Holder For Articles

Abstract

A holder for articles has a compartmentalized bowl housing for storing the articles and a telescoping rod suspension assembly rotatably mounting the bowl. The holder assembly is adaptable to be selectively suspended from an overhead support or mounted on an underlying surface. The telescoping rod assembly is operative to raise and lower the bowl with respect to either the overhead or underlying support.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 868,836, filed Oct. 23, 1969 now abandoned which was copending with and was a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 852,626, filed Aug. 25, 1969, now abandoned.

Description

The present invention relates to a holder for articles and more particularly to such holder unit which may be selectively mounted on an underlying supporting surface such as a floor or suspended from an overhead support such as a ceiling.

In commercial, as well as household applications, there is a need for a general purpose holder for storing articles which may be retracted to an out-of-the-way position when not in use and which may be selectively and easily extended into the ready-to-use position when required. Such an overhead holder is particularly useful in commercial applications such as in the case of hairdressing salons where the client is typically seated and the hairdresser has need for selective access to various types of articles for "setting" the hair-do such as hair rollers, pins, clips and the like, or in the case of mechanical or electrical repair shops where the technician requires ready access to component parts with a minimum of interference in his work area.

Presently, in the just described commercial applications, ordinary rolling carts having appropriate receptacles therein are employed to convey the component parts or articles needed by the operator, to his work area.

However, in the above-mentioned commercial applications, as well as in most work situations, the operator requires a maximum of space surrounding the object of his work. Thus, in the case of the hairdressing salon, the hairdresser during the course of his work finds it necessary to walk around his seated client, and/or rotate the chair. Also, in the case of a mechanic or technician assembling or repairing some apparatus, he must be free to move freely in his work area, and in both of these cases the presence of a rolling cart in the work space aisles obstructs free passage and hinders the operator in carrying out his duties.

It is recognized, or course, that there may be instances where it is advantageous to have a general purpose holder mounted on an underlying supporting surface such as a floor.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a general purpose article holder selectively mountable to an overhead and floor mounted position.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an article holder of the character described which is retractable in the vertical direction.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an article holder of the character described which is pivotable and rotatable in the horizontal plane to facilitate free access to the contents thereof.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of an article holder in accordance with the preceding objects adaptable to mount one or more electrical appliances therein.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention there is provided a holder for articles comprising a base adaptable for connection to a supporting surface, receptacle means for storing articles and elongated means mounting the receptacle means to the base. The mounting means includes retraction means operative to selectively extend and shorten the effective length of the mounting means to thereby raise and lower the receptacle means with respect to the supporting surface.

The features of the invention which are believed novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and features thereof may best be understood with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention, shown in the extended and retracted positions;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1 showing The retraction unit in the retracted position;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along the line 3--3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 4--4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken along the line 5--5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 8--8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an elevation view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a section view taken along the line 10--10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a section view taken along the line 12--12 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the present invention shown in one operative position;

FIG. 14 is an elevation section view taken along the line 14--14 in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 15--15 in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line 16--16 of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 17 is an elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 13 shown in a second operative position.

Referring to the drawings the features of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-12 will be described in connection with the application of the present invention for use in hairdressing salons, it being understood that the use of the article holders shown and described therein is not limited thereto but, as indicated hereinabove, may be employed in a variety of applications such as, but not limited to, mechanical or electrical repair shops, assembly lines or in the home.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, an article holder made in accordance with the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The holder 10 comprises a bowl-shaped receptacle 12 supported from the ceiling 14 by a telescoping rod support 16.

Bowl 12, which may be made of lightweight molded plastic is divided into a plurality of receptacle cups 18 which may be molded integrally with bowl 12 to provide separate compartments for the various articles to be stored therein. Rod support 16 comprises an upper rod assembly 20 which is fixedly mounted to ceiling 14 by means of a suitable mounting bracket 22 in the known manner employed to mount ordinary light fixtures, and a lower rod assembly 24 to which bowl 12 is secured. Interconnecting upper and lower rod assemblies 20 and 24, is a retraction unit 26, which, as hereinafter described in greater detail, allows bowl 12 to be extended downwardly from its raised position (shown in solid outline) to its lowered position (shown in dotted outline) as shown in FIG. 1.

