Silent Butler

Abstract

A silent wall butler has a base member mountable on an upright surface of a support. A tray member is carried by said base member upwardly spaced therefrom. A first tubular hanger is connected to the base member projecting therefrom and being turnable about an upright axis. An arcuately curved second tubular hanger is rigidly mounted on the base member projecting beyond opposite lateral sides thereof. One or more third hangers are also provided on the base member and have end sections extending beyond the aforementioned opposite lateral sides of the base member.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to silent butlers, and more particularly to silent butlers which are mountable on a wall or analogous support.

Silent butlers generally speaking are too well known to require detailed description. It is pointed out, however, that the types of silent butlers heretofore known are in form of chairs and analogous specially configurated items of furniture. As such they have two distinct disadvantages, namely relatively significant space requirements and high cost. In many instances the space available is very limited, however, so that the use of the aforementioned known type of silent butler is automatically precluded. In other instances economic considerations make it impractical to use furniture-type silent butlers, and for instance in hotels or motels both of these considerations will quite frequently coincide.

On the other hand, however, it is particularly hotels or motels where the provision of a silent butler for the convenience of the guest is highly desirable. Away from home and accustomed surroundings many travelers find it difficult in a hotel or motel to conveniently arrange their clothing and such items as wallet, watch, cuff links, coins, spectacles and the like. Of course, these considerations obtain to a certain extent also in private homes where a silent butler which has only very small space requirements and is inexpensive would in many instances be welcomed as a decided convenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a silent butler having the aforementioned advantages.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a silent butler which can be mounted on a wall or analogous upright support, which has very small space requirements and which is economical to manufacture and to sell.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of my invention resides, briefly stated, in a silent butler of the type which is suitable for mounting on a wall or analogous upright support and which comprises a base member mountable on an upright surface of a support, a tray member carried by the base member upwardly spaced therefrom, and a first hanger member connected to the base member projecting therefrom and being turnable about an upright axis. There is further provided an arcuately curved second hanger member on the base member rigid therewith and projecting beyond opposite lateral sides thereof, and at least one third hanger member provided on the base member and having end sections extending also beyond the opposite lateral sides in substantial parallelism with the general plane of the second hanger member.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front-elevational view of a silent butler according to the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the components of the silent butler in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Discussing now the drawing in detail it will be seen that my novel silent butler comprises a base member 1 which, as evident from FIG. 2, is of tubular configuration and has a cross-sectional outline generally resembling a figure eight. Thus, the cross-sectional outline comprises two enlarged portions 1', 1" which extend in substantial parallelism with one another and which are separated from one another by a restricted portion of the cross section. The base member 1 is advantageously made of a cutoff of rectangular tubing having a 1 inch .times. 2 inch cross section and which is thereupon deformed to assume the illustrated configuration.

The lateral sides of the base member 1 are provided with through-going holes or bores 1a one of which is located at the top adjacent one narrow side (the one side which will face the support when the butler is mounted thereon) and the other of which is located at the opposite or bottom end of the member 1 adjacent the opposite narrow side. A first strap 2 is provided at its opposite ends with openings 2a and soldered to the rearwardly directed (as seen in the drawing) narrower side of the base member 1; similarly, the second strap 3 is also soldered to the same narrower side and projects downwardly below the member 1 so that its opening 3a is exposed. Screws or analogous fastening elements may be inserted through the openings 2a, 3a into whatever support on which the butler is to be mounted. Evidently, the portions 2 and 3 can also be secured to the butler in a manner other than by soldering.

Reference numeral 6 identifies a tubular member which is inserted from above into the space 1', and if the original tubular cutoff which is converted into the base member 1 has the aforementioned dimensions, then the tubular member 6 will be advantageously of 3/4-inch diameter. It will then fit well in the space 1'. It is provided at its lower end portion with a hole or bore 6a which is brought into registry with the other bore 1a of the base member 1, whereupon one of the hanger members 4, 5 (in the illustrated embodiment the member 4) which consist advantageously of wire cutoffs, is pushed or hammered through the registering bores 1a, 6a. This retains the tubular member 6 in place and prevents it from moving downwardly through the space 1'. The other of the members 4, 5 (in the embodiment illustrated in the member 5) is similarly inserted through the lowermost of the bores 1a. This can be effected by hammering, and the ends of the members 4, 5 may be bent in the illustrated manner subsequently.

