US3612284A

US3612284A - Wall-mounted folding clothes dryer

Info

Publication number: US3612284A
Application number: US60439A
Authority: US
Inventors: George R Stoltz
Original assignee: RUSSELL ALUMINUM CORP
Current assignee: RUSSELL ALUMINUM CORP
Priority date: 1970-08-03
Filing date: 1970-08-03
Publication date: 1971-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 1988-10-12

Abstract

A wall-mounted folding clothes dryer adapted to be mounted flush with a bathroom wall having a boxlike receptacle enclosed by a pair of doors on whose inner sidewalls and doors are a pair of spaced flanges forming opposed trackways that are aligned but spaced from each other to permit closing of the doors. A collapsible frame is formed by horizontal rods joined together by pivot links with rollers secured to the ends of the rods and rotatably mounted in the trackways. Hinge elements are provided with a portion that swings into the aforementioned gap between the tracks when the doors are in the open position to provide an uninterrupted trackway for the rollers of the collapsible frame.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor GeorgeR.Stoltz NorthMiami,F1a. [21] AppLNo. 60,439' [22] Filed Aug. 3, 1970 [45] Patented Oct. 12,1971 [73] Assignee Russell Aluminum Corporation MiamLlla.

[54] WALL-MOUNTED FOLDING CLOTHES DRYER 3Chlnu,8Drlw1ngFlgs.

[52] U.S.Cl .Q. 2ll/1.3, 211/105 51 lnt.C1..............................................,...,......A47b53/00 so 211 13, 105

[56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 237,073 1/1881 Wing 211/1.3 590,983 10/1897 Herman........................ 211/105X Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, .Ir. Attorney-Salvatore G. Militana ABSTRACT: A wall-mounted folding clothes dryer adapted to be mounted flush with a bathroom wall having a boxlike receptacle enclosed by a pair of doors on whose inner sidewalls and doors are a pair of spaced flanges forming 0pposed trackways that are aligned but spaced from each other to permit closing of the doors. A collapsible frame is formed by horizontal rods joined together by pivot links with rollers secured to the ends of the rods and rotatably mounted in the trackways. Hinge elements are provided with a portion that swings into the aforementioned gap between the tracks when the doors are in the open position to provide an uninterrupted trackway for the rollers of the collapsible frame.

PATENIEflncnzlsn 9.612.284

SHEET 1 UF 3 H65 GEQEGE RSTOLTZ jam 9. than AT TOR/V5 Y IN VE N 70/? PATENTEU OCT 1 2 IBYI SHEET 2 [IF 3 INVENTOR GEORGE R. STOLTZ l Ami Q A T'TOR/VEY WALL-MOUNTED FOLDING CIDTHES DRYER CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is an improvement of U.S. application Ser. No. 850,729, filed on Aug. 18, 1969, by Irving Ruina for Improved Folding Indoor Clothes Dryer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to collapsible clothes dryers that are mounted on a wall in a house preferably in the bathroom or laundry room. The present clothes dryers that are of like construction do not provide a trackway for guiding the rollers that are mounted at the ends of the horizontal rods forming the collapsible rack on which the clothes are hung. Consequently, when extending the racks of the present clothes dryers, one must withdraw them carefully to prevent causing the pivot pins from binding or the links from bending if forced outwardly in an uneven position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a wall-mounted folding clothes dryer with a trackway mounted on the front walls which operate as doors. In a preferred embodiment, the trackways have flanges which prevent rollers mounted on the ends of the clothes supporting rods forming the rack from leaving the trackways, while the trackways are continuous from the receptacle in which the collapsed rack is encased to the ends of the front walls on which the rack is extended to its clothes-supporting position.

Therefore, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a wall-mounted folding clothes dryer with continuous tracltways on each side thereof when the dryer with continuous traclrways on each side thereof when the dryer is in its extended position permitting rollers that support the rack to roll to its open position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wallmounted folding clothes dryer with hinge elements that swing into a gap formed between aligned trackways mounted on the wall of the receptacle which houses the rack and on the front wall or doors, the gap between said trackways being necessary to permit the closing of the doors when the rack is completely housed.

