US1844228A - Clothesline - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 95

A. W. PETERSON 'CLOTHESLINE Filed April 25, 1951 Zw" Pei 6219020, v

Mam

Patented Feb. 9, 1932 enirse sears-s ARTHUR W. PETERSON, or ALBERT any; town oLo'rHEsLInE Application filed April 23,

My invention relates to clothes lines. My object is to provide a clothes line which will not become sagged by use nor by exposure to the weather, but will always be taut; and will withal be slightly resilient and yielding to sudden heavy strains, so that when it is full of clothes and is struck by a sudden gust of wind, it will not be liable to break and let the clothes down onto the ground.

This line, when used out of doors, is always drawn up tight and out of the way, so that it can be driven under when desired; and no center props are needed to keep the clothes 0d the ground, when a heavy washing is hung on the line.

Weather changes do not afiect the length of my line. That is, it will not draw up and become tight in damp or rainy weather, and then lengthen out and sag in dry weather.

Heavy clothes hung on an ordinary line will stretch it, and thus permanently lengthen it, but in my line the spring takes up the slack and thus keeps the line the same length, andalways taut.

'W'hen sudden or excessive strain is imposed on my line, the spring will yield and thus prevent permanent stretching, or possible breakmg.

A leading feature of the invention consists in aplurality of lines mounted on pivoted levers which are yieldingly connected together and drawn toward each other at their inner ends, the yielding connection also forming a line upon which clothes may be hung.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and operation of parts, as will now be described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my improvement, in operative position, and:

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same, with the pulleys omitted.

Then my device is used out of doors, I

' usually employ pulleys, as illustrated in Fig.

1 of the drawings; but when used indoors the pulleys can be dispensed with, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

When used out of doors, the posts which support the device will be set in the ground; I

1931. Serial 110. 532,311.

but for use inside the house the device must necessarily be much smaller, and hence the supporting posts can be mounted on a suitable base of any desired construction, so that the device can be moved from place to place in the house. If desired, the base n'iay be supplied with castors, so that the device can be rolled over the floor even when hung full of clothes, and can thus be moved up to a fire or stove after a room has been vacated for the night; and can then-be moved to a diiien' ent location in the room when it is again desired to use the room in the morning. However, since the supporting base forms" no part of the invention, no base has been shown in' the drawings.

Referring. further to the drawings,'the numeral 1 indicates the posts upon which the device is mounted. The'horiz'ontal en'd' supports 2 are rigidly secured to the posts by bolts 3. These end supports 2 are curved outwardly attheir central portions, and are channel-shaped in cross section. The and sections 2a of each support2 are in alineme'nt with each other, and carry the pairs of pivoted levers 4 in their channels. The pivot points 5 aremuch closer tothe' outer ends of the levers than totheir inner ends, for a reason which will presently be pointed out. The" pairs of leverst at each end of thedevice are connected together by flexible loops 6; and these loops engage the central section 7 of the clothes line. This section has a spring 8 terposed between the two loops; and in Fig. 1 of the drawings which shows the device as usually used out of doors, the central sec tion 7 hasat its ends pulleys 9"which engage the loops 6. In the form of the device illustrated in Fi 2 I omit the pulleys, which are not absolutely necessary to the construction. The side lines 10 connect the-outer ends of the pivoted levers 4.

In operation, the natural tendency of the clothes to'sa g the line is'resisted by the spring 8. If the weight of wet clothes wheii first hung upon the line, is sufiic'ient-ly great to overcome the tension ofthe spring and cause the line to sag slightly, the spring will neverthe less take up the slackin the lineas fast as the clothes dry out and become lighter;

be driven under.

and when the clothes are entirely removed from the line, all slack is completely taken up, and the lines all stand taut and straight, and up out of the way, so that the line can However in order to prevent heavy clothes from ordinarily sagging the line, they are hung on the side lines 10, and inasmuch as the pivots 5 of the levers 4; are much closer to the outer ends of said levers than they are totheir inner ends, the pull of the spring 8 (through the loops 6) on the inner ends of these levers has a lever power on the lines 10 to hold them straight and taut. The lighter clothes can behung on the inner line 7, and thus a much weaker spring is required by my arrangement of levers than if it had a rigidly mounted pulley. at each corner of the device, with a continuous line passed around them and a spring in the circuit of the line.

The dotted lines 11 in Fig. 1, show how additional lines for handkerchiefsand light articles may, if desired, be attached to the central part of the device, though ordinarily these additional lines form no part of my regular construction.

The pulleys 9 save wear and tear on the loops 6, and make the spring 8 more responsive to sudden or unequal strains imposed anywhere on the line. v

When used inside the house, as for instance in a laundry room, my device is not dependent upon the posts 1, since the end supports 2 may be bolted to the walls as easily as to the posts.

.The curved central portion of these end supports 2 serves a double purpose or function, since in the first place it adapts them to be engaged by the posts 1 on their concave sides, as shown in the drawings, while at the same time keeping the posts out of the path of travel of the inner ends of the pivoted levers 4: as the spring permits them to move back and forth. In the next place, these curved sections, when it is desired to secure them to walls, are secured with their convex sides next to the Walls, which in turn holds the pivoted levers 4 sufficiently spaced from the walls to keep the walls from interfering with the movements of the outer ends of said levers;

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a clothes line of simple and inexpensive construction which will always stand tautlike a new line, whether in use or out of use; and a line that is equally adapted to indoor or outdoor use.

Having now described by invention, what I claim as new and desireto protect by Letj tersPatent is 1. A device of the character described, comprising opposing horizontal end supports; a lever mounted in the outer end of each support, whereby to provide a pair of levers for each support lines connecting the outer ends of each pair of levers with the outer ends of the other pair; a flexible connection between the inner ends of each pair of levers; and yielding tensioning means between said flexible connections.

2. A device of the character described, comprising opposing horizontal end supports curved concavely toward each other; a lever mounted in the outer ends of each support, whereby to provide a pair of levers for each support; lines connecting the outer ends of each pair of levers with the outer ends of the i outer'ends of each pair of levers with the shorter outer ends of the other pair; a flexible connection between the longer inner ends of each pair of levers; and yielding tensioning means between said flexible connections.

4. A device of the character described, comprising opposing horizontal end supports curved concavely toward each other; a pair of levers mounted in each of said supports, the pivot points of the respective levers being at the outer ends of the curved supports and closer to the outer ends of the levers than to their inner ends; lines connecting the shorter outer ends of each pair of levers with the shorter outer ends of the other pair; a flexible loop connecting the longer inner ends of each pair of levers; a pulley carried by each loop; and yielding tensioning means for connecting said pulleys.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR PETERSON.

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