Patent Application
20120211481
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a towel rack, more particularly to a towel rack that can be assembled with relative ease.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
Generally, the upright rods 61 and the hanging bars 62 of the conventional towel rack 6 are fastened to each other by welding. However, referring to
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a towel rack that can be assembled with relative ease.
According to the present invention, a towel rack comprises: two upstanding hollow posts, each being generally U-shaped in cross section and including two side plate portions and an intermediate plate portion interconnecting the two side plate portions, the two side plate portions cooperatively defining a substantially vertical elongate opening; at least one hollow hanging bar having an inner space therein and two end portions; a fastening unit detachably connecting each of the two end portions of the hollow hanging bar to one of the side plate portions of a respective one of the hollow posts; and an electric heater including a heating wire inserted in the inner space of the hollow hanging bar so that the hollow hanging bar can be heated via the heating wire.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
a and 1b are perspective views of conventional welded towel racks;
Referring to
The two side plate portions 11 of each of the hollow posts 1 cooperatively define a substantially vertical elongate opening 13. The one of the side plate portions 11 of each of the hollow posts 1 connected to the hollow hanging bars 2 includes seven through holes 111 and a flange plate 112 that is proximate to the elongate opening 13 and that protrudes into the respective one of the hollow posts 1. The flange plate 112 is formed with seven first fastening holes 113. It should be noted that both of the numbers of the through holes 111 and the first fastening holes 113 are not limited to seven.
Each of the end portions 24 of each of the hollow hanging bars 2 is formed with a second fastening hole 21 and a notch 22, and extends through one of the through holes 111 of the side plate portion 11 of a respective one of the hollow posts 1 and is firmly connected to a respective one of the flange plates 112 via the fastening unit 3. The notch 22 of each of the hollow hanging bars 2 is for engaging the heating wire 51 of the electric heater 5.
Preferably, the uppermost and the lowermost hanging bars 2 are formed with merely one notch 22 on one of the end portions 24 thereof, while each of the other hanging bars 2 disposed between the uppermost and the lowermost hanging bars 2 has two notches 22 respectively formed on each of the end portions 24 thereof. It should be noted that the number of the hollow hanging bars 2 is not limited to seven and may vary in accordance with actual requirements. Preferably, the hanging bars 2 are made from steel that has superior strength for maintaining dimensional stability and preventing deformation. Alternatively, the hanging bars 2 may be made from any other thermal conductive materials.
In this embodiment, the fastening unit 3 includes a plurality of screw 31 and nut (not shown) assemblies. Each of the screws 31 is inserted into one of the second fastening holes 21 formed on a respective one of the hanging bars 2 and one of the first fastening holes 113 formed on the flange plate 112 of a corresponding one of the hollow posts 1. The number of the screw 31 and nut assemblies corresponds to the number of the hanging bars 2 that are to be secured to the hollow posts 1, e.g., the number of the fastening unit 3 is also seven in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, any other type of fastener that is able to tightly engage each of the two end portions 24 of each of the hollow hanging bars 2 to one of the side plate portions 11 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1 can be used.
Preferably, the electric heater 5 includes a heating wire 51, an electric wire 52, a switch 53, and a plug 54. The heating wire 51 is firstly inserted into the inner space 23 of the lowermost hollow hanging bar 2 through one of the through holes 111 of a respective one of the hollow posts 1, and then passes through the inner spaces 23 of the other hanging bars 2 while engaging the notches 22 formed on the end portions 24 of the hanging bars 2. The electric wire 52 is connected to one end 511 of the heating wire 51. It should be noted that, in use, the end 511 of the heating wire 51 that is connected to the electric wire 52 should remain in the inner space 23 of the lowermost hanging bar 2 or in the hollow post 1 for safety considerations. When the plug 54 is connected to a socket (not shown) and the switch 53 is turned on, the heating wire 51 of the electric heater 5 is heated such that the electric heater 5 is able to heat the hanging bars 2 and a towel hung thereon.
Preferably, the preferred embodiment of the towel rack of the present invention further comprises two substantially vertical lids 4, each spanning the elongate opening 13 of a respective one of the hollow posts 1. Each of the vertical lids 4 includes a lidplate 41 disposed between and engaging slidably the side plate portions 11 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1 to cover the elongate opening 13 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1, and a handling portion 42 projecting transversely from the lid plate 41 and outwardly from the elongate opening 13 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1. The handling portion 42 is operable to slide the lid plate 41 vertically relative to the side plate portions 11 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1 and to uncover the elongate opening 13 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1.
The vertical lid plate 42 of each of the vertical lids 4 includes two first slide members 411, and each of the side plate portions 11 of each of the hollow posts 1 includes a second slide member 114. The first slide members 411 of each of the vertical lid plates 41 slidably and respectively engages the second slide members 114 of the side plate portions 11 of a corresponding one of the hollow posts 1. Particularly, one of the first and second slide members 411, 114 is a male slide member, and the other one of the first and second slide members 411, 114 is a female slide member.
Preferably, each of the vertical lid plates 41 has two vertical ends 43. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, as shown in
More preferably, each of the hollow posts 1 further includes two cover plates 7 to respectively cover top and bottom open ends thereof. As shown in
During assembly, each of the two end portions 24 of each of the hollow hanging bars 2 is extended into one of the through holes 111 of the side plate portion 11 of a respective one of the hollow posts 1, followed by firmly fastening each of the hanging bars 2 to the flange plate 112 of the one of the side plate portions 11 of the respective one of the hollow posts 1 using the fastening unit 3. The heating wire 51 is then inserted into the inner space 23 of each of the hanging bars 2 through the respective through hole 111 while engaging the notch 22 of each of the hanging bars 2 so as to be secured thereon. Each of the vertical lids 4 engages with the respective one of the hollow posts 1 via the first and second slide members 411, 114. Subsequently, the cover plates 7 are fastened to the hollow posts 1 and the vertical lids 4.
By extending the hanging bars 2 through the through holes 111 of the side plate portions 11 and connecting the same to the hollow posts 1 using the fastening unit 3, the towel rack of the present invention may be assembled conveniently and quickly. Referring to
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