With these and other objects in view, he invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings fonning a part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modified, so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clothes dryer constructed in accordance with my invention shown mounted on a wall.

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the dryer in its open positions.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a crowsectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a similar view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 1 is a similar view with the dryer shown in an open position.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numera s are used to designate similar parts throughout the several views, the numeral l0 refers to my folding indoor clothes dryer consisting of an open front boxlike enclosure mounted on a wall as shown by FIGS. 1 and 2, having a top wall 11, a bottom wall I2 and rear wall 13, all extruded as a single unit with upper and lower front wall flanges 14 extending along the front edges portions of the top and bottom walls 11 and 12. End walls 15 are provided with upper and lower tab portions I6 that are fastened to the top and

bottom walls

12 and 13 by rivets l7. Fastened to the lower front wall flangel4 is a U- shaped bar 18 for supporting towels and the like-To each forward edge of the end walls 15 there is hinged as at 19, a front wall or door 20 that encloses the opening and provides access to the clothes-hanging structure of my device III as is explained in detail hereinafter. As shown by FIG. I and 2, my clothes dryer 10 is fitted into an opening in a wall of a room in a house preferably the bathroom, over a bathtub or in a shower stall and fastened therein by screws 21 extending through openings in the rear wall 13. The front wall flanges 14 are intended to lie flush with the wall of the room on which my dryer 10 is mounted.

The extruded front walls 20 are provided with a flange 22.

and 23 extending inwardly along the upper and lower edges respectively thereof. Above the lower flange 23 is a trackT consisting of a pair of flanges 24 along the free edge of which is a lip portion 25 extending in a directiontoward each other. Mounted on the inner surface of the end walls I5 and in alignment with the track T is a further track T in alignment with track T and identical in construction therewith. However, in order to permit the front walls 20 to swing on the hinges l9 and bring the front walls 20 to their completely closed position, the track T is terminated as at 36 in spaced relation to the hinged edge portion of the front walls 20. As a result, when the doors or front walls 20 are swung to their open position there will be a gap at slot 36 between the ends of the tracks T and T.

As is explained in detail hereinafter rollers 26 are rotatably positioned in the tracks T and T' and means have been provided to permit the rollers 26 to roll from one track to the other consisting of a hinge element 27 having a pair of arms 28.

and 29 set at an acute angle with each other and pivotally mounted as at 30 to the lower front wall flange 23. The arm 28 is slotted as at 31 along most of its length, with a slide pin 32 that is secured to the bottom wall 12 and slidably positioned in the slot 31. Adjacent the free end of the arm 28 the slot 3| is provided with tits 33 which retain the pin 32 at the end position of the slot 31 and the front walls 20 at their open position when swung outwardly. The arm 29 is provided with a flange 33 on whose inner edge portion is upwardly extending lip portion 34 forming an extension of the lower flange 24 and lip 25 in the gap formed by the ends of the tracks T and T when the front walls 20 have swung to an open position as shown by FIG. 7.

A collapsible rack R consists of a plurality of tubular mem bers or bars 37 extending between the end walls 15 and the front walls 20 when in an open position with rollers 26 and 26' rotatably mounted on the ends of the tubular members 37 in the tracks T and T. The lips 25 of the tracks T and T in addition to the flanges 33 and lips 34 of the hinge elements 27 maintain the rollers 26 in the tracks while the upper flange 24 supports the rollers 26'. Each of the tubular members 37 is joined to an adjacent tubular member 37 by means of a link 38- whose ends are provided with bores 39, the links 38 being shorter in length than the distance between the top and bottom walls 11 ad 12 to permit the housing of the collapsed rack R as shown by FIG. 4.

Also mounted on the inner surface of the front walls 20 is an extruded seat S for a latch L having an arcuate bore 40 slotted as at 4!. The latch L is provided with a cylindrical portion 42 rotatably mounted in the arcuate bore 40 and an arm portion 43 extending through he slot 40 terminatingin a nose portion 44 which is adapted to engage a similar nose portion 45 mounted on the free end of a fixed latch portion 46 that is secured at its other end to the rear wall 13 as at 47. In order to permit the unlatching of the nose portion 44 from the nose portion 45, the front walls 20 are each provided with an opening 48 that is normally enclosed by a push'rnember 49 secured to arm 43 of the latch L by a depending arcuate member 50.

