottom of the large slit 36 a. The second base member 22 b includes a second thin slit 48 extending upwardly in the body 24 b along the central axis 38 b from the bottom edge 26 b. The first and second base members 22 a,b are assembled substantially perpendicularly to each other, with a top portion 50 of the second base member 22 b defined between the second thin slit 48 and respective large slit 36 b being received within the first thin slit 46, and a bottom portion 52 of the first base member 22 a defined between the first thin slit 46 and respective bottom edge 26 a being received within the second thin slit 48. As shown in FIG. 3, when the two base members 22 a,b are assembled, the hook members 40 a of the first base member 22 a engage the hook members 40 b of the second base member 22 b to form the post socket 14 having a square, closed perimeter. As shown in FIG. 4, the crossing bodies 24 a,b of the first and second base members 22 a,b form a bottom support 54 of the post socket 14.
Referring back to FIG. 1, the central post 16 is formed of bottom and top post members 56, 58 having a substantially square, hollow cross-section. The post members 56, 58 have a plurality of pairs of aligned openings 60 defined in opposed walls thereof, each pair of aligned openings 60 receiving one of the hanger members 18 therethrough. A bottom end 62 of the bottom post member 56 is received within the post socket 14 formed by the base 12, resting against the bottom support 54 and being retained by the walls 34 a,b. A hollow top end 64 of the bottom post member 56 is interconnected to a hollow bottom end 66 of the top post member 58 by a connecting member 68, which is shown in FIG. 6.
The connecting member 68 includes a body 70 which defines opposed ends 72 and a central portion 74. A flange 76 extends around the central portion 74 (also shown in FIG. 1). The opposed ends 72 are sized such as to be freely inserted, i.e. without significant friction, into a respective one of the top hollow end 64 of the bottom post member 56 and the bottom hollow end 66 of the top post member 58. The ends 72 are optionally tapered.
The central portion 74 is larger than the opposed ends 72, i.e. at least one transversal dimension (one example being shown as W1>W2) of the body 70 increases from each of the opposed ends 72 to the central portion 74. In the embodiment shown, a series of longitudinal ridges 78 extend along a length of the body 70, the longitudinal ridges 78 being larger toward the central portion 74 such as to produce the size increase between the opposed ends 72 and the central portion 74. The central portion 74 is sized such as to be frictionally retained within the hollow ends 64, 66 of the post members 56, 58 when forced therein.
Thus, each end 72 of the connecting member 68 is placed into a respective one of the hollow ends 64, 66 of the two post members 56, 58, and the post members 56, 58 are brought together until each end 64, 66 abuts the flange 76. Because of the dimensional increase from the ends 72 of the connecting member 68 to the central portion 74, the minimal force required at the beginning of the insertion of the connecting member 68 progressively increases as the post members 56, 58 are brought closer together, which facilitates the use of the connecting member 68. The ridges 78, when compared to fins or other similar retaining means of the prior art, are not easily breakable which provides the connecting member 68 with an increased useful life.
Referring back to FIG. 1, the hanger members 18 are tubular members having a circular cross-section which are inserted into the aligned openings 60 of the central post 16. The hanger members 18 are adapted to support various types of sport equipment such as clothes, protective gear, footwear, etc. Clips 80 are provided at the end of some or all of the hanger members 18 to facilitate the retention of articles that otherwise could slide off the members. Alternate methods of attaching the hanger members 18 to the central post 16 are also considered, as well as hanger members 18 extending at various angles with respect to the central post 16.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the headgear support 20 comprises a top member 82 which has a tubular body 86 insertable into a hollow top end 84 of the top post member 58. A cylindrical opening or recess 88 is defined in the body 86 from a top surface 90 of the top member 82. The headgear support 20 also comprises a pin 92 having a bottom end 94 received within the recess 88 and frictionally retained therein to extend in a substantially vertical manner. The pin 92 is adapted to support various types of headgear such as a hat or a helmet and as such facilitate the support of an entire set of sport equipment by the rack 10.
In the embodiment shown, the connections between the base members 22 a,b, post members 56, 58, top member 82, pin 92, connecting member 68 and hanger members 18 are non-permanent. The rack 10 can thus easily be put together and taken apart, without tools, for ease of transport and storage. As such, the rack 10 can advantageously be provided in a kit containing all or some of the elements, for example the base members 22 a,b, a unitary central post 16 and a plurality of hanger members 18.
The base 12 formed of the connectable base members 22 a,b is simple to manufacture and simple to assemble. No additional component is required to connect the central post 16 to the base 12, as the base members 22 a,b include socket portions 32 a,b which, when the base members 22 a,b are assembled, together form the post socket 14. It is also considered to use the base 12 for other types of racks and upstanding posts that need to be supported on a support surface.
The rack 10 in its disassembled state requires limited storage space while still having substantially few separate elements to assemble, which reduces the assembly time and complexity as well as the risk of losing one of the elements.
In the embodiment shown, the post socket 14 has a square, closed perimeter. Alternately, the post socket 14 formed by the cooperating socket portions 32 a,b can have any of a multitude of shapes, or walls that are not directly connected to one another, as long as the post socket 14 can retain the particular central post 16 it is being assembled with. Also, more than two base members 22 a,b can be detachably connectable to each other. One example of an alternate embodiment would be three base members having a first end defining the socket portion and an opposed second end defining the support portion, the members being connectable at substantially 120 degrees from each other along the first end, and the cooperating socket portions forming a post socket having a triangular perimeter to receive a triangular central post therein.
The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary. Those skilled in the art will therefore appreciate that the foregoing description is illustrative only, and that various alternatives and modifications can be devised without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A base for supporting an upstanding post, the base comprising:

