Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
This invention relates primarily to clotheslines and, in particular, to retractable self-contained clothesline system which includes clips.
Clotheslines and clothespins/clips are well-known and have been produced for many years in many configurations. Although some prior art clotheslines provided retractable clotheslines that could be stored within a housing, such systems are typically bulky and their mounting hardware causes the housing to protrude well beyond the surface to which the housing is mounted. Additionally, such systems do not provide an integrated storage area for clips, making it necessary to find a separate place to store clips.
It is desirable to provide a clothesline system of a compact design that minimally extends from the wall to thereby maximize the length of line available from which to hang clothes and which also provides storage for both the clothesline and clips while retaining the ability to dry heavy or bulky garments. It is further desirable that the clothesline and clips retract into their storage area when not in use, freeing the drying area (i.e., the area across which the clothesline extends when in use) for other uses.
Briefly stated, a retractable clothesline made in accordance with the claims set forth below comprises a housing having front, top, bottom and end surfaces defining a cavity. The housing can also include a back plate from which the top, bottom and end surfaces extend. The back plate is adapted to be mounted to a surface, such as a wall. The housing defines a cavity and includes an opening in the front surface. A storage compartment extends into the cavity from the housing front surface opening, and is defined by side and back members. A cover is sized and shaped to close the front surface opening, and thus closes the storage compartment. An attachment member extends from an outer surface of the cover to mount the cover to a surface.
A take-up reel is rotatably mounted in the housing cavity externally of the storage compartment. Preferably, the take-up reel rotates in a plane generally parallel to the front surface of the housing. An elongate flexible line is at least partially wound about the take-up reel. The line is selectively moved between an extended position and a retracted position. In the retracted position, the line is substantially wound about the reel, and includes a portion that extends from the reel and through a back of the storage compartment and is fixed to an inner surface of the cover. The take-up reel includes a spring which causes the reel to rotate in a direction to wind the line about the reel. A stop is provided to prevent undesired unwinding of the clothesline from the reel after the clothesline has been extended a desired extent. In a preferred embodiment, the stop comprises a cleat positioned in the storage compartment. The cleat is sized and shaped to be encased by the cover when the cover closes the housing opening.
Lastly, the clothesline assembly includes a plurality of clothing clips for hanging clothing from a clothesline. Each clip is sized and shaped to be received in the storage compartment. Each clip comprises a substantially planar body having an upper portion and a lower portion. The clothesline is threaded through a hole in the upper portion to suspend the clip from the clothesline. The clothesline hole is shaped to allow the clip to rotate in a vertical plane between a position in which the clip is generally perpendicular to the clothesline and a position in which the clip is generally parallel to the line. To this end, the clothesline opening in the clip has at least one edge which is elongate. Preferably, the clothesline opening is triangular. The apex of the triangular opening engages the clothesline.
The clip body lower portion comprises an opening and includes a flexible tongue extending from an upper edge of the opening. The tongue has an upper convex portion which extends forwardly of a plane of the clip body, a lower concave portion having a rearmost point which is at least even with the plane of the clip body; and a free end which extends forwardly of the plane of the clip body. The clip tongue has a side-to-side width narrower than the side-to-side width of the clip opening such that a gap is formed between the clip tongue and the clip body.
The clothing clips are stackable. When the clips are stacked together, the tongue of one clip extends through the opening of the body of an adjacent clip to be adjacent the tongue of such adjacent clip. Thus, the addition of one clip to a stack of clips increases the stack depth no more than the thickness of the material from which the clip is made, despite the clip having a front-to-back width that is substantially greater than the thickness of the material from which said clip is made.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.
The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. The description clearly enables one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives, and uses of the invention, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Referring to
A pair of walls 26 (
A take-up real or spool 36 is mounted in the housing cavity 17 proximate the curved end 22 of the body 16. In fact, the body curved end has a radius slightly larger than the radius of the take-up reel 36. The take-up reel is preferably journaled about a stem 38 which extends between the body front surface 18 and housing backing plate 14, such that the reel 36 can rotate about the stem 38. A clothesline 40 is wound about the reel 36. The clothesline 40 extends from the reel 36, is threaded through the hole 29 in the storage area back wall 28, extends through the storage area 30 and is connected at its end to the storage cover 34. The clothesline 40 can be connected to the inner surface of the cover 34 in any conventional manner. For example, the cover can be provided with an eyelet or opening through which the line 40 can be threaded. Alternatively, the line 40 can be glued or welded to the inner surface of the cover 34. The thickened wall around the opening 29 allows for a larger diameter opening through which the chord or line 40 passes. Further, as seen, the wall surrounding the opening 29 is radiused. This will provide a smooth surface (as opposed to a sharp corner) over which the cord passes.
