US2565436A - Foldable ironing board assembly - Google Patents

Description

Aug 213 195l J. E. LOAR ET AL4 2,565,436

FOLDABLE IRONING BOARD ASSEMBLY vFiled sept. 13, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l III MAJ*

RMA? C. oA/i JOHN aan INVENTORS Allg- 21, 1951 J. E. LoAR ET AL 2,565,436

FOLDABL IRONING BOARD ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 13, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 21, 1951 UNITED STATES OFFICE 2,565,436 FOLDABLE IRONING BoARD ASSEMBLY John E. Loar and Erma C. Loar, Paducah, Ky. Application September 13, 1i948, SerialaNo. 48,513.6,

si claims. (o1. 38-114) This invention` relates. to an ironing board. and more particularly has referencetoI a. collapsible or folding type ironing board whereby.` theboard in its folded conditionforms a compact; unit for either storage or transportation purposes.,

We are cognizant of, the fact thatY foldable ironing boards; have been, provided, but: such boards. have not. been entirely Satisfactory.. The majority of these constructions; even in the, collapsed state, have been relatively bulky, thereby making ease. of transportatiom as. welll as storage during non-use, a serious, problem.v Moreover, the means by; which. the. ironing surface has; been maintained above the base when; the board; is in use. and by which, the ironing. surface is. moved into close proximity to.Y the. base for storage, has been comparatively complex. in structural detail. This, of` course,- materially increases the oost of manufacture.. thus making widespread use of. the board prohibitive.. and. inaddition raises the problem of maintenance costs., due to the large number of parte which are. subject, to damage.. with the attendant r 1.ob 1en1.sv oi replacement. or repair. t

An important object. of our invention is to provide a foldable. ironing board,y wherein. the rironing surface is supported upon thev base` by means of a lazy tong assembly which is so constructed as to maintain the ironingsurface rigidly sup,- noried bv the, base during. the ironing process and yet Will enable the. ironing surfacev to assume a close relationship to. the base` when the board is 110i in use.. thereby providing acompact unit capable of easv transportation or storage.

Another object of` the invention is, to provide an ironing board of the foldablev type` which in its folded condition may be easily housed within a carrying case` for storage o r transportation purposes.

.Still another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable ironing boa-rdy which; includes few essential parts,r4 which is capable of being readily and inexpensively manufactured and` which is positive and efficient. in, operation.

To achieve these and other objects, the invention includes a base, a hinged ironing surface and a collapsible structure interconnecting, the ironing surface and the base. The collapsible structure comprises a pair of spaced lazy tongs connected in parallel relationshipv to the ironing surface and the base so that theY ironing surface may assume a position spaced above and. rigidly supported with respect to the. base.- or a position in close relationship tothe base when the board. is not being used. The lazy tong assembly is so constructed and cooperates with complemental members Vof the ironing surface and' base as to preventj collapsing. of the board durine ilse- With. the. aboveand other objects in View, the invention consists in the, detalls of construction. and inV the 'arrangement and, combination of partsto be hereinafter'more fully setv forth and claimedi-.

In. describing 4our invention in detail', referencewil-l Abe had to. the accompanying drawings, forming part of the application, wherein like c harac-,ters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

K' Figure lV isa side. elevational View ofthe board inthe operative. position.

Figure 2 isI aview. taken along the line 2-2 of Figure. 1, looking., in the direction of' the arrows.

Figure 3 is an end view looking toward the left of Figure l, the ironing surface and base. being in section.l

Figure 4 is a side elevational View ofthe board showing the' parts preparatory to folding the board.

Figure 5 is an end view looking toward the Figure 6 is a sfideY view showing the board in the folded state.

Figure 7 is a, view in front elevation, partly broken, away, Showing the, folded board' within a case; and

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the ironing board in the operative position, but being on a reduced scale.

InFigure l, We have shown a base lli, an ironing surface Il'. and acollapsible structure l2, connecting the base and` ironing surface. The base is preferably rectangular in outline and of such dimensions aste provide a sturdy support- 'ihe surface II. is of the conventional design and. includes a front section IIA and a rear section IIB, secured alongtheir adjoining, ends by a hinge I3. The leaves of the hinge are connected to the lower face of eachof the sections LLA and .'IIB, so that'the section IIA may be moved downwardly about. the hinge, I3. and thence upwardly into; approximately parallel relation to the sectionujle when the boardE is folded. for

storage purposes, as will later be moreffully set forth. ItY can be seen from Figures l and. 8; that al support I4 entends transversely of the section HA intermediate the. length. thereof and is secured to the lower face of the section in any suitable manner. The inner vertical wall of the support is formed with a longitudinally extending hemispherical recess I for receiving a brace element carried by the structure I2 to maintain the section l IA in horizontal alignment with the section IIB which structure will be hereinafter described.

The structure I2 comprises a parallel lazy tongs I3. Each pair of lazy tongs includes crossed links I4 and I5 pivotally connected intermediate the ends thereof, as shown at I6 and pivotally attached at the ends to the crossed links of an adjacent pair, as indicated at I'I. Since the lazy tongs are in parallel relation, the pivots I6 and I1 are in the nature of rods which extend transversely of the board as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The free end of the lowermost of each link I4 is hinged to the vertical wall of an L-shaped bracket, as at I9, which bracket is secured to the upper face of the base adjacent to the rear edge thereof, The free end of the uppermost link I5 of each pair of lazytongs is pivoted to a U-shaped bracket 2E), supported by the lower face of the section IIB by means of a pin 2I extending through aligned openingsr in each link I5 and each bracket 2U, and it can be seen that the brackets I8 and 20 are in vertical alignment. The free end of each uppermost link supports a rod 22 which is adapted to bear against the lower face of section IIB adjacent to hinge I3 when the structure I2 is in its extended position. As best shown in Figures 1 and 4, the free end of each of the lowermost links I5 also support a cross rod 23 which is adapted to set in a longitudinal recess 24 formed in the inner wall of a pair of spaced `support 25 attached to the base IIJ along and parallel to the front edge of the base.

