Patent Application
20170254012
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to garment racks and, in particular, to racks for the air drying of garments following laundering.
2. General Background of the Invention
Drying racks for garments have been in use for some time. The use of such racks in lieu of conventional electric or gas-powered dryers may be desirable for several reasons, including cost savings, and for the drying of articles that may shrink or otherwise be damaged as the result of the application of heated air, the accompanying tumbling of the articles, or both.
One type of garment drying rack, often preferable to use where a limited amount of space is available, is a folding rack capable of being mounted to a door. An example of a prior art drying rack of this general type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,844,737 to Bukowski. These drying racks typically include one or more foldable drying panes having a plurality of rods from which wet or damp garments may be hung or suspended for drying, and hooks for suspending the overall drying rack from the top edge of a door, such as an interior door of a dwelling.
Most interior doors of dwellings are constructed of wood or another opaque material, and, as a result, an over-the-door mounted drying rack is typically not visible from the side of the door that opposes the side on which the drying rack is mounted. One potential resultant issue with this type of garment drying rack is the potential to dent, scratch, or otherwise mar the appearance of an opposing wall, in the event a door to which the garment rack is attached is swung open, particularly from the side of the door from which the rack is not visible, thereby causing the garment rack to strike a portion of the opposing wall. The risk of marring the opposing wall is heightened when the drying pane of the drying rack is left in a deployed or open position.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an over-the-door mounted garment drying rack having a mechanism for inhibiting damage to an opposing wall on occasions where the associated door is inadvertently opened, particularly when a drying pane of the rack has been left in an opened or deployed position.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an over-the-door mounted garment drying rack having a mechanism for inhibiting damage to the drying rack on occasions where the associated door is inadvertently opened causing the drying rack to contact an opposing wall, particularly when a drying pane of the rack has been left in an opened or deployed position.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent in view of the following specification, drawings and claims.
The present invention comprises an over-the-door drying rack having a generally rectangular stationary frame, a pivoting drying pane, hooks or other fasteners to secure the stationary frame to a door, and straps, hinges and clips to change the position of the drying pane with respect to the frame. The drying pane consists of horizontal parallel rods or wires connected to two transversely oriented rods or wires.
This invention provides two different positions for the drying pane: an open and a closed position. Each position provides different advantages. The angled or open position provides more spacing between the items for more efficient drying; the vertical or closed position is ideal for smaller space. The invention enables the user to hang several long items in parallel from the various rods of the drying pane, optimizing the hanging space with minimal depth. In an embodiment of the present invention, several linear meters of vertical hanging space is provided, with only 10 to 20 cm. of depth.
The hinge design at the bottom of the drying pane, and the strap and plastic clip at the top make it easy for the user to alternate or flip between open and close positions. No tools are required to do this and there is no need to take the drying rack down from the door to change these positions.
A flexible strap, string or other flexible material couples the drying pane to the drying frame proximate its top and makes it easy to switch between open and close position. This flexibility also reduces contact between the drying rack and an adjacent wall, making it easier to open and close the door without damaging the drying rack or the wall or the door.
Guards or protectors, in the form of rotatable and slidable bumpers coupled to portions of the pivoting drying pane, initially come into contact with an opposing wall, in the event a door to which the present drying rack is mounted is inadvertently swung open. These bumpers, which may be constructed of a plastic material, are the first portions of the overall drying rack to contact the opposing wall under such circumstances, and serve to reduce the possibility that the contacted wall surface or the drying rack may be damaged or marred by such contact. In particular, the rotatable and slidable mounting of the bumpers serve to reduce friction between the pivoting drying pane and the opposing wall as contact is initially made, and serve to enable the drying pane to more readily retract towards the closed position, without damaging the wall or the drying rack as the door is further opened towards the opposing wall.
