CLOTHES STAND

Abstract

A clothes stand is described including a main body adapted to be attached to a vertical surface, and a support element, for hanging a dress thereon, which is coupled to said body so as to be able to move from a first retracted position to a second position in which it protrudes more outwardly from the body. The clothes stand is compact, light, not bulky and aesthetically pleasant.

Description

The invention relates to a clothes stand.

Known clothes stand have the structure described in GB 2445536, with a base or tripod that holds a rod ending on top with projecting support elements to hang clothes thereon. This item, usually made from wood, is very popular, despite some inherent disadvantages.

First of all it clutters, because it occupies a corner or an entire wall of the house. Second, it is easily out of balance and it can fall, because its height is much greater than the width of the base. A heavy garment, or one which is hung quickly, often knocks over the stand, and falling it can cause damage to nearby objects. Third, for household cleaning it must be moved, especially during vacuuming.

The object of the invention is to overcome one or more of these problems, with a clothes stand and/or method as in the attached claims, in which the dependent claims define advantageous variants.

The inventive concept is to have generally a clothes stand comprising

• • a main body adapted to be attached to a vertical surface (preferably in a raised position to the floor),
  • a support element, for hanging a dress thereon, which is coupled to said body so as to be able to move from a first retracted position (i.e. not much or not projecting at all from the main body) to a second position in which it protrudes more outwardly from the body.

In the second position a garment can be hung on the support element without falling or slipping off. The displacement toward the second position of the support element not only allows the spacing of the free end thereof from the body, and therefore the establishment of a proper distance for the hung garment from the wall and/or the body, but also it spatially distributes the ends of several support elements (e.g. radially) when they are present.

In general, the clothes stand can comprise guiding means for guiding the support element between said two positions. The invention can have many variants, especially in the way and/or means for displacing the support element.

It can be extractable from the main body, departing it radially away. The support element can be located completely, or partially, either inside the body or on an outside surface thereof.

The inventive concept of the method is defined in claim 19. Note that all the variations claimed for the clothes stand can also define variants of the method.

The advantages of the invention will be more clear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of clothes stand, making reference to the attached drawing in which

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a clothes stand;

FIG. 2 shows a section view of the clothes stand according to the plane AA;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the clothes stand in FIG. 2 in a second operating configuration;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of a second clothes stand;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the clothes stand in FIG. 4 in a second operating configuration;

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a third clothes stand;

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the clothes stand in FIG. 7 in a second operating configuration.

In FIG. 1, the clothes stand comprises a main body 10 (for example shaped like a vase or half a vase), having a back surface 16 (eg. flat) fixable by known means to a vertical wall W at a certain height from the ground, and some (here five) equal support elements 20 (rods) that serve to hang a garment C thereon.

Each element 20 includes a rod 22, a head or knob 24 and an end-of-travel member 26.

The main body 10 is a hollow box, with a top opening 14 in which the rod 22 of each element 20 is inserted so that the head 24 remains outside the body 10. The element 20 is coupled to the body 10 so as to be extractable. One can move it from a first retracted position (FIG. 2) to a second position (FIG. 3) wherein it is more tilted and, leaning on the edges of the opening 14, it projects more towards the outside of the body 10.

The opening 14 allows the rod 22 a sufficient play to move, but the end-of-travel member 26 (e.g. a local thickening or folding of the rod 22) cannot exit the opening 14 and constrains the element 20 to the body 10.

When the element 20 is extracted it conveniently works as a hook to hang a dress C, whereas when it is withdrawn it reduces the overall size of the clothes stand. Note that the clothes stand does not touch the ground, so it clutters very little and makes the household cleaning easy.

The head 24 is generally optional, serving to reduce the sharp part of the rod 22 and to prevent creasing clothes. The head 24 can have any shape, e.g. a flower with petals, which give a pleasant aesthetic effect and lighten it the volume being equal. Other equivalent forms are a heart, disc, or bottle shape.

The end-of-travel member 26 is generally optional too, since the support element may also be detachable and separable from the main body. There are many variants to couple the support element to the main body. By insertion and extraction (limited or not by stop means) as described above, or e.g. by hinging and/or articulation, see FIGS. 4 and 5.

This time a support element 34 is rotatably pivoted to a main body 30, and can be overturned (see arrow F) towards the outside of the body 30 to form a support or “finger” on which a dress C can be hung.

A different variant (FIGS. 6 and 7) envisages to couple a hook means 42 (e.g. a dowel, a hook, or a block) to a central body 40 by a cable or flexible part 46 (in case elastic). The means 42 is normally resting in a seat 44 of the body 40, but can be pulled/moved outside and made to dangle on the body 40 providing a grip for a dress C.

The support elements may have a telescopically extendable part or structure so as to extend linearly their free end, to hang the dress, away from the main body.

The central body and/or support elements may be constructed of any material, e.g. glass, iron, plastic, ceramic, metal, and wood. If glass is used, or the central body is not opaque or has through-openings, the central body can be equipped with an internal light source (bulb or LED), to make it work as an enlightening device for environment and/or life-saving emergency device. A battery or a solar panel can be used to power the light source regardless of the mains.

Even the supporting elements can be illuminated as described above.

Advantageously if the clothes stand comprises two or more support elements it can be equipped with a device or mechanism for simultaneously move all the support elements in the most external or maximum extracted position (and/or vice versa). The advantage is to reduce maneuver times.

In general, the support element can be moved relative to the body 10 manually or by driving means (not shown) controlled and operated by electric energy (motors and/or actuators). It can also include a chain or rope displacement system, for example using pulleys, for lifting and/or withdrawing one or each support element.

They may be provided flexible means (e.g. springs) to return the support elements in the retracted position.

Claims

1-19. (canceled)

20. Clothes stand comprising a main body adapted to be attached to a vertical surface;a support element, for hanging a dress thereon, which is coupled to said body so as to be able to move from a first retracted position to a second position in which it protrudes more outwardly from the body.

21. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element is extractable from the main body.

22. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element is hinged and/or articulated to the main body.

23. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element is coupled through a flexible element to the main body.

24. Clothes stand according to claim 23, wherein the flexible element is a cable, and the main body is optionally equipped with means for rewinding the cable.

25. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element comprises a telescopically extendable portion.

26. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element is movably inserted inside a cavity of the main body.

27. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element comprises a stop or end-of-travel element adapted to establish the maximum projection of the support element in the second position.

28. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the main body is substantially hollow.

29. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element comprises a rod movably inserted in a seat present in the main body.

30. Clothes stand according to claim 29, wherein the rod comprises a head or knob or handle at the free end external to the main body.

31. Clothes stand according to claim 29, wherein the rod has one end inside the body, from which it protrudes via an opening, the rod comprising at the end inside the body a knob or thickening having dimensions larger than those of the opening.

32. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the main body comprises a light source inside.

33. Clothes stand according to claim 32, comprising a battery or a solar panel to power the light source.

34. Clothes stand according to claim 20, comprising two or more support elements and a mechanism for simultaneously moving all the support elements from/to the second position.

35. Clothes stand according to claim 20, comprising motor means for serving a or each support element.

36. Clothes stand according to claim 20, comprising a chain, rope or pulley displacement system for lifting and/or withdraw a or each support element.

37. Clothes stand according to claim 20, comprising elastic means for withdrawing a or each support element in the retracted position.

38. Method for creating/mounting a clothes stand, comprising coupling a main body, attachable to a vertical surface preferably at a certain height from the ground, to a support element to which a garment can be hung, the coupling being such that the support element can move from a first retracted position to a second position in which it protrudes more outwardly from the body.