US2562478A - Clothesline and support therefor - Google Patents

Description

July 31, 1951 B. H. sPERBER CLOTHESLINE AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed No'v. 28, 1947 UNITED STATES @TF1-cfs 2.562,47s l `cLo'rHEsLlNls AND sUm'zonT :finiranno-R Benjamin H. 'SperbeniBrooklyn, N. ApplicationrNovember 2s, 1947, serial No.' 788,512

This invention relates to improvements in clothesline holders Yincluding an Vimproved clothesline pulley and attachment'therefor.

The principal object of vthis invention is ,the provision of a clothesline holder which supports the clothesline in position transversely ofthe window frame through which clothes are hung, thereby enabling the housewife to hang clothes on the clothesline without bending out of the window. Itis well'known that 'it is quite dangerous to'hang clothes on conventional clotheslines through upper story windows. Conventional -clotheslines extend ,perpendicularly .of the window frame, and it is necessary l for the'housewife hanging clothes on such conventional clotheslines to leanout ofthe window vto a dangerous extent. Eiorts have'been made to rig up a clothesline system -which would make the clothesline -more vaccessible tov thejperson hanging clothes thereon through a window. It is clear,

however, that the means which have heretofore beendevised "to effect this result have been iinadequate Sfor -the purpose intended and completely unsatisfactory, else theyvwould long ago have replaced vconventional clothesline -systems and apparatus. Y

AIt is Aaccordingly the principal -object fof lthis invention 'Ito Aprovide a .clothesline holder which would make -the clothesline V.more --accessible to a person hanging clothes thereon-from'inside the window ofahouse.

vAnother object of :this invention lis the provisionof a .new .and improvedA arrangement vfor conventional 'clotheslines .whereby said clotheslines may bebroughtinto a more accessible location with :respect to a person hanging clot-hes thereon through a window.

,Still another object of this jinvention isfthe provision of an improved typeof clotheslinepulley .which .is :adapted to rfunction ineconjunction with conventional clothesline pulleys without removing said conventional pulleys Ifrom'their present locationand which in conjunction with said pulleys rbrings the clothesline into a morefaccessible location from the point of View of afperson standing-on the inside Vofthe Window to vwhich said pulleysL are attached.

TvStill a ffurther `object Y of this invention is the provision -of an improved 'type -of clothesline pulley whichfmay be mounted ona Vverticalaxis and Iwhich f is adapted to accommodateclothespins carried -by the clothesline mounted thereon.

A -still ifurther object =of 'this invention is the provision of ya clothesline pulley Aof `theecharacter last described which includes a pick-up s claims. (c1. ,ern-119102) v 12 feature `enablin'g'it to .remain iin unbroken contactwith a saggingclothesline.

Preferred embodiments of .this invention .fare shown in the accompanying .drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side view of rone of said embodiments, partly in section, v on the `line vI-I of Fig. 2

YFig. 2 is a top view thereof;

Fig. '3 is an enlarged top view ofthe improved' type of pulleyihereinclaimed and of the .bracket which supportsit;

Fig. 4'is a side ,view ,ofsaid pulley and bracket;

' and .Figf is a cross s ecticnal'vew through a modi'- edform of suchpulley.

Referring know to Figs'. 1 and 2, it ywill be seen. that a conventional clothesline pulley I 0 'is fat' tached'by vmeans ofabracket Il .to one side I2 ofthe frame of 'a window I3. .A second convenl tional jpulley Ll5 is attached by Ameans of hook [6 vto a suitable support such as a pole l1. -In

conventional clothesline systems the clothesline 20 extends around pulley I0 toand aroundpulley I5 and back again to V pulley l'0. In conventional systems these pulleys are mounted on a pair o f hooks Ysuch as Vhooks 16 and they rotate on substantially parallel horizontal axes. In conventional -systems only tWo :such pulleys are used, and it will be clear'thatundernormal conditions unless-theclotheslinetwists or there is a strong wind, said pulleys fare in vsubstantial alignment with-each other.'V l In the present system the two conventional" pulleys fill and I5 Varebrought into Aa different ref lationship with respect to each other and'V although pulley l5 remains mounted on 'a ccn-V ventional hook "H5, y-pulley -I should preferably be mounted on ra bracket such as'bracket 'lzlvvhich supports the pulley -a predetermined distance awayfrcm'the=window-frame- A third pulley, "to Ywit, pulley 25, the pulley herein'fclaimed. to Lbe new, 'is brought into the clothesline Lsystem heretofore discussed.V pulley-is mounted-on a-vertical axis, and it is supported 'by bracket26 which is aixed to the other side`2'1-of-'the window frame. Immediately adjacent sai-dfpulley-2 5is another pulley k28 which is of `conventional construction but Which, like pulley 25, is mounted on a-vertical axis. It, 1to0', is supported bymeans 'of bracket 2 6.` 1 krlhe two pulleys 25 and 28 'last above 'mentioned occupy a 4position relative to pulleys VIl 'l and |-5 corresponding substantially to 'the yposition which the right angle occupies Vwith respectj tothe other *two yangles of a right angle triangle.