a first base member including a first socket portion and a first support portion; and

at least one second base member each including a second socket portion and a second support portion, the first and second base members being connected to each other and the first and second socket portions together defining a post socket having a plurality of walls defining a perimeter and extending from a bottom support for surrounding an end of the upstanding post, the first and second support portions each including at least one bearing point remote from a respective one of the socket portions to engage a support surface.

2. The base as defined in claim 1, wherein the at least one second base member includes a single second base member, the first and second base members being detachably connected to each other in a substantially perpendicular manner, the support portion of the first base member defining two spaced apart first bearing points with the first socket portion being located therebetween, and the second base member defining two spaced apart second bearing points with the second socket portion being located therebetween.

3. The base as defined in claim 2, wherein the first base member includes a first slit defined from a top edge thereof between the two first bearing points, and the second base member includes a second slit defined from a bottom edge thereof between the two second bearing points, the first and second base members being connected with a bottom section of the first base member defined under the first slit received within the second slit and a top section of the second base member defined over the second slit received into the first slit.

4. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of walls are detachably interconnected to each other to form the perimeter.

5. A sports equipment rack comprising:

an elongated central post having opposed bottom and top ends;

a plurality of hanger members extending from the central post and adapted to receive at least one article thereon; and

at least two base members each including a socket portion and a support portion, the base members being detachably connected to each other with the socket portions together forming a post socket having a plurality of walls extending from a bottom support, the elongated post being retained by the post socket to extend substantially upwardly with the bottom end resting against the bottom support and retained by the plurality of walls, the support portion of each of the connected base members providing at least one bearing point remote from the socket to support the rack on a support surface.

6. The rack as defined in claim 5, wherein the at least two base members include first and second base members detachably connected to each other in a substantially perpendicular manner, the support portions of the first and second base members each defining two spaced apart bearing points with the socket portion being located therebetween.

7. The rack as defined in claim 6, wherein the first base member includes a first slit defined from a top edge thereof, and the second base member includes a second slit defined from a bottom edge thereof, the first and second base members being connected with a bottom section of the first base member defined under the first slit received within the second slit and a top section of the second base member defined over the second slit received into the first slit.