Each lazy tong I3 supports a link 26 which is pivoted at its inner end on the pivot I1 at the outer extremity of the link I4 immediately below the uppermost link I4. The free end of each of the links 26 are connected by a cross piece 21 and the cross piece 21 is adapted to be received by the recess I5 of the support to maintain the section IIA in alignment with section IIB when the board is being used.

Assuming the board is in its collapsed state, as in Figure 6, when it is desired to use the board, the section I IB is moved upwardly, thereby moving the lazy tong sets to their extended position. The lowermost link I5 is then removed until the rod 23 engages the recess 24 in the support 25 and the links I4 and I5 will be kept in the extended position. The section IIA is then moved upwardly about the hinge I3 until it is in horizontal alignment with the section IIB and by locating the cross piece 21 in the recess I5, it can be seen that the sections IIA and IIB will be maintained in the desired relationship.

An ironing board pad and cover (not shown) may then be disposed on the ironing surface, and the board is now ready for use.

To fold the board, the links 2B are moved out of engagement with the recess I5 and the section IIA moved about the hinge I3 until, it assumes a substantially parallel position relative to the section IIB. The links 26 are then moved rearwardly about the pivot I1 into a nested position with respect to the uppermost link I5 and to assure a snug t, each link 26 is cut away, as at 29 to receive the pivot member I6. The rod 23 is withdrawn from the recess 24 for enabling the lazy tong sets to fold, and the board may now be collapsed to the position shown in Figures 5 and 6.

When the board is in the folded position, it may be disposed in lower half 30 of a carrying case 3I, having a hinged cover or lid 32. If desired, the cover may carry a pocket 33 for a pressing cloth, a bracket 34 for holding a folding iron 35 and an electric extension cord 35. Any suitable latching means 31 may be employed to lock the carrying case.

It will be readily appreciated from the foregoing that we have provided a collapsible ironing board which in its folded state forms a very compact unit and which in the extended condition afords a sturdy assembly and there is little danger of the board collapsing during the ironing process. The board may be set up for use or folded for storage or transportation in a minimum of time and by virtue of the simple structural details may be easily operated by inexperienced persons.

We claim:

1. A foldable ironing board comprising a base, spaced lazy tongs pivotally connected at their inner lower ends to the base, an ironing surface, a pivotal connection between the ironing surface and the inner upper ends of the lazy tongs, complemental means carried by the base and the outer lower ends of the lazy tongs to maintain the lazy tongs in the extended position when it is desired to use the ironing board, and a bracing member pivotally attached to the lazy tongs intermediate the outer upper and lower ends thereof adapted to engage the ironing surface to stabilize the surface when said lazy tongs are in the extended position.

2. A foldable ironing board comprising a base, a pair of spaced lazy tongs pivotally attached at their inner lower ends to the base, an ironing surface having two hingedly connected sections, a pivotal attachment between one of said sections and the inner upper ends of the lazy tongs, complemental means carried by the outer lower ends of the lazy tongs and the base to maintain the lazy tongs in the extended position, and additional complemental means supported by said lazy tongs intermediate the upper and lower outer ends thereof and the other of said ironing sections to maintain said latter section in alignment with the first named section when the lazy tongs are in the extended position.

3. A foldable ironing board as claimed in claim 2 wherein a bracing member is pivotally attached to the lazy tongs intermediate the upper and lower outer ends thereof and adapted to engage the other of said sections to maintain said section in alignment with the rst named section when the lazy tongs are in the extended position.

4. A foldable ironing board comprising a base, a pair of spaced parallel lazy tongs pivotally connected at the inner lower ends thereof to the base, a pair of ironing surfaces, a hinge connection between said surfaces whereby one of the surfaces may have downward pivotal movement relative to the other surface, a pivotal connection between the fixed surface and the upper inner ends of said lazy tongs, complemental means carried by the lower outer ends of the lazy tongs and the base for maintaining the lazy tongs in the extended position, and additional complemental means supported by the lazy tongs intermediate the upper and lower outer ends thereof and the movable surface to maintain said surface in alignment with the fixed surface when the lazy tongs are in the extended position.

assunse 5. A foldable ironing board as claimed in claim 4 wherein a bracing member is pivotally attached to said lazy tongs intermediate the upper and lower outer ends thereof and adapted to engage the movable surface to maintain said surface in alignment with the xed surface when the lazy tongs are in the extended position.

6. A foldable ironing board comprising a base, a pair of lazy tongs pivotally attached at their lower inner ends to the base in parallel relation, a stop secured to the base, a rod carried by the lower outer ends of the lazy tongs adapted to engage the stop to maintain the lazy tongs in the extended position, an ironing surface pivotally attached to the upper inner ends of the lazy tongs. a complemental ironing surface hingedly attached to the rst named surface for pivotal movement downwardly with respect thereto, a stop carried by the complemental surface, and a bracing JOHN E. LOAR. ERMA C. LOAR.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 667,266 Upp Feb. 5, 1901 755,103 Boyd Mar. 22, 1904 1,437,064 Lundeen Nov. 28, 1922

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