US3018899A - Clothes drying rack - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 30, 1962 A. GROO 3,018,899

CLOTHES DRYING RACK Filed July 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Azr/Juz L. 6200 ArmeA/E vs.

1962 A. L. GROO 3,018,899

CLOTHES DRYING RACK Filed July 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR.

BY $4 241 I W1 Arrow/5Y5 3,018,899 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 fire 3,018,899 CLOTHES DRYING RACK Arthur L. Groo, Northbrook, Ill., assignor to Welmard Products Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,133 7 Claims. (Cl. 211123) This invention relates to clothes drying racks and has to do more particularly with a novel portable clothes rack especially suitable for domestic use.

Clothes drying racks comprising, generally, a base, an upright upstanding from the base and a bar or rod carried by the upright for receiving and supporting clothes carried on clothes hangers have found extensive use in the home. Such racks have been used for drying washed garments indoors on rainy days; for holding washed garments which need no ironing, such as wash and wear clothes; for holding freshly ironed garments; and for holding wet garments, such as rain coats, while draining water therefrom.

Prior clothes drying racks of the aforementioned type have not been entirely satisfactory. Such racks have no means for catching and collecting the water which drips from wet garments and, where such racks have been used for holding clothes while draining water therefrom, it has been customary to set the rack in a bath tub or other large receptacle. This expedient is not always practicable where the washing is done at a distance from a bath tub, or where the use requires the transportation of the receptacle.

Certain prior art racks are too large and heavy to be readily portable and are too large to be readily stored. Moreover, other prior devices ae relatively flimsy and will not satisfactorily hold a large number of clothing items especially when they are wet.

An object of the present invention is to provide a clothes drying rack which is light but strong, and which is readily portable and can be easily collapsed for convenient storage.

Another object is to provide a clothes drying rack which is readily collapsible but which when extended to operating condition is strong and rigid.

Still another object is to provide a clothes drying rack having means for catching and collecting any water which may drip from clothes hung on the rack and which means can be readily emptied.

Another object is to provide a clothes drying rack having water collecting and catching means which is of simple construction, may be readily installed in operative position and readily removed to empty the water therefrom.

Still another object is to provide a clothes drying rack of the character set forth which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is sturdy and durable.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the clothes drying rack according to the present invention in open, operative position; with the preferred form of water collecting member assembled with the rack;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the rack of FIG. 1 in collapsed and folded condition, the Water collecting member being removed;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the rack;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the rack in open, extended position;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the rack;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the water collecting member shown in FIG. 1, such member being shown in the form which it assumes when assembled on the rack as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second form of water collecting member.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4 of the drawing, the clothes drying rack of the present invention includes a frame-like base 10 of generally rectangular form having side members 11 and end members 12, the side members 11 being bent upwardly at their ends so that the end members 12 are displaced upwardly out of the plane of the side members 11. The frame may be of any suitable construction but preferably is formed by a single tubular member having its ends suitably joined together (as by welding) to form the rectangular frame construction as shown.

Upstanding from the frame-like base 10 is an upright 15 of generally U-shaped form which upright is pivotally connected to the base 10 in a manner hereinafter more particularly described. The upright 15 preferably is collapsible and to this end is formed by a pair of tubular members 16 which are adapted to receive the leg portion-s 17 of a generally U-shaped member 18 as seen particularly in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The U-shaped member 18 may be made either of tubular or rod stock and preferably is formed of tubular stock for lightness. The legs 17 of the U-shaped member 18 are telescopingly received in the members 16 and suitable means such as a spring-pressed detent 19 is provided in each of the legs 17 of the U-shaped member 18 adapted to rest upon the upper end edges of the tubular member 16 to support the U-shaped member 18 in its uppermost position. The upright structure may be collapsed by pressing in the spring-pressed detent 19 so that the U-shaped member 18 may be moved downwardly in the tubular members 16 to a collapsed position such as shown particularly in FIG. 2 of the drawing.

