The invention herein pertains to a line support having a lockable reel and particularly pertains to a retractable clothesline support for attachment to an RV, trailer, camper or other mobile vehicles.
While camping in an RV, trailer, motor home or the like it is often difficult to suspend a line such as for example a clothes line in a convenient manner. Various clothes, hoses/equipment, and the like need drying to prevent mold, mildew and the like. Certain types of old hangers and retractable clothesline supports are shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,225,048; 4,470,558; 4,856,661; 5,090,578; 7,273,154; and 7,717,391.
However, such prior art devices do not solve many of the problems encountered during parking in an RV or camper and therefore the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a retractable clothesline support which can be easily affixed and permanently installed on the outside of an RV or similar vehicle for use at a campsite or other location.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a retractable clothesline support and method for use which securely protects the clothesline during travel yet can be quickly opened and the clothesline extended upon arrival at a campground or other location for hanging or drying various items.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a clothesline support which allows the user to select any of a number of line lengths and configurations for easy placement and drying of wet clothes, equipment parts or the like.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a retractable clothesline support which has relatively few components and is inexpensive to manufacture and sell.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a clothesline support which can be latched into a closed position for compact storage and which contains a line reel which can be locked or unlocked as needed during use.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing a retractable clothesline support for use with a clothesline or the like and includes a lockable reel which maintains the line during use. The line support has an arm hingedly attached to a housing whereby the arm can be released and extended substantially in a ninety degree angle from the housing through a hinge. A line reel is affixed to the arm and can be locked into place and released when needed. A telescoping arm extension is affixed atop the arm for extending the usable length of the arm. The arm extension includes a line guide for attachment of the clothesline thereto as needed.
In order to maintain the arm in its open, generally horizontal posture, a pneumatic cylinder urges the arm from the housing whereby a retractable brace can then be adjusted using a tightenable thumb screw to maintain the arm in the open posture. The telescoping arm can be extended as desired and once the arm is suitably extended, the reel can be manually unlocked and the line thereon urged therefrom for attachment to the side of the RV, a tree, a post or other desired structure, or alternatively back through the line guide on the arm extension, forming one of many suitable clothesline configurations. Thereafter the reel is locked to maintain the selected line configuration. In the method of use, the reel can be unlocked and the line can be quickly retracted onto the reel, the arm closed to the housing and latched, protecting the line and the other components from dirt and debris as may be encountered during travel.
For a better understanding of the invention and its operation, turning now to the drawings,
Clothesline support 10 includes main housing 11 and pivotable arm 12 attached thereto by hinge 29 as also seen in
Clothesline support 10 further includes pneumatic cylinder 16 and adjustable, retractable brace 17 which are both affixed at one end to housing 11 and at the opposing end to pivotable arm 12 (see
Clothesline 15 is wound on reel 13 as conventional and includes toggle 15a at the end thereof which is positionable through for example one of openings 30b in line guide 30 (
When clothesline support 10 is in an open posture as seen in
As shown in
In the preferred method of use, a user (not shown) depresses button 21a for release of button 21a from aperture 20a proximate hinge 29 in first section 20 and then urges second section 21 of arm extension 19 outwardly or downwardly as shown by the dashed arrow in
Once arm 12 is rotated to its desired position, knobbed end 26a of reel lock 26 is manually grasped and urged outwardly to easily remove cross member 26c from recess 27 in reel surface 14 as seen in
Once use of line 15 is complete and closure of clothesline support 10 is desired, the user would manually disengage reel lock 26 as previously described to provide slack in line 15 for removal of toggle 15a and line 15 from the various attachment points. The user then grasps and rotates reel winder 41 of reel 13 to easily retract line 15 onto reel 13. As seen in
The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.
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Entry |
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Twenty-seven (27) pictures showing various clothesline devices used with RV's taken by applicant during a 2010 camping trip. |