In operation, holder 10 is installed in the ceiling 14, so that when in the extended position as shown in FIG. 1, bowl 12 will be suspended alongside the chair of the client. When not in use, holder 10 is in the retracted, i.e., raised position whereby bowl 12 remains suspended from ceiling 14 at an elevated position, i.e., bowl 12 is about 1 or 2 feet spaced away from ceiling 14, and thus elevationally free and clear of both the hairdresser and his seated client. However, when the hairdresser needs to have access to the contents of bowl 12, he reaches up to grasp handle 28 located at the lower terminal end of lower rod assembly 20, and pulls downwardly thereby bringing bowl 12 down to a suitable height (approximately waist-high) to permit comfortable and easy access to bowl 12 by the hairdresser.

Referring to FIG. 2, retraction unit 26 comprises a clock spring mechanism 29 having a pulley 30 on which is wound a cord 32 which supports holder 10 in the suspended condition while allowing telescoping upper and lower rod assemblies 20 and 24 to be extended and retracted. Upper rod assembly 20 comprises an outer tubular rod 34 fixedly secured to mounting plate 22 and slidably receiving inner tubular rod 36 which is fixedly secured to the mounting frame 31. Inner tubular rod 36 has a bore 37 suitably dimensioned to allow free sliding of upper cord portion 32a therethrough.

Clock spring mechanism 29, which is of the "wrap-around" type, comprises pulley 30 which is rotatably centrally mounted on pin 33 which in turn is fixedly supported at its terminal ends in apertures 31a and 31b in mounting frame 31 by means of a dowel pin 36 and a threaded wing nut 38. Mechanism 29 comprises a "wrap-around" clock spring 40 fixedly secured to pulley 30, so that when bowl 12 is pulled down, thereby pulling down the lower cord portion 32b and causing cord coil 32c to unwind, clock spring 40 is rendered into a condition of increasing tension. When bowl 12 has been thus lowered to a suitable level, it is latched in this position by virtue of the action of a ratchet mechanism 42 as shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. Retraction unit 26 may be provided with a shell-shaped housing 39 comprising a pair of opposing outerfitting hollow hemisphere portions 39a and 39b which interlock at central mounting pin 33 by any conventional means, e.g., snap-fitting engagement, as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, mechanism 42 comprises a central stationary ratchet 44 surrounded by a plurality of pawls 46 mounted for free rotation by means of pins 48 on a mounting ring 50 which is fixedly mounted concentrically to pulley 30. Ratchet 44 is mounted and fixedly secured to mounting pin 33. Accordingly, when bowl 12 is lowered, as described above, pawl ring 50 rotates with respect to stationary ratchet 44, and when the pull-down force is released, the pawls 46 pivot about their mounting pins 48 in response to gravitational action, and the appropriate pawls 46 engage ratchet teeth 52 in a locking action to thereby prevent further rotation. When it is desired to raise bowl 12 to the upper position, by pulling downwardly on handle 28, bowl 12 is lowered slightly to release pawls 46 from their locking action with stationary ratchet 44, to allow bowl 12 to rise to the retracted position under the force of clock spring 40 which has been previously rendered into the condition of increased tension.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-7, lower rod assembly 24 comprises an outer tubular rod 54 having handle 28 fixedly secured thereto at its lower terminal end in screw-threaded engagement. Outer rod 54 is provided with a bore 56 of suitable size so as to slidably receive inner tubular rod 58 which has its upper end fixedly secured to the bottom of mounting frame 31, as shown in FIG. 2. Grip handle 28 is fixedly attached to the lower end of coiled cord 32b, so that when bowl 12 is in the retracted position as illustrated in FIG. 2, the spring action of clock spring 40 urges outer rod 54 upward against the shoulder portion 58a of inner rod 58, and likewise, the shoulder portion 36a of inner rod 36 is urged into abutment with the lower rim of outer rod 34 which is secured to ceiling 14. Thus, when handle 28 is pulled down, inner rod 36 slides out of outer rod 34 and outer rod 54 slides away to reveal inner rod 58.

Bowl 12 is in the form of an integrally formed hollow hemisphere divided into four quadrant cup sections 18 by walls 60 which extend radially outward from rod assembly 54. Walls 60 which extend to the rim 12a of bowl 12, are provided, at the upper edges thereof with flanges 62 which meet centrally in a central portion 63 having a central aperture 63a to slidably receive outer rod 54 therethrough. Bowl 12 is secured to lower rod assembly 24 for rotation thereon by means of lower and upper circular disc-shaped supports 64 and 66 fixedly secured to outer rod 54 at suitably spaced locations thereon, so that the central portion 63 of flanges 62 abuts upper support 66 when the bottom of outer wall 12b is seated on lower support 64. Thus, bowl 12 may be easily rotated in the horizontal plane to facilitate access by the hair-dresser to the several compartment cups 18 containing the hair-dressing articles 68 which may conveniently be segregated by kind in the cups 18.

