US2230793A - Combined cabinet and clothes rack - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 4, 1941. J. E. BQRAH 2,230,793

COMBINED CABINET AND CLOTHES RACK Filed Nov. 10, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORL do/i/v f. 5024/1.

BY $02M? ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 4, 1941. .1. 'E. BORAH COMBINED CABINET 4pm CLOTHES MOE 2 Sheets-$hev2 1 1104 Nov. 10, 1933 y INVENTOR. JOHN F. 5024 1.

' ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 4, i941 PATENT OFFICE COIWBINED CABINET AND CLO'IHIIS RACK John E. Borah, Penn Township. St. Joseph County, Ind.

Application November 10, 1938, Serial N 0. 239,774

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined cabinet and clothes rack.

In household laundering, one of the objectionable features is the necessity for hanging the clothes to dry .on an elongated inconvenient clothesline, usually located out-of-doors or in a basement. A long line is necessary to give adequate hanging facilities, and the line must be placed at a substantial and inconvenient height to permit a person to pass the line by stooping under the clothes and to permit a person to walk thereunder when not in use. There are many disadvantages to this method of drying clothes as commonly appreciated and encountered by housewives.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide means, convenient and accessible in use, carried by a cabinet, and utilizing a minimum amount of space, for hanging clothes to dry.'

. A further object is to mount in the cabinet of a washing machine, space heater, or the like, a

plurality of normally retracted and concealed elongated elements which are horizontally extensible to exposed projecting relation to form a .25 rack upon which articles of clothing and the like may be hung to dry.

A further object is to. provide an elongated rigid member with a mounting carried by a cabinet for slidably supporting said member in selected concealed or projecting relation to the cabinet.

Other objects will be apparent from the description and appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a cabinet having a clothes rack, with certain of the rack parts shown in extended position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modified arrangement of cabinet and clothes rack.

Fig. 3 is'a fragmentary vertical sectional view Fig. '7 is afragmentaryview similar to Fig. 6

cabinet.

the like, having front and rear walls H and end walls l2.

A plurality of elongated hollow tubes l5 extend in parallel horizontal relation between the front and back walls ll of the cabinet at the upper 20 end thereof and above the operating mechanism housed in the cabinet. The opposite ends of tubes l5 are internally screw threaded. Athreaded member [6 passing through a suitable opening inback wall H is threaded in one end of tube I5, 25 said member l6 having an enlarged head IT bearing against wall ll around the opening therein to retain and lock the rear end of the tube in operative supported relation to said wall and to seal said opening. An externally screw threaded 30 tubular'member 18 passes through a suitable opening in the front cabinet wall and i screw threaded in the front end of tube l5, said member l8 having an annular outwardly projecting flange 19 seating against the front wall of the 5 Within the tube [5 is mounted an elongated rod 20 having a close but sliding fit with member l8 and having-an enlargement -2l on its inner end which has a close but sliding fit within tube l5. A head 22 ismounted on the outer end 40 of therod-ZU and normally seats against flange l9.

A plurality of elongated hollow tubes 25 extend in parallel horizontal relation between the end wallsl-Z ofithecabinet adjacent the'upper end thereof and adjacentanclperpendicular to tubes having'an. outwardlyprojecting annular flange ,21, pass through said openings and are threaded into theends of tubes 25 to bringflanges 2'! into bearing engagement with the cabinet walls and thus lock the tubes 25 in place. Within each tube 25 is mounted a pair of tubular members 28 each having an enlargement 29 at its inner end which thereof with members l8.

has a close but sliding fit within tube 25. The outer ends of the tubular members 28 normally terminate within members 26 in inwardly spaced relation to the adjacent cabinet wall, said members 28 having a close but sliding fit in members 25. An inwardly projecting annular flange 30 is formed at the outer end of each member 28. A rod 3| fits in each member 28, having a close but sliding fit in flange 29. The inner end of each rod 3| is enlarged at 32 for a close sliding fit in member 28, and the outer end of each rod 30 mounts a head 33 normally bearing against annular flange 21.

With this construction, the clothes racks, when in their normal retracted positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, are substantially concealed, do not detract from the appearance of cabinet l0, and do not interfere with normal use of or access to the device, as washing machine or space heater, enclosed in the cabinet. When the clothes racks are to be used, they are extended as illustrated in Figs. 5 and '7. The rods 20 are extensible for substantially their full lengths, or to an extent substantially equal to the spacing of walls Ill. The rods are fully and adequately supported in extended position by the double bearing between the same and parts l8 and between enlargements 2| and tube IS. The outward extension of the rods is limited by engagement of enlargements 2| The heads 22 form means for conveniently gripping the rods for such extension.

The other rack units operate in substantially the same manner, except that the projectin portion thereof is substantially twice the length of the rod 3|. -When rod 3| is pulled out by means of head 33, the enlargement 32 thereof engages shoulder 30 on the outer end of intermediate tubular member 28 which may in turn be pulled out until its enlargement 29 engages member 26. A double bearing for effectively supporting each set 25, 28 and 28, 3| of the cooperating parts in horizontal position when extended is provided by the close fits between the respective enlargements and restrictions on the same time their aggregate length will be the equivalent of a long clothesline. This can all be accomplished in a very small area or space without interfering with the normal use of the room in which the device is located.