As can be readily noted, when it is desired to disengage the latch L in order to swing the front walls 20 to an open position, all that need be done is to insert ones finger into the openings 48 and force the push members or tabs 49 inwardly to cause the latch L to pivot upwardly and the

nose members

44 and 45 to become disengaged allowing the doors 20 to be swung to their open position.

When the front walls 20 have been swung to their completely opened position with the end walls and front walls in coplanar relation, the tracks T and T will be aligned and the gap 36 spanned by the flange 33. Now upon grasping the lower and frontrnost tubular member 37 and pulling it forwardly along the tracks T the links 38 will swing the upper tubular members 37 downwardly until their respective rollers 26' engage the upper flanges 24 of the tracks 1''. With the rollers 26 of the lower tubular members 37 leaving the tracks T' and rolling into the tracks T and the upper rollers 26 rolling on the upper flanges 24, the rack R can then be extended along the full length of the front walls 20 as shown by FIG. 2 in position to receive cloth to be hung on the tubular members 37. To return the rack R to its housed position, all that need be done is to push the outennost lower tubular member 37 inwardly until all of the tubular members 37 are within the confines of the boxlike housing as sown by FIG. 4. Then the front walls 20 are swung to their closed position at which position the nose portion 44 will impinge on the nose portion 45, to cause the latch L to pivot upwardly until the

nose portions

44, 45 become interengaged and the doors 20 locked in their closed 'tion.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A wall-mounted folding clothes dryer comprising an open boxlike receptacle having sidewalls adapted to be mounted within a recess in a wall, a pair of front walls forming doors hingedly mounted on its opened side, substantially aligned track means mounted on said sidewalls and said front walls, said aligned tracks terminating in substantial spaced relation with each other forming a gap to permit said front walls to swing to their closed position, a plurality of horizontal bars extending between said sidewalls, links connecting adjacent horizontal bars, rollers mounted on ends of said bars and rotatably mounted in said tracks and further track means operatively connected to said doors spanning said gap when said doors are swung to an open position whereby said rollers are permitted to roll along said aligned tracks as said rack is brought to its extended position.

2. The structure as recited by claim 1 wherein said aligned tracks comprise a vertically disposed web portion, a pair of horizontally disposed flange portions mounted one above the other in spaced relation to each other forming a trackway and further flange portions mounted on the free ends of said horizontal flange portions and extending in a direction toward each other to contain said rollers in said trackway.

3. The structure as recited by claim 2 wherein said further track means comprise a hinge having a pair of am portions pivotally mounted on a front portion of said receptacle adjacent said sidewalls, one of said arms having a slotted portion,

a pivot pin mounted on each of said front walls and slidably positioned in said slotted portion, said other arm having a horizontal and a vertical portion mounted at the free end thereof in alignment with the lower of said horizontal flange portion and said further flange portion when said front walls are swung to their open position.

Claims

1. A wall-mounted folding clothes dryer comprising an open boxlike receptacle having sidewalls adapted to be mounted within a recess in a wall, a pair of front walls forming doors hingedly mounted on its opened side, substantially aligned track means mounted on said sidewalls and said front walls, said aligned tracks terminating in substantial spaced relation with each other forming a gap to permit said front walls to swing to their closed position, a plurality of horizontal bars extending between said sidewalls, links connecting adjacent horizontal bars, rollers mounted on ends of said bars and rotatably mounted in said tracks and further track means operatively connected to said doors spanning said gap when said doors are swung to an open position whereby said rollers are permitted to roll along said aligned tracks as said rack is brought to its extended position.

3. The structure as recited by claim 2 wherein said further track means comprise a hinge having a pair of arm portions pivotally mounted on a front portion of said receptacle adjacent said sidewalls, one of said arms having a slotted portion, a pivot pin mounted on each of said front walls and slidably positioned in said slotted portion, said other arm having a horizontal and a vertical portion mounted at the free end thereof in alignment with the lower of said horizontal flange portion and said further flange portion when said front walls are swung to their open position.