Knock-down Garment Rack With Selectively Positionable Wheels

Abstract

A knock-down garment rack, which has a main frame member on which are mounted wheels which wheels are selectively positionable in an operative position and in a storage position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to knock-down garment racks, and more particularly to knock-down garment racks having selectively positionable wheels so that the wheels may be folded to provide a compact storage configuration of the rack.

In the garment sales trade the use of rolling garment racks is common practice for transporting and displaying samples. Normally a garment salesman will have a large number of samples which he carries on the rack, and these samples will be grouped in various groupings, each of which groups is protected by some kind of bag. These bags not only afford protection to the garments from the elements, but they also provide a convenient bundle size for the salesman to handle.

In addition to having to move the samples by means of the rack from store to store, it is also necessary in most cases for the salesman to be able to transport the samples and the racks in his automobile. Since the samples present enticing targets for would-be theives, it is undesirable to store these samples in the back seat of a car. Therefore, garment salesmen prefer to store their samples in the trunk.

Also, the garment racks must be stored, which the salesmen prefer to also store in the trunk so that it does not alert theives to the fact that the car has valuable merchandise in it. For this reason, it has been customary to supply knock-down racks which can be stored together with the garments in their bags in the trunk of a car. These knock-down racks must be able to be facilely disassembled for storage in a car and also must be able to be easily reassembled for reception of the garments.

In normal usage when the garments are being stored in the trunk of a car, the bags of garments are first taken off the rack and placed in the trunk, after which the rack is knocked down and placed on top of the garments. The reverse of this procedure is then followed in removing the rack and garments, the rack being removed first and reassembled and then the garments placed thereon.

Because many salesmen carry a large number of garments it is necessary that the racks fold to a minimum size and space so as to be able to be placed within the trunk without damage to the car. This is especially important since the rack is normally the last item placed in, as explained above, and is not soft and conformable like the garments, but rather is relatively rigid. If the rack is not fully contained within the trunk, it will tend to spring the trunk or damage the trunk surface. Thus, even reducing the height in the knocked-down condition by a few inches is important in this type of structure.

While it is relatively easy to provide a low profile in the knocked-down condition of the main support frame by removing the top frame, such is not the case with respect to the wheels on which the frame rolls. In the case of wheels it is desirable to have as large a wheel as is reasonably possible, since the larger the wheel, the more easily the rack will roll over minor obstructions. However, the large sized wheel (for instance, a five-inch wheel) takes up an appreciable amount of room, even in the knocked-down position, and with the necessary mounting hardware can add several inches in the height profile of the base support member of the garment rack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention a knock-down garment rack is provided with wheels which are selectively positionable between an operative position wherein they are disposed to rollingly engage the ground, and a storage position, wherein they are moved to a position with respect to the remainder of the support frame to provide a minimum profile height.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a garment rack in the assembled position incorporating the positionable wheels of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is the garment rack of FIG. 1 in the knocked down position, with the wheels moved to the storage position;

FIG. 3 is a detail sectional view of one of the wheels and the mounting thereof on the frame;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane designated by the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane designated by the line 5--5 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are longitudinal sectional views similar to FIG. 3 showing sequentially the steps of moving the wheel from the operative to the storage position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and for the present to FIG. 1, a knock-down garment rack incorporating positionable wheels according to this invention are shown. The garment rack includes a main frame designated generally as 10 formed of a pair of transversally extending support members 12 and three longitudinally extending ribs 14. Centrally located on each of the support members 12 is an upwardly extending annular collar 16. The collars 16 are disposed to removably support an overhead rack structure designated generally as 18. The rack structure is shown in place in FIG. 1 and is removed in FIG. 2.

At the opposite ends of each of the support members 12 is a wheel structure designated generally as 20. The wheel structures are shown in the operative position in FIG. 1 and are shown rotated to the storage position in FIG. 2. As can be seen comparing FIGS. 1 and 2 the wheels take up an appreciably less vertical distance in FIG. 2 than in FIG. 1, and in fact when the wheel is swivelled to its flat position as is shown in the front left wheel position of FIG. 2, the wheel structure is actually no thicker than the remainder of the main frame 10. Thus the wheels, according to this invention, can be moved to provide a very flat compact configuration for storage of the garment rack in the trunk of a car in the knocked-down position.

The structure which permits the movement of the wheels to this compact storage position is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 through 8 with respect to one support member and one wheel structure. It is to be understood that the other support member and wheel structures are similarly formed and mounted.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 through 5, the support member 12 is formed as a square, hollow tubular structure and has disposed near the end thereof an annular bushing 22. This end structure of the support member 12 is disposed to receive the wheel structure 20.

The wheel structure 20 includes a square hollow tubular section 24, which is adapted in size and shape to slidably fit telescopingly over the end of the support member 12. This square tubular section acts as a mounting member of the wheel structure 20. Disposed within the tubular section 24 is an annular sleeve 26 which has one end thereof projecting outwardly from the tubular section 24 and which is configured and shaped to slidably fit into the bushing 22. The sleeve 26 terminates within the tubular section 24 at an annular shoulder 28 which is positioned to abut against the end of the support member 12, thus coacting therewith to form stop means to limit the sliding movement of the tubular section 24 on the support member 12.