The upright 15 is, as above stated, pivotally connected to the base, the arrangement being such that the upright may be moved between a generally upright position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and a collapsed position as shown in FIG. 2. The construction is such that when the upright is in its upright or extended position, it is inclined slightly from the vertical so that the upper cross bar portion 20 of the upright is vertically above the base well inwardly from the end of the base, and preferably above approximately the middle of the base. The pivot arrangement is such that when the upright is in collapsed position, the upright lies in a plane almost parallel to the plane of the lower portion of the base, as illustrated particularly in FIG. 2 of the drawings. collapsed and folded as shown in FIG. 2, is of relatively compact form and the rack can be readily stored in a closet or other relatively small space.

The pivot arrangement for the upright includes a hinge member 25 for each of the tubular members 16, which hinge member is pivotally connected to the corresponding side portion of the base as by a pivot pin 26. The hinge member 25 is of generally U-shaped form and receives therein the lower end of the corresponding tubular member 16 which latter member is secured in the hinge member preferably by a pair of pins 27 although it may be secured therein as by welding.

A collapsible brace 30 is provided for maintaining the upright in its upright position, which brace is foldable to permit the upright to be moved into its collapsed or folded position. The brace 30 includes a pair of strut members 31, 34 which are pivotally connected together as at 33 and each is pivotally connected as at 32 and 35 to the corresponding tubular member 16 and the side member 11 of the brace respectively. A detent 36 is provided on the strut member 31 which is adapted to be received in a recess 37 in the other strut member Thus the rack when 34 for halting the extent of pivotal movement of the strut members 31 and 34 to thereby position the strut members 31, 34 in alignment and provide a rigid brace supporting the upright member 16 in its upright position. Thus it will be seen that the brace 30 holds the upright member 16 in its upright position when the brace is in its straight, extended position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 but may be folded or collapsed to permit the upright 15 to be moved into its collapsed position as shown in FIG. 2.

The rack, as above described and as illustrated particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, may be used in a manner similar to that in which prior racks have been used. Thus the rack may be adjusted to its opened and extended position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. With the upright extended, the cross bar 20 of the U-shaped member 18 is in position to receive the hook portions of coat hangers with garments thereon and thus suspend the garments over the base. Owing to the fact that the base is of substantial size and the side members 11 are substantially spaced, the base provides a very stable support for the upright and since the upright extends upwardly from the base, and especially since it is inclined inwardly toward the center of the base, the upright is supported stably and in position and there is no possibility of the rack being overturned unintentionally. The U-shaped upright construction provides a light but very strong and stable support for the clothes hung from the cross bar 20 and therefore a substantial number of garments, either wet or dry, may be suspended from the cross bar without any damage to the rack.

The present invention also provides means for catching and collecting any Water which may drip from clothes suspended from the cross bar such as newly washed clothes hung on the rack for drying, or wash and wear clothes which are hung on the rack for drying without ironing. Preferably, there is provided a water catching and collecting member 40 which preferably is formed of flexible material, such as a water impervious plastic, adapted to be engaged over the upturned ends of the base as illustrated particularly in FIG. 1. The catching and collecting member 40 is of generally rectangular construction and has at each end a pocket-forming portion 43 which extends from the end edge of the main portion of the member 40 and which pocket-forming portion is secured at its ends to the main portion of the member 40 along the lines 44 as by stitching or otherwise. Secured to the free edge of each portion 43 is an elastic member (not shown) which is of shorter length in its normal unextended position than the corresponding edge of the flange to which it is secured and which thereby pulls in or puckers the end edge of the corresponding flange but which permits the flange to be extended at its edge to its full length by stretching the elastic member. This arrangement permits the flange to be engaged over the corresponding end portion of the base and because of the resiliency of the elastic member to firmly retain the member 40 on the base but in such a manner as to permit the member 40 to be readily removed from the base.

When the member 40 is placed on the base as above described and as shown particularly in FIG. 1 of the drawing, the member 40 takes a tray-like form which is adapted to receive any liquid which drops from garments suspended from the upright and collects that liquid so that it can be disposed of readily and does not wet the floor on which the rack is placed. This tray-like form which the member 40 assumes when placed on the base results from the fact that the end flanges are secured along their end edges to the base portion of the main body or portion of the member 40 and thus provide pockets which receive the end members of the base. Thus it will be seen from FIG. 1 that the base supports the end portion of the member 40 in such manner that the side margins of the member 40 form side walls 42 4 and the end margins of the member 40 inwardly of the portion 43 form end walls 41 with the major portion of the member 40 forming a bottom.

