US2498373A - Portable wardrobe - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 21, 1950 MARsAND 2,498,373

PORTABLE WARDROBE Filed Feb. 16, 1949 INVENTOR ROBERT B. MARSAND ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1950 *PORTABL'E WARDROBE "Rdbrt'Biii Iarsandi Blbom'fieidiN. J.

AppIi'catiDH'FebrHary 1e, 1949;:- Serial N'o."-76,709

This invention relates merit hangers.

Wardrobes are known comprising :a f plurality of units arranged for assembly and disassembly. Wardrobes of this type havenot'come intogeneral usagedn part because -cf their complexity'oi construction, and the expense of manufacture thereof. Furthermore, many such wardrobes are awkward'in-formor shape, and heavy. It is especially desirable that-wardrobes for use in automobiles .be light and inexpensive to manufacture,- and easy-to assembleanddisassemble in units.

It is an object of the presentinventionto-provide an improved wardrobe of the type to he assembled or disassembled.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the expense and increase theea'se of manufacture of suclra wardrobe.

- Other objects include providing-such a wardrobe .that is light, that may be easily assembled 0r disassembled, if desired one unit-at a time, and that is especially well-adapted for automobile usage.

These and: other objects; advantages, and novel featuresof the invention will'becorne more fully apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing in which like parts have like reference numerals and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of awardrobeof the invention assembled but with some of'the units pivoted open; I V

*Fig. 2a is a face view of a portion" of Fig. 1 to show" the manner of construction of a pivot opening in Fig. 1;

'Fig.'"2b is a face view or an alternative construction of the pivotopening of Fig. 2;

'Fig.3 is a perspective View ofthe wardrobe of Fig. 1 assembled'and ready for carrying'as a whole orfor storing; and

Fig. '4 is a perspective viewof'a'n alterna'tive fastener for the wardrobe.

In accordance with the inventiornI arrange a to wardrobes and garbase unit anda side unit togetherfthe base unit having openings or "wire loops. A frame unit, preferably entirely ofwire, has two end portions projecting to engage or fit intothe openings, the frame-itself acting' as a's'pring to hold the fram'e pivotally i-n'theiopenin'gs. The frame thi'is'piv ots towardor away fromthe side unit 'an'd "maybe held. in assembly as more fully :disclosed' hereinafter. will-be seen, the assembl-ed wardrobe is readily held in the trunk or floor of an automobile, if' desired. I

:In accordance with a further? feature io'fthez'inreclaims. ((31. 211- 106) 2 vention, I--provide the base unit with openings-in each -of which may be hung-anordinaryhanger with argarment thereon. Then' a corresponding garment frame may he -pivoted into carrying .posi tion with thegarment-folded-thereover.

Referring 'now more-particularly "to Fig. 1; "a wire baseunit 6;rectangularin form, has open ings- 8 therein along the-sides 1 at equally-spaced intervals. SidGlII'Iit IB, also-rectangular and constituted by-atopwireportion 5 and-side wire legs 3,--is attached rigidly to 'one --side'--of th'e wire-basemnit-G. An' inverted -U- shaped' frame I2, preferably 'of wire,- -having a top 'imember '4-2 and sidelegs-44, has oppositely facing end portions-l4 which-are :inserted respectively in one of" a pair'of openings 8, the wire frame 12 being placed' under stress with such insertion and thus serves alsoasaspring. The-endportion M'may.

include a bend -or single corrugation-tobeengage'd moresecurely in-the opening. An inverted U shaped frame unit -20similar to frame-unit 12 engages a similar pair of openingsll. It will be apparent-that more'than-one frame similar to framed-z may be engaged in 'similar'pairs-of openings- 8, if' desired. Openings '9, which may be si-miIar toop'enings '8, are provided ina central wire of base members. There is preferably'one openingdi for each pa'ir'of openingsSan'dpre'ferably spaced slightly closed to side unit In than the line through-the 'co'rresp'ondingpair of o'penings 8.

' 'In 'Fig. 2a the opening 8 "is shown as formed-by a loopin'base unit'6,-wher'eas in Fig. 2b is shown an alternative construction *of' an opening "8' which may be used *in' lieu thereof; formed by an arcuaten'early-complete circular bend in the wire aswellas aigarment frame over or upon which garments may be hung. Frame-20 is preferably rectangular, so that when pivoted into substantial parallel-ism with-sidennit II], it may be held in position withrspringclips 22 or the like, as shown in-Fig.' .3. -In Fig. 4,- as-an example, is shown a substitute for; the Fspring =clips consisting of an elastic band 24 :having -snap fasteners 25,;28.

Frame =l-2 may havea d-ifierent shape depending upon the garment to be hung or folded thereover. A carrying handle 30 may also be provided which may assume the position shown in Fig. 1 when not in use, or the position shown in Fig. 3 when used to carry theassembled wardrobe. Base unit 6 may be engaged by any suitable means (not shown) in the floor of an automobile or in the bottom of the trunk compartment thereof, preferably in a detachable manner. Thus individual frame units such as l2 or 20 with the garments hung thereon, may be selectively removed by the traveler and carried freely about, without removing the entire wardrobe. If desired, a removable cloth cover 36 may be provided which covers the side unit ID, the base 6, and has sufiicient surplus material to extend over the frame unit 20 and the top of the wardrobe when assembled thereby to protect the garments within against v dust and dirt.