This invention is susceptible of use in connection with cabinets of many types and for many purposes. One of these embodiments is illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein the cabinet or housing is open at its top and is closed by a removable cover 40. The units l5 and 25, of the construction above described, are mounted within a crowned portion of the cover in spaced relation above the lower open end or margin 4| of the cover which rests upon or engages the top of the cabinet. In this way, the units are removable with the cover, and do not interfere with access through the top of the cabinet.

An embodiment especially adapted for use with space heater cabinets is illustrated in Fig. 3.

Here the top of the cabinet is normally open at 45 for heat discharge and radiation. The units l5 and 25, when spaced just below the top of the cabinet, render use of a grill unnecessary, since their location and arrangement permits them to accomplish the same function as a grill without detracting from the appearance of the cabinet.

An embodiment especially adapted for use with circular cabinets is illustrated in Fig. 8. In this arrangement, a concentric frame member 48 depends from the top of the cabinet to support the inner ends of the tubes l5 of the rack construction illustrated in Fig. 4, the construction being otherwise the same as described above.

The modified embodiment illustrated in Fig. 12 is particularly applicable to installation of the types illustrated in Figs. 10 nd 11. A shallow chamber is provided between spaced horizontal parts 55 and closed at its outer edges by vertical wall 52 having an opening therein to slidably receive a rod 53 with a close fit. A guide 54 spaced inwardly from wall 52 receives rod 53, and a stop 55 spaced from the inner end of the rod a distance substantially equal to the spacing between upper and lower walls 50 and 5|, is adapted to engage guide 54 when the rod is outwardly extended. By this construction the number of parts isreduced to a minimum, the rear projecting end of the rod insuring proper positioning of the extended rod, though slightly tilted, by its engagement with top 50 when extended and with bottom 5| when retracted. In the event the guide 54 limits vertical as well as horizontal movement of the rod, the stop 55 may be placed at the extreme inner end of the rod, as is obvious.

I have illustrated the tubes I5 and 25 and their associated parts as being of circular crosssection; but I do not intend to limit myself thereto, as tubes of square or other cross-section may obviously be used in the arrangement and relation shown and described.

I claim:

1. The combination with a cabinet having a pair of opposed vertical walls each having an opening, of an elongated horizontal tube, securing members each passing through an opening and mounted within an end of said tube, at least one of said securing members having a passage therethrough, an elongated member having a close sliding fit in said last named securing member, an enlargement on the inner end of said elongated member having a close sliding fit in said tube, and an enlarged head on the outer end of said elongated member, said head being positioned exteriorly of said cabinet and normally positioned adjacent the outer surface thereof.

2. The combination with a cabinet having opposed openings in horizontal alignment adjacent the upper end thereof, a rigid elongated hollow member extending between said openings, means for mounting the ends of said member on said cabinet, at least one of said mounting means having a passage therethrough, a second rigid elongated hollow member slidable within said first member, a third elongated member slidable in said second member, means cooperating with said mounting means for limiting outward sliding of said second member in said first member, means for limiting outward sliding of said third member in said second member, said last named means cooperating with said members to hold said members in alignment when extended, and a head on said third member exteriorly of and normally bearing against said cabinet.

3. The construction defined in claim 2, wherein the means for limiting outward movement of said members comprises said mounting means and an inwardly projecting element at the outer end of the second member each having a close sliding fit around the second and third members, respectively, and an enlargement on the inner ends of the second and third members having a close sliding fit in the first and second members, respectively.

4. The combination with a cabinet including a removable cover having vertical marginal walls, a pair of said walls in opposed relation, each having an opening, of an elongated horizontal tube, securing members each passing through an opening and mounted within an end of said tube, at least one of said securing members having a passage therethrough, an elongated member having a close sliding fit in said last named securing member, an enlargement n the inner end of said elongated member having a close sliding fit in said tube and an enlarged head on the outer end of said elongated member, said head being positioned exteriorly of said cabinet and normally positioned adjacent the outer surface thereof.

5. The combination with a cabinet having a pair of opposed Vertical walls, of a horizontal tube, means for securing the ends of said tube to said walls within and adjacent the top of said cabinet, at least one of said walls having an opening communicating with the interior of said tube, an elongated member slidable within said tube and having a head positioned outwardly of and normally bearing against the outer surface of said cabinet, the securing means adjacent one wall serving to limit the outward sliding of said elongated member and cooperating with said tube and member to maintain said member in horizontal position when extended.

6. The combination with a cabinet having opposed horizontally aligned openings adjacent the upper end thereof, a horizontal, rigid, elongated, hollow member secured to said cabinet with the ends thereof communicating with said openings, a pair of rigid elongated members slidable within opposite ends of said first member and each having a head positioned exteriorly of said cabinet, and cooperating means between each of said second members and said first member for limiting opposite outward extension of said second members and maintaining said members in alignment when extended, an element of said lastnamed means also serving to secure said hollow member to said cabinet,

'7. The combination with a cabinet having an opening in its top and a plurality of openings in a vertical wall thereof, of 'a plurality of longitudinally shiftable elongated members each extending through one of said last named openings, and supports within said cabinet each guiding and positioning a member relative to said cabinet, said supports constituting a grill spanning said first named opening.

JOHN E. BORAH.

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