8. The rack as defined in claim 6, wherein the bottom end of the central post has a square cross-section and the plurality of walls of the socket include two pairs of substantially parallel spaced apart walls, each pair being integral with a respective one of the first and second base members, the two pairs of walls together forming a substantially square perimeter snuggly surrounding the bottom end of the central post.

9. The rack as defined in claim 5, wherein the plurality of walls of the post socket include adjacent walls forming a closed perimeter and frictionally retaining the bottom end of the central post.

10. The rack as defined in claim 9, wherein the adjacent walls are detachably interconnected to each other.

11. The rack as defined in claim 5, wherein the central post is formed of two segments each having a hollow end, the hollow ends being interconnected by a connecting member having a body defining opposed ends and a central portion, each of the opposed ends being freely insertable into the hollow end of a respective one of the segments, and the central portion being simultaneously frictionally retained into the hollow end of the two segments.

12. The rack as defined in claim 11, wherein at least one transversal dimension of the body of the connecting member increases along a longitudinal direction thereof from each of the opposed ends to the central portion.

13. The rack as defined in claim 5, further comprising:

a top member having a bottom end frictionally retained into a hollow top end of the central post, the top member having a top surface with a recess defined therein; and

an elongated pin retained into the recess and extending substantially parallel to the central post, the elongated pin being adapted to retain a piece of equipment over the central post.

14. A kit for an assembly of a sports equipment rack comprising:

a first base member including a first socket portion and a first support portion;

at least one second base member each including a second socket portion and a second support portion, the first and second base members being connectable to each other and the first and second socket portions being complementary to together define a post socket having a plurality of walls extending from a bottom support when the first and second base members are interconnected, the first and second support portions each including at least one bearing point remote from a respective one of the socket portions to engage a support surface;

an elongated central post having opposed bottom and top ends, the bottom end being receivable into the post socket to rest against the bottom support and be supported by the plurality of walls such that the central post extends substantially perpendicularly to the support surface; and

a plurality of hanger members attachable to the central post and adapted to receive at least one article thereon.

15. The kit as defined in claim 14, wherein the at least one second base member includes a single second base member, the first and second base members being detachably connectable to each other in a substantially perpendicular manner, the first support portions defining two spaced apart first bearing points with the first socket portion being located therebetween and the second support portions defining two spaced apart second bearing points with the second socket portion being located therebetween.

16. The kit as defined in claim 15, wherein the first base member includes a first slit defined from a top edge thereof between the two first bearing points, and the second base member includes a second slit defined from a bottom edge thereof between the two second bearing points, a bottom section of the first base member defined under the first slit being receivable within the second slit, and a top section of the second base member defined over the second slit being receivable into the first slit.

17. The kit as defined in claim 15, wherein the first and second support portions each include a pair of opposed walls, the pairs of opposed walls being engageable to each other to form the plurality of walls of the post socket, the plurality of walls defining a closed perimeter, and the bottom end of the central post is snuggly receivable within the closed perimeter.

18. The kit as defined in claim 14, wherein the first and second support portions each include at least one wall, the at least one wall of the support portions being interconnectable to form the plurality of walls of the post socket, the plurality of walls defining a substantially square perimeter.

19. The kit as defined in claim 14, wherein the central post is a first central post with the top end thereof being hollow, and the kit further comprises:

a second central post having a hollow bottom end;

a plurality of hanger members attachable to the second central post and adapted to receive at least one article thereon; and

a connecting member having a body defining first and second opposed ends and a central portion, the first end being insertable into the hollow top end of the first central post, the second end being insertable into the hollow bottom end of the second central post, and the central portion being simultaneously frictionally retainable into the hollow top of the first central post and the hollow bottom end of the second central post to interconnect the first and second central posts.

20. The kit as defined in claim 14, wherein the top end of the central post is hollow, the kit further comprising:

a top member having a bottom end frictionally retainable into the hollow top end of the central post, the top member having a top end with a recess defined therein; and

an elongated pin snuggly insertable into the recess such as to extend substantially parallel to the central post when the top member in retained in the top end, the elongated pin being adapted to retain a piece of equipment over the central post.