Since many garments are longer than the proposed 16 inch dimension of the garment frames, the openings 9 may be provided, in which an ordinary hanger 32 of the type in commercial and common daily use may be received. The garment, for example a coat 34, is hung over the hanger andextended on top of the frame 20 engaged in the openings corresponding to the opening 9 in which the hanger is received. As is apparent from the drawing when the frame is pivoted to the'storing or carrying position parallel to the plane of side unit It, the garment hangs over frame 20 in a fold, where'it is draped and firmly held without crushing or creasing because of the spacing of the openings 9 slightly toward the plane of side unit ID from the pair of openings 8. Of course, if the garment and frame unit are to be removed together from'the base unit, the hanger 32 is disengaged from opening 9 as well as garment frame 20 from openings 8. Alternatively, the garment 3% maybe removed from the wardrobe, by removing the hanger without removing or disengaging frame 20. There may be as many garments anchored by means of hangers to the base 6 as there are frames or units 12, 20, it being understood that there are as many openings 9 as there are frames or units I2, 2L3. in Fig. 1 in the interest of simplifying the drawmg. I

It will thus be apparent that I have devised a wardrobe which is not only novel, but light in weight and exceedingly inexpensive to manufacture. It will be noted in this regard, that the entire wardrobe, except for the cloth covering, may be made of any inexpensive material, but is especially well adapted to be manufactured of wire. Thus the construction may be made sturdy yet light and inexpensive. The wardrobe of the invention is especially useful in connection withautomobile travel, and permits the easy removal or storage of single selected garments with ease.

Although the invent-ion has been described with particular reference to the use of wire for the various elements of the wardrobe, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of Wire, since other materials such as plastic or wood may be used effectively to achieve the desired results.

What I claim is: v

1. A wardrobe assembly comprising a base unit and aside unit each made from wire, the sides of said-base unit being continuations ofthe legs of said side unit, an inverted u-shaped frame having legs with projecting end portions facing in opposite directions, said frame being at least Only one such garment hanger is shown 7 tangular frame having one pair of opposite sides looped at certain points to provide openings receiving said end portions and wherein said portions are pivotally engaged under stress of said spring with insertion of said end portions in said openings.

2. A wardrobe assembly formed of wire comprising a rectangular base unit, a side unit having members connected to the base unit and lying substantially in a plane, and an inverted u-shaped garment frame having two projecting end portions facing in opposite directions, said frame being at least in part a spring, said base unit having sides which are coiled to provide a pair of openings receiving said end portions and wherein said end portions are pivotally engaged under stress of said spring with insertion of said end portions therein, said openings being arranged in a line parallel to the plane of said side unit whereby said frame may pivot into parallelism with said side unit plane and away therefrom and whereby stress on said frame may be exerted to release it from said base unit.

3. The wardrobe assembly claimed in claim 2, said openings being loops in said sides of the base unit.

4. The wardrobe assembly claimed in claim 2, said openings being arcuate nearly complete circular bends in said sides of the base unit.

5. The wardrobe assembly claimed in claim 2 further adapted to receive a garment hanger, said base unit having a central wire with openings in which said hanger may be engaged.

6. The wardrobe assembly claimed in claim 2 further adapted to receive a garment hanger, said'base unit having a central wire extending parallel to the sides of the base unit, said central wire also being coiled at a point intermediate its ends to provide an opening for a garment hanger.

7. The wardrobe assembly claimed in claim 6, said openings being loops in said wire portions.

8; In a wardrobe assembly having a wire base unit and a wire side unit each lying substantially in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the other, the sides of said base unit being continuations of the legs of said side unit, the combination comp-rising an inverted U-shaped garment frame having legs with projecting end portions and being at least in part a spring, oppositely disposed portions of the sides of said base unit being coiled to providea pair of openings to receive said end portions and wherein said end portions are pivotally and yieldably engageable under stress of said spring with insertion of said end portions therein, the said pair of openings being in a line substantially parallel to said side unit plane whereby said frame is easily assembled or disassembled from said base and on assembly is pivotally engaged thereto to pivot substantially into parallelism with said side unit plane or away therefrom substantially into parallelism with said base unit plane.

9. The combination claimed in claim 8 further adapted to receive a garment hanger, said base unit having a wire intermediate the sides thereof and lying in the same plane therewith, said wire being coiledto provide an opening corresponding to said pair of openings and symmetrically positioned therebetween but spaced closer to said side unit plane than said pair of openings.

10. A garment hanger comprising a rectangular-shaped metal frame base unit having spaced horizontal rod-like members interconnected at their ends by other rod-like members, a metal frame unit attached to one side of said base unit, another metal frame unit attached to the other side of said base unit, at least one of said frame units being pivotally mounted on said base unit, and means directly mounted on a horizontal rod-like member of said base unit for supporting a garment hanger.

11. A garment hanger comprising a rectangular-shaped metal frame base unit having spaced horizontal rod-like members interconnected at their ends by other rod-like members, a metal frame unit attached to one side of said base unit, another metal frame unit attached to the other side of said base unit, at least one of said frame units being pivotally mounted on said base unit, and means detachably mounted on said base unit at a point intermediate the ends of said horizontal rod-like members for supporting a garment.

12. A garment hanger comprising a pair of spaced metallic frame units secured to a metallic base frame unit and pivotally mounted on said base unit relative to each other, said base unit having four rod-like members interconnected at their ends to form a rectangular frame, and means on said base unit at a location intermediate the ends thereof for supporting a garment.

13. A garment hanger comprising a rectangu- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 366,013 Martin July 5, 1887 568,199 Keeler Sept. 22, 1896 2,004,035 Cleveland June 4, 1935 2,058,217 Dixon Oct. 20, 1936 2,066,823 Cohen Jan. 5, 1937 2,131,620 Garrison et al. Sept. 2'7, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 570,311 Great Britain July 2, 1945

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