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(11) | EP 0 962 579 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | A clothes line for use indoors with vertical movement and a guide rail with runner system |
| (57) It is made up of a guide rail (1) which is attached to the pulley frame system (6)
on its upper half and to the crank frame system (5) on its lower half. On turning
the said crank one way or the other, the clothes line is raised or lowered by the
cable which is attached to the upper part of the frame support triangle (3) and which
passes through the pulley (6) and is rolled around the crank (5). The guide rail (1)
is in turn attached to the wall by means of the pulley and crank support frames. The
runner has four bearings and moves longitudinally along the guide rail (1 ). This
runner is attached to the support frame triangle (3). It has a longitudinal groove
on the upper part into which the frame (4) is fitted. At the opposite end it has a
shaft to which the cable frame (8) is attached and by which it is turned. The said
cable frame bears the cable for hanging the clothes (9). |
THE PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention, as is apparent from the title of this descriptive account, refers to a clothes line which can be used indoors, on balconies, terraces, etc. the main characteristics and advantages of which are:
a) The user can avail of the space used for hanging the clothes thanks to the vertical movement of the clothes line which remains on the upper part. This vertical movement makes hanging and taking the clothes off the line much easier. Moreover, its system of guide rail and runner means that the clothes can be moved horizontally.
b) Its sturdiness which means that it can withstand wind without sudden movements which are often annoying and dangerous. Furthermore, its especially designed guide rail and runner system provides space for a lot of clothes, which can be moved up and down quite easily.
c) Its design allows long garments and other kinds of long clothes to be hung up to dry without their touching the ground or floor.
d) Totally assembled on delivery, installation is consequently simple at is has only to be attached to the wall by means of Rawlplugs and screws. The user him/herself can carry out this simple operation.
e) Given its special design, it does not require much space.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A kind of table with rods on which the clothes are hung. The main drawbacks of this system are that it is cumbersome, long clothes cannot be hung on it and clothes are likely to be blown off by the wind.
[0004] A fixed system placed between walls, using either a line or rods. Its disadvantage, apart from being stationary and cumbersome, is that hanging clothes is difficult.
[0005] A mobile system using lines which, although it is not cumbersome, moves easily with the wind due to its light weight and as balconies are rather narrow, it touches the walls giving rise to the typical problems. It is difficult to install as it must be attached to the ceiling. Furthermore, it does not take many clothes as the system cannot bear much weight.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A new clothes line for use indoors, on balconies and on terraces, attached to the wall, with vertical movement, a guide rail and runner system.
[0007] It is made up of:
a) A guide rail Fig. 1-1 (aluminium, stainless steel, iron, plastic, etc.)
It is an aluminium guide rail which is attached to the wall by means of Rawlplugs
and screws. The length of the guide rail is the vertical movement of the clothes line,
it being possible to vary the length of the guide rail in accordance with the amount
of vertical movement required of the clothes line. The runner moves lengthways along
the guide rail. The upper part of the rail holds the pulley for the cable to raise
the clothes line. The lower part holds the crank. There is a longitudinal groove in
the centre of the rail.
b) Runner Fig. 1-2 (plastic, stainless steel, iron, etc.)
It is a square bar which holds the four bearings, two on the upper part and two on
the lower part. The runner is designed in such a way as to move along the longitudinal
groove and thus, the bearings do not strike against the walls of the guide rail. The
fact that the said bearings run along the smooth surface of the guide rail is essential
for the smooth running of the runner along the guide rail as otherwise the bearings
would get stuck in the walls of the guide rail. The runner is attached to the support
frame triangle by means of two screws.
c) The triangle of the support frame Fig 1-3 (plastic, aluminium, stainless steel,
iron, etc.)
It is a specially designed triangle for the base of the clothes line. It has a groove
on the upper part onto which the frame is attached by means of a screw which makes
it easier to fasten the clothes line to the wall. The frame is delivered unattached
to the support triangle and can be fastened to the wall unhindered by the weight and
shape of the rest of the clothes line.
d) The frame Fig. 1-4 (stainless steel, aluminium, iron, plastic, etc.)
It is a square tube which fits into the groove of the base triangle. At the other
end there is a hole which holds the shaft which joins the frame to the cable support
and can be turned to fit the requirements of the balcony or terrace.
e) The cable support frame Fig. 3-8 (aluminium, stainless steel, iron, plastic, etc.)
This holds the cable to hang the clothes and is made up of three square bars. The
one in the middle has a hole in the centre for holding the shaft of the frame. The
other two have a specially designed part for them to be fitted to the aformentioned
bar to form an "I". These bars are perforated to allow the cable of the clothes line
to pass through them. An essential characteristic is that there is only one cable
passing through the holes in the bars and the said cable is always taut.
f) The crank Fig. 1.5 (plastic, aluminium, stainless steel, iron, etc.)
It is fastened to the lower part of the guide rail which in turn is attached to the
wall. It is made up of:
a manual crank which, by rolling and unrolling the cable, raises or lowers the clothes line depending on the which way it is turned
a fastener: used to lock the crank when the clothes line has been raised and prevents it from falling Fig. 1-7.
g) The pulley frame Fig. 1-6 (plastic, aluminium, stainless steel, iron, etc.) It fits into the upper part of the guide rail and fastens it to the wall by means of screws. It holds the pulley which bears the cable coming from the crank which enables the clothes line to be raised or lowered.
h) The cable Fig. 3-9. It is one cable which passes through the holes bored in the bars of the base frame of the cable. The cable is made of stainless steel to avoid staining the clothes.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
[0008] Fig. 1. - It shows a side view of the whole clothes line. The full length of the guide rail can be appreciated, as can the support frame triangle and especially the design of the runner with its bearings on the upper and lower parts.
[0009] Fig. 2. - It shows a ground plan of the whole clothes line in which we can appreciate above all the guide rail with its central groove and the runner with its bearings, the fact that the latter do not touch the side walls of the guide rail being evident. We can also appreciate the groove on the upper part of the support triangle which holds the frame. Also clearly visible is the location of the cable in cable frame.
A DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO MAKE THE CLOTHES LINE
[0011] Having observed the aforementioned figures, it is clear that the new clothes line is made up of five parts.
[0012] The first is a guide rail F 1-1 whose exclusive shape ensures that the runner slides unhindered along it.
[0013] The second is a runner with its bearings in line which moves vertically Fig. 1-2 and which is in tum supported by the support frame triangle F 1-3.
[0014] The third is a crank support system F 1-5 which enables the runner to move vertically in a smooth fashion and which incorporates a brake lock to stop movement F1-7.
A) Guide rail
B) Runner
C) Support frame triangle
D) Frame
E) Cable support system
F) Crank
G) Pulley support system
H) Cable
In accordance with the description contained in the present threepage report with attached plans.