An alternative form of water catching and collecting member is illustrated in FIG. 7 to which reference now is made. The member 50 preferably takes the form of a tray having a bottom 51, side walls 52 and end walls 53, the side and end walls upstanding generally perpendicularly from the bottom 51. The tray may be formed of any suitable water impervious material and, preferabiy, it is formed of a resilient flexible plastic having sufficient stiffness to retain its shape. The tray 50 is of such size that as to its length and width it is comparatively smaller than the inner dimensions of the base so that it may be inserted in the base and readily removed therefrom, but at the same time will not be dislodged to any substantial extent from a center position within the base 10 of the rack. The end walls 53 are of such height as to extend at least to the end members 12 of the base so that the member 54) will not be dislodged from the base in an endwise direction, and can only be removed from the base either by lifting the tray 50 upwardly out of the base or by lifting the rack and then removing the tray 50.

I claim:

1. A clothes drying rack comprising a frame-like base of generally rectangular form having a pair of generally parallel side members located in the same plane and a pair of generally parallel and unobstructed end members connected to said side members and located above the plane of said side members, a generally U-shaped upright pivotally connected at the free ends of its arms to said base for movement between a folded position substantially in the plane of the base and an upstanding position wherein the closed side of the upright is above the base, and means for releasably retaining said upright in upstanding position.

2. A clothes drying rack comprising a base of generally rectangular form having a pair of generally parallel side members located in the same plane and a pair of generally parallel and unobstructed end members connected to said side members and located above the plane of said side members, an upright upstanding from said base and including a support disposed vertically over said base, and a water-collecting member, said base comprising means for maintaining said water-collecting member in position under said support.

3. A clothes drying rack comprising a frame-like base having spaced portions of its periphery raised above the general plane of the base, an upright upstanding from said base and including a support disposed vertically over said base, and a water-collecting member formed from waterimpervious sheet material supported on said raised peripheral portions of said base.

4. A clothes drying rack comprising a frame-like base of generally rectangular form having a first pair of opposite sides raised above the general plane of the base, a generally U-shaped upright pivotally connected at the free ends of its arms to the second pair of sides for movement between a folded position substantially in the plane of the base and a position upstanding from the base wherein the closed side of the upright is vertically above said base, and a water-collecting member of flexible Water impervious sheet material having rectangular pocket portions disposed over said raised sides and supporting said water collecting member in position on said base in position vertically below said closed side.

5. A clothes drying rack comprising a frame-like base of generally rectangular form having a pair of generally parallel side members located in the same plane and a pair of generally parallel and unobstructed end members connected to said side members and located above the plane of said side members, an upright upstanding from said base and including a support disposed vertically over said base and a water-collecting tray formed of rigid shaperetaining water-impervious material disposed in said base under said support, said tray being dimensioned to be retained by said base in position under said support.

6. A clothes drying rack comprising a frame-like base of generally rectangular form having a pair of generally parallel side members located in the same plane and a pair of generally parallel and unobstructed end members connected to said side members and located above the plane of said side members, a pair of elongate members each pivotally secured at one end to said base in parallel positions for movement between positions generally in the plane of said base and positions upstanding therefrom, a U-s'haped member having its legs telescoping respectively with said elongate members, means for releasably retaining said U-shaped member in extended position relatively to said elongate members, and means for releasably retaining said elongate members in upstanding position.

7. A clothes drying rack comprising a frame-like base of generally rectangular shape having its side portions in the same plane and inclined upwardly at their ends whereby the end portions are located above the side portions, a rigid drip pan disposed within said base and maintained against dislodgrnent at least in part by said end portions, and a generally U-shaped upright supported at the ends of its arms by said base in a position wherein the cross portion thereof is disposed over said drip pan.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 139,005 Adams Oct. 3, 1944 1,475,026 Olson Nov. 20, 1923 2,691,238 Svatos Oct. 12, 1954 2,921,763 Miller Jan. 19, 1960

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