3 It will be observed that the clothesline is made to extend around the top of pulley I0, thence around pulley 28, thence around pulley I5, thence back to pulley 25, and around said pulley, and finally back to the bottom of pulley I0. It will be observed from the foregoing that a portion of clothesline 20 marked 20a in the drawing runs parallel to the front of the window frame I3. The full length of portion 20a is therefore accessible to a person standing at the inside of said window and it is a relatively easy matter to hang clothes on said portion 20a of the clothesline 20. It is not necessary hanging clothes on this portion of the clothesline to lean out of the window to reach it. It is easily accessible to a person standing inside a window and merely extending her hands outwardly through the window.

The clothes are hung on the lower portion of section 20a. This lower portion may be seen in Fig. 4 as engaging clothesline pulley 25.

It will be seen in Fig. 2 that clothes hung` on section 20a of the clothesline must necessarily pass pulley before they can reach the main portion of line 20 which extends between pulleys 25 and I5. Such being the case, it is necessary that provision be made in pulley 25 tc clear the clothespins on said clothesline, as well as those portions of the clothes which are clamped between the clothespin and the clothesline. Such provision is made in pully 25, as will clearly be seen in Figs. 3 and 4. It will be noted that .pulley 25 has a scalloped peripheral edge and that the valleys in said edge extend substantially the full depth of the peripheral groove formed in said pulley in which the clothesline rides. The ,dimensions of each valley are such that it is adapted to accommodate a conventional clothespin 30, such as is depicted in Fig. 5, together with the clamped portion of the clothes which it supports. The raised portions of said scalloped edge are rounded so that should any clothespin be brought into engagement therewith, it would immediately slip into the adjacent valley.

It will be understood that when section 20a of the clothesline is loaded with wet wash, that said section of the clothesline and more particularly its lower portion will sag between the two pulleys 25 and I0. It will also be understood that when that section of the clothesline which extends between pulley 25 and pulley I5 is loaded with wash, that section, too, will sag. The problem of maintaining said clothesline, therefore, in uninterrupted engagement with pulley 25 is solved by the construction of the lower flange 3| of said pulley as shown in Fig. 4. It will .be noted that said lower flange 3| slopes downwardly and it is therefore adapted to scoop up the sagging clothesline from either direction. The sloping liange 3l serves as a wedge which eases the sagging clothesline into the groove of the pulley.

Bracket 26 is of novel design and construction. It comprises a vertically extending portion which is'aflixed by means of screws 36 to the window frame 2l. It has a pair of horizontal protions 38 and 39, respectively, which are spaced from each other a predetermined distance and which are aiixed at one end to said upright member 35 and at their opposite end to a second uprig'ht member 40. The lower end of member 40 is bent inwardly and in the direction of portion 35, said lower end of portion 40 being disposed on a substantially horizontal plane parallel to the planes of portions 38 .and 33. The space between portions 38 and 39 accommodates pulley 28 which is of conventional design. This pulley rides on a pin which is vertically disposed and which extends through slots 46 and 41 in portions 38 and 39. It is by virtue of these slots that pin 45 is adapted to move in either direction longitudinally of members 38 and 39. Pin 45 is threaded at its upper end and a wing nut 50 is used to lock said pin in place on portions 38 and 39 of the bracket.

It will be noted in Fig. 4 that portion 38 of the bracket has an upwardly extending pin 5I formed thereon, and the lower portion 39 of the bracket has a downwardly extending pin 52 formed thereon. Tension springs 53 engage at one end pins 5I and 52, and at their opposite end pin 45. These tension members tend to hold pulley 28 in tensioned resistance to the pull of the clothesline upon it.

The construction last-above described in connection with the mounting of pulley 28 on bracket 26 is intended for adjustment purposes to adjust the clothesline system as to the degree of tautness of the clothesline on the pulleys and to compensate for a stretched condition of the clothesline. In other words, this is an adjusting mechanism by which pulley 28 may be moved to tighten or loosen the clothesline on the pulleys.