The take-up reel 36 is provided with a spring 39 which will cause the reel 36 to rotate on the stem to wind the clothesline 40 onto the stem, as will be described more fully below. As best seen in
The clips 32 are formed from a highly resilient material that enables them to grasp and firmly hold a damp garment, even though they are substantially smaller than conventional clothes pins, both traditional and spring loaded pins or clips. The clips 32 comprise a body 50 having a lower generally rectangular portion 52 and an upper portion 54 which is generally in the shape of a rounded-off triangle. An opening 56 is formed in the clip upper portion 54 through which the clothesline 40 extends. The clip opening 56 is preferably generally triangularly-shaped, with the corners rounded-off. The apex of the triangle will thus rest on the clothesline 40, as seen in
The body lower portion 52 defines an opening 59 having a tongue 58 extending from an upper edge of the opening. The tongue 58 is preferably generally S-shaped as best seen in
The overall front-to-back thickness of clip 30 (i.e., between the forward and rearward most points of the clip) is far greater than the thickness of the material from which the clip is made. This is readily seen in
The hole 56 at the top of clips 32 is designed to allow the clips to rotate in a vertical plane with respect to clothesline 40. That is, the clips can rotate between a position in which the clip is generally perpendicular to the clothesline 40 (as in
Operation of the retractable clothesline begins by pulling the cover 34 from housing 12. The clothesline 40, as noted above, is connected to the cover 34, and thus is extended by pulling the cover 34 from the housing body 16. The clothesline is pulled until the cover 34 reaches the opposite wall. The cover is then mounted to a bracket on the opposite wall using the attachment member 35. When the clothesline is extended, the clothesline 40 is wrapped around the cleat 31 to prevent the clothesline from being further unwound from the reel under the force of gravity and the weight of garments G when garments G are hung from the clips 50. (For purposes of illustration, in
As the clothesline 40 is extended, clips 32 may automatically be withdrawn from the storage area 30. Any clips remaining in the storage area can be pulled out, if desired. Garments G are then fixed to the clips 32 by fitting a portion of each garment between clip body 50 and tongue 58. Multiple clips may be used for heavier garments. After the garments G have dried and have been removed from the clips 32, the clothesline is unwrapped from the cleat 31 (or any other locking mechanism is released) and the cover 34 is removed from its bracket. The spring of the take-up reel 36 will then automatically rotate the reel 36 to pull the clothesline into the housing to be rewound about the reel 36. As the clothesline 40 is pulled into the housing and wound on the reel 36, the clips will be automatically brought into the storage area 30 and will automatically nest against each other, and the cover 34 will close the opening to the storage area 30. The device is then ready for its next use. Although the clothesline system is provided with clips, additional independent conventional pins or clips may be used in conjunction with the clips 32 if desired.
The clothesline system 10 comprises a single clothesline 40. The clothesline system can alternatively be provided with two clotheslines. Such a system 110 would appear as shown in
The clothesline system 10,110 has many advantages over currently available retractable clothesline systems. For example, the clips are stored in the housing 10,110. This will reduce the need to store clips independently of the housing, and may even reduce the incidence of lost clips. The clips 32 will nest together, allowing for ultra-compact storage so that several clips 32 can be stored in the housing storage area 30. The clip hole 56 allows for the clip to rotate about a vertical plane relative to the clothes line 40, enabling multiple clips to be used to hang a single garment from the clothesline. The shape of the tongue 58 allows for a “quick slip” insertion of garments onto the clips and withdrawal of garments from the clips. Conventional clothes pins can be used in addition to the clips 32. The housing 12 occupies vary little space, and thus can be permanently mounted to a wall (such as across a bathtub) without interfering with normal use of the space. The housing front surface 18 (or other surfaces, if desired) can be imprinted with graphics and/or logos, enabling the product to be used for promotional purposes.
Changes can be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. For example, the length of the clothesline 40 and number of clips 32 provided can be varied with no change to any of the mechanical components. The clip can be provided with a slot which extends from an edge of the clip to the opening 56 to allow clips to be added to (or removed from) the line 40 without the need to disconnect the cover 34 from the line 40. Of course, such a slot would have to be positioned such as not to interfere with the hanging of the clip from the line. For example, such a slot could extend diagonally upwardly toward a bottom edge of the hole 56. The back wall of the storage compartment 30 could be replaced with a bar or rail extending between the two walls 26. In this instance, the back wall hole 29, through which the clothesline 40 is threaded, would be formed in the bar. Similarly, the compartment side walls 26, 28 can be defined by bars or rails, and thus need not be as tall as the clips 32, as long as the bars/rails defining the storage area 30 are sufficient to capture and contain the clips 32. These examples are merely illustrative.