While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, several specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is intended as an exemplification of the principles of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
An embodiment of the present garment drying rack 10 is shown in
Pivoting member 30 comprises center region 31, offset drying bar 35, and angled stop member 40. Center region 31 is generally planar, and includes two opposing side rails 33 and a plurality of drying bars 32 disposed in a parallel, spaced relationship from each other, each spanning the space between side rails 33 and permitting a plurality of articles of clothing to be simultaneously hung upon pivoting member 30 for drying. Offset drying bar 35, which may be integrally formed with center region 31, is disposed at an angle of approximately ninety degrees from drying bars 32, providing a convenient surface for hanging additional garments for drying, even when pivoting member 30 is in its closed position. Side rails 33 each include an associated pivoting loop 34, disposed about bottom crossbar 26 of stationary member 20. This, in turn, permits pivoting member 30 to rotate or pivot about bottom crossbar 26, and for pivoting member 30 to transition between its open and closed positions. Pivoting member 30 may be constructed of steel or other relatively rigid material.
Referring to
Angled stop member 40 is disposed at an interior angle of approximately one hundred twenty-five degrees from drying bars 32, and serves to preclude drying bars 32 from reaching a completely vertical orientation upon movement of pivoting member 30 to its closed position. Upon movement of pivoting member 30 to its closed position, top crossbar 41 of stop member 40 engages a portion of locking clip 50 in a releasable, snap-fit manner. Another portion of locking clip 50 is secured to horizontal portion 22 of U-shaped tubular frame member 21 and, accordingly, the engagement of top crossbar 41 of stop member 40 by locking clip 50 serves to releasably secure pivoting member 30 in the closed position. In a preferred embodiment, angled stop member is integrally formed with center region 31 of rotating member 30.
As best seen in
Upon the release of pivoting member 30 from securement to locking clip 50 and, in turn, from securement to stationary member 20, straps 60 limit the opposing rotational movement of pivoting member 30. In particular, each of two straps 60 includes a first attachment clip, or hoop 61, disposed at one end of the strap and coupled to horizontal portion 22 of U-shaped tubular member 21, and a second attachment clip, or hook 62, disposed at the opposing end of the strap and coupled to top crossbar 41 of pivoting member 30. Upon full extension of strap 60, which may be constructed of a metallic wire, a synthetic or natural fabric cord, or other suitable material, pivoting member 30 is in its fully open position, and is disposed at an angle of approximately thirty-two degrees from the vertical.
As compared to the closed position of pivoting member 30, this angle permits additional lateral spacing between the individual drying bars 32 of center region 31 while, at the same time, still permits overall drying rack 10 to occupy a relatively narrow space adjacent a door to which the rack is affixed. Moreover, having the pivoting member 30 in a less than horizontal orientation upon full deployment facilitates the movement of pivoting member 30 towards its closed or retracted position upon contact of rotatable and slidable bumpers 70 with an adjacent wall upon the opening of a door to which the present drying rack 10 is attached. Alternatively, straps 60 may be manually unhooked or disconnected from pivoting member 30, in which case center region 31 and drying bars 32 will further rotate until offset drying bar 35 contacts the surface of the door to which rack 10 is affixed, placing drying bars 32 in a substantially horizontal orientation.
Pivoting member 30 further includes two opposing rotatable and slidable bumpers 70, each disposed about an associated side rail of angled stop member 40, proximate the junction of stop member 40 and center region 31 of pivoting member 30. Each rotatable and slidable bumper is both rotatable about and slidable along its associated side rail. Accordingly, in the event that a door to which drying rack 10 is affixed is swung fully open while rack 10 is in its open configuration, the first portions of drying rack 10 to come in contact with an opposing wall will be rotatable and slidable bumpers 70, which are both rotatable and slidable about their associated side rail of stop member 40. Moreover, as the door is more fully opened following initial contact of bumpers 70 and the adjacent wall, each bumper 70 remains in contact with the adjacent wall, as contact with the wall and further movement of the door causes pivoting member 30 to move from its open position, with straps 60 fully extended, towards its closed position. This rotational and slidable capability serves to lessen the friction between rotating member 30 and the adjoining wall, as pivoting member 30 is pushed towards the closed position by reason of the wall and door coming into further proximity.
Although, in the embodiment of
Referring to
Referring to
Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of construction of the invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present disclosure is intended to exemplify and not limit the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/303,682, filed Mar. 4, 2016, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62303682 | Mar 2016 | US |