The tubular section 24 mounts a wheel assembly 30. The wheel assembly 30 includes a swivel pin 32, extending through the tubular section 24, and held thereon by means of a nut 34 threadably engaged on the end of the pin 32. A wheel 36 is swivelly mounted on the swivel pin 32.

A biasing spring 38 is disposed within the support member 12 and at one end thereof has a hook 40 which engages the swivel pin 32. The opposite end of the biasing spring 38 is provided with a similar hook which similarly engages the swivel pin of the wheel at the opposite end of the support member 12.

In order to prevent damage to walls and other objects during the use of the garment rack the ends of each of the tubular sections 24 are provided with rubber bumpers 42 held thereon by means of screws 44 engaging flanges 46 within the tubular sections 24.

The operation of the wheel structures and support members for movement between the operative and the storage position is shown sequentially in FIGS. 3 and 6 through 8. In FIG. 3 the wheel structure is shown in the operative position with the square tubular section 24 telescoped over the end of the support member 12, so that the wheel 36 depends downwardly for engaging the ground, this position being that shown in FIG. 1. In order to retract the wheel, the wheel structure 20 is grasped and moved axially to the right against the bias of the biasing spring 38 to the position shown in FIG. 6 wherein the square tubular section 24 has been fully removed from its telescoping engagement with the end of the support member 12, but with the sleeve 26 still engaging the bushing 22. The entire structure 20 is then rotated 90.degree. to the position shown in FIG. 7 and the square tubular section 24 is then allowed to return and telescope over the end of the support member 12 under the urging of the bias of the biasing spring 38, to the fully retracted to the position shown in FIG. 8 wherein the end of the support member 12 engages against the shoulder 28 at the end of the sleeve 26. This is the position of the wheels shown in FIG. 2 and the wheel 36 can be swivelled on the swivel pin 32 to the flat configuration shown in the one wheel in FIG. 2 and shown in phantom in FIG. 8. This actually places the entire wheel structure coincidal with the frame; i.e., the wheel structure is no thicker than the thickness of the frame.

Thus it can be seen that according to the present invention a relatively simple structure is provided wherein a secure wheel mounting is provided to allow the garment rack to be wheeled during normal use with the device being adapted to use as large a wheel as feasible to provide the necessary rolling ability and yet which wheel structure can be folded to an extremely compact form for storage of the garment rack.

Another feature of the mounting structure of the present invention is that this structure resists accidental release of the wheel structure from the operative position when an obstacle is encountered. This resistance to accidental release is a result of a bushing and sleeve configuration for the interconnection between the wheel structure 20 and the support member 12. When an obstruction is encountered and force is exerted both axially and twisting with respect to the wheel structure. The axial component tends to push the wheel structure out of the position shown in FIG. 6 against the bias of the spring 38. However, the twisting component causes a binding to occur between the bushing 22 and the sleeve 26 which resists movement in the axial direction even though there is an axial component of the force. Further, even if there is a loose or sloppy fit between the sleeve 26 and the bushing 22 there will still be a binding action when there is a twisting component of force, such binding action occurring between the sleeve 26 and the interior of the support member 12. Thus while it is relatively easy to move the wheels from the operative to the storage position by pulling in a direct axial direction to thereby cause a wanted movement, it is relatively difficult for the wheels to accidentally be pulled out when an obstruction is encountered due to the twisting force component generated by virtue of the obstruction since the twisting component works in a manner to bind the sleeve within the support member 12, and thereby prevent unintentional separational movement of the wheel structure from the support.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A knock-down garment rack comprising a planar open frame, a garment support structure, means to removably support said garment support structure on said frame in a plane substantially normal to the plane of said frame, said frame including a plurality of interconnected support members, at least two of said support members being tubular and non-circular and extending parallel to each other and laterally beyond the lateral extremities of other members of the frame, a wheel mounting assembly operatively associated with the lateral extensions of said non-circular tubular support members, each wheel mounting assembly including a wheel mounting member complimentarily in shape to said tubular support member with which it is associated, each of said wheel mounting members having a wheel mounted thereon, each of said wheels being mounted on a swivel pin carried by the wheel mounting member extending substantially normal to the axis of said wheel mounting member, each wheel mounting member being mounted for telescoping engagement with the lateral extension of said non-circular tubular support member of said frame in a first position wherein said swivel pin is substantially normal to the plane of the frame for engagement of the wheels on a surface and a second position wherein said swivel pin is substantially coplanar with the plane of the frame to allow the wheel to swivel to a plane coplanar with the plane of the frame, whereby the rack may be disassembled and the frame arranged with the wheels coplanar with the support members to provide minimum thickness configuration.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 further characterized by annular bushing means carried by one of said members and cylindrical sleeve means carried by the other of said members and slidably disposed in said bushing means, thereby mounting said mounting member for axial and rotational movement.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein the sleeve member extends axially a substantial distance beyond the end of the bushing means.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 further characterized by biasing means normally urging said mounting member into engagement with support member, and said members including coacting stop means.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein biasing means interconnects the two mounting members on the support member.