Pulley 25 is mounted on a xed pin 55 which is supported by portions 39 and 40 of the bracket 26. A sleeve spacer 56 prevents axial movement of said pulley 25 on said pin 55, and it adequately spaces said pulley from pulley 28 so that the distance between the grooves on said pulleys 28 and 25 corresponds to the diameter of the grooved portion of pulley I0. The upper and lower` sections of clothesline portion 20a will thereby remain parallel to each other under normal conditions, that is, in the absence of a weight applied to the lower section of said clothesline portion.

In Fig. 5 a modified version of the scalloped pulley shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is shown. Here pulley 60 is a cast unit in which downwardly eX- tending flange or lip 6I corresponds to the downwardly extending ilange 3i of pulley 25. In the case of pulley 60, however, groove 62 is of substantially trough shape when viewed on the planeV shown in Fig. 5. In other words, when said pulley lies on a horizontal plane, its peripheral line receiving groove defines a trough having a bottom Wall and two side walls curving upwardly therefrom. This construction is designed to anchor the clothesline in place on said pulley 60 once its downwardly sloping lips 6I wedge said clothesline upwardly into groove 62 formed in said pulley. Once the clothesline is brought into engagement with said trough-like groove 62, there is very little likelihood that it will disengage saidpulley when a heavy load on said line causes it to sag.

The foregoing describes preferred embodiments of this invention, and it will be appreciated that these embodiments are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope and coverage of this invention.

I claim:

1. A clothesline and support therefor to be associated with a window opening which comprises a pair of brackets disposed at about the same level on opposite sides of the window opening, a pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supported on one bracket and a pair of pulleys with vertical axes rotatably mounted one above the other on the other bracket, and a fourth pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supported at a point distant from the superposed pulleys, an endless clothesline both runs of which pass around the pulleys with horizontal axes, the upper run of the line passing around the upper of the pair of superposed pulleys, the lower run of the line passing around the lower of said pair of pulleys, the bracket supporting the pair of superposed pulleys having a slot therein, the upper pulley of the pair having an axle pin riding in said slot, means for tightening said pin in said slot, and a pair of springs on the bracket and connected to opposite ends of said pin to exert resilient pull on said pin and its pulley.

2. A clothesline and support therefor tolbe associated with a window opening which comprises a pair of brackets disposed atabout the same level on opposite sides of the window opening, a pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supported on one bracket and a pair of pulleys with vertical axes rotatably mounted one above the other on the other bracket, and a fourth pulley with horizontal axis rotatably supported at a point distant from the superposed pulleys, an endless clothesline both runs of which pass around the pulleys with horizontal axes, the upper run of the line passing around the upper of the pair of superposed pulleys, the lowerrun of the line passing around the lower of said pair of pulleys, the lower pulley of said pair having flanges with scalloped peripheries to permit clothes pins on the line to pass around the pulley, said lower pulley spaced from the adjacent Window opening of the building to permit clothes to be hung on the line passing across said opening, means for adjusting the position on the bracket of the upper pulley of the pair of superposed pulleys and means for locking it in any adjusted position.

3. A clothesline and support therefor to be associated with a window opening which comprises a pair of brackets disposed at about the same level on opposite sides of the Window opening, a pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supported on one bracket and a pair of pulleys with vertical axes rotatably mounted one above the other on the other bracket, and a fourth pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supported at a point distant from the superposed pulleys, an

endless clothesline both runs of which passv around the pulleys with horizontal axes, the upper run of the line passing around the upper of the pair of superposed pulleys, the lower run of the line passing around the lower of said pair of pulleys, the lower pulley of said pair having flanges with scalloped peripheries to permit clothes pins on the line to pass around the pulley, said lower pulley being horizontally spaced frorn the adjacent opening of the window frame to permit clothes to be hung on the line passing across said opening, the bracket supporting the pair of superposed pulleys having a slot therein, the axle pin of the upper pulley of the pair riding in said slot, means for tightening said pin in said slot, and a pair of springs on the bracket and connected to opposite ends of said pin' to exert resilient pull on said pin and its pulley.

BENJAMIN H. SPERBER,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 212,916 Fischer Mar. 4, 1879 347,248 Miller` Aug. 10, 1886 387,225 Gindor Aug. 7, 1888 492,628 Kinman Feb. 28, 1893 1,262,123 `Sottile Apr. 9, 1918 1,500,549 Cudmore July 8, 1924 1,522,470 Siebecker et al Jan. 6, 1925 1,963,000 Pfleider June 12, 1934 2,181,878 Eckleberry Deo. 5, 1939 2,182,602 Veteran Dec. 5, 1939

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