Now a tray 7 is placed onto the upper end of the tubular member 1. This tray 7 is advantageously molded from synthetic plastic material, but can of course be produced in other ways and consist of different material. In any case the tray 7 must be provided with a recess for accommodating the upper end of the tubular member 6 and have a straight longitudinal side which can abut against a surface on which the butler is being mounted, so that the tray 7 will be maintained in position by such abutment and will not pivot about the tubular member 6. Evidently, the purpose of the tray 7 is to hold a wallet, rings, spectacles, a watch, coins or the like.

There is further provided a substantially L-shaped tubular hanger member 8 having a longer arm and a shorter arm. The open end of the longer arm is capped with a protective cap 8a, for instance of rubber or synthetic plastic material, to prevent damage to clothing by the edge bounding the opening in this arm. The shorter arm of the hanger member 8 is inserted into the space 1" until the free end of the shorter arm rests on the hanger member 5 so that the hanger member 8 is turnable about an upright axis defined by the shorter arm and the space 1". The hanger member 8 can now turn through substantially 180.degree.. The hanger member 8 is intended to support trousers which are folded and draped over its surface. To prevent them from slipping off, a strip 8b of antislip or friction-promoting material is placed onto an upper surface portion of the hanger member 8, as shown in FIG. 1. Such material is readily commercially available, for instance in self-adhesive form. A shirt, blouse or the like may be hung on the end of the hanger member 8 which is protected with the cap 8a. The latter performs the additional function, in this case, of preventing such shirt, blouse or the like from slipping off.

A further hanger member 9 is also provided and arcuately curved in the illustrated manner. It is also of tubular configuration and its free open ends are capped with protective caps 9a corresponding to the cap 8a. At its center of curvature there is secured, as by soldering, the member 9b of step-shape or zigzag-shaped configuration, as illustrated. The downwardly projecting arm of the member 9b is received in the space 1" intermediate the (in the drawing outwardly facing) narrower side of the base member 1 and the shorter arm of the hanger member 8. Because of the configuration of the downwardly projecting arm of the member 9b in conjunction with the narrow outwardly facing side of the base member 1, movement of the member 9b and the associated hanger member 9 in direction other than upwardly is impossible, and such upward movement will of course not take place unless it is carried out intentionally by the user of the wall butler. The hanger member 9 serves to support shirts, jackets, coats and the like.

Of course, various different materials are suitable for the illustrated and described components. Thus, the hanger members 4 and 5 need not necessarily be made of wire, but could also be made of plastic. Similarly, the hanger members 8 and 9, as well as tubular member 6, could be made of synthetic plastic material but also of metallic material, wood or any other material suitable for the purpose.

It is a particular advantage of the wall butler according to the present invention that it can be readily assembled without skill and with the use of only the most elementary tools, namely a screwdriver and possibly a hammer. That being the case it can be readily supplied in disassembled form, packaged together with the necessary mounting hardware (e.g. screws, wall anchors, etc.) so that the purchaser may assemble and mount the unit himself. This is an advantage not only from a point of view of reducing the expense of manufacturing by lowering the sales cost, but also because storage problems are significantly decreased when the unit can be packaged and stored in disassembled condition.

In terms of actual use it will be appreciated that the disclosed unit requires very little space, and that when not in use the hanger member 8 can be turned so that it is closely adjacent to the surface on which the unit is mounted. Furthermore, it is obvious that the unit can be inexpensive. Naturally, the various components of the unit can be supplied with different finishes, colors or the like, as desired.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a silent wall butler, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A silent butler, particularly for mounting on a wall or analogous support, comprising a base member mountable on an upright surface of a support; a tray member carried by said base member upwardly spaced therefrom; a first hanger member connected to said base member projecting therefrom and being turnable about an upright axis; an arcuately curved second hanger member on said base member rigid with the latter and projecting beyond opposite lateral sides thereof; and at least one third hanger member provided on said base member and having end sections extending beyond said opposite lateral sides of said base member in substantial parallelism with the general plane of said second hanger member.

2. A silent butler as defined in claim 1, at least said tray member consisting at least in part of synthetic plastic material.

3. A silent butler as defined in claim 1, at least said base member and said hanger members consisting at least in part of metallic material.

4. A silent butler as defined in claim 1, said first hanger member being of tubular configuration and having an outer surface; and frictional retaining means provided on said outer surface so as to prevent slipping-off of trousers folded over said outer surface.

5. A silent butler as defined in claim 1, at least said first and second hanger members being of tubular configuration and having free open sides; and further comprising protective caps closing said open ends.