Referring to FIGS. 6-8 another embodiment of the present invention is shown, which is similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 4, with the exception that bowl 13 is provided with removable container cups 70, each of which comprise a pair of side walls 72 and 74 intersecting at right angles and a third shell-shaped side wall 76 extending from the other ends of sidewalls 72 and 74. FIG. 6 shows three cups 70 seated in bowl 12 with one cup 70 removed therefrom. Sidewalls 72, 74 and 76 terminate at their upper edges in an outwardly extending peripheral flange 78 and cups 70 are suitably sized so that when cup 70 is placed in the corresponding conforming compartment cavity in bowl 12, as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom surfaces of cup flange 78 seat on bowl rim 12a, bowl flanges 62 and central flange portion 63, as shown in FIG. 7. The provision of removable cups 70 enables the hair-dresser to easily remove the same for placement of articles therein or their removal and also facilitates cleaning of the cups 70.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, there is shown another embodiment of the present invention wherein the position of the holder 10 with respect to the client seated in the chair 80, may be varied. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in accommodating hairdressers who may be either righthanded or lefthanded and accordingly would require that the bowl 12 be located on one or the other sides of the client to facilitate easy access to the hair rollers 68. In the arrangement of FIGS. 9 and 10, the upper rod assembly 20, rather than being fixedly secured to a mounting plate 22 in the ceiling 14, is fixedly attached to a horizontal swivel arm 82 which is mounted on ceiling 14 for rotational movement in the horizontal plane parallel to ceiling 14.

Arm 82 extends at one end in an L-bend 84 which terminates in a ball 86 which is mounted for free rotation in a ball socket 88 which is fixedly secured to ceiling 14. Thus the operator may position holder 10 at any point along the arc 90 in order for maximum comfort and accessibility of the hairdressing articles during the course of his work.

It is understood that various other arrangements may be employed to permit selective variation of the position of holder 10 with respect to the client who is seated in chair 80. One of these alternate arrangements is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 wherein holder 10 is fixedly mounted at its upper end to an axle rod 92 which is mounted between a pair of rollers 94. Rollers 94 are located in an arc-shaped channel 96 which is fastened to ceiling 14 at its upper end and is provided with a slot 98 in the bottom wall 99 running parallel to channel walls 100 and 102 throughout the length of channel 96 to permit free passage of upper rod assembly 20 therethrough. Channel 96 which is closed at both ends extends arcuately from one side to the other side of chair 80 in a path similar to arm 90 of FIG. 10. Thus, as in the case of FIG. 10, the operator may selectively position holder 10 to suit his working convenience by moving holder 10 so that rollers 92 which travel on the track defined by spaced bottom wall portions 99a and 99b to the desired position.

It will be understood that the above-described embodiments of the present invention are not limited to a particular choice of materials for the components parts thereof. However, by way of example, bowl 12, cups 70 and retraction unit housing 39 may be made of molded plastic material, cord 32 of high strength nylon cord and rod assemblies 20 and 24 of hard plastic or metal.

In order to enhance the appearance thereof and to enable the holder of the present invention to conform with the decor of the interior of the hairdressing salon wherein it is to be used, the exterior wall 12b of bowl 12 may be suitably decorated with an appropriate ornamental design.

Referring to FIGS. 13-17, a general purpose holder made in accordance with the present invention in another embodiment thereof is designated generally by the reference numeral 110. Holder 110, as will hereinafter become apparent, is similar in its structural features and basic principles of operation to the previously described embodiments of FIGS. 1-12, except that it is adaptable to be selectively suspended from an overhead support such as a ceiling 112, as shown in FIG. 13 or mounted upright in a reversed position on an underlying support such as a floor 114, as shown in FIG. 17.

Holder 110 has a bowl housing 116 comprising a pair of opposing hollow hemispherical bowls, i.e., a compartmentalized lower bowl 118 adapted to store articles therein in a similar manner to bowl 12 of FIGS. 1-12, and an upper bowl 120 separable from lower bowl 118 and adapted to fixedly receive therein one or more applicances, such as a light bulb 122 and a radio receiver 124.

Holder 110 further includes an upper rod assembly 126 comprising an outer rectangular tubular rod 128 operatively secured at its upper end to a ball joint 130 extending centrally from a base plate 132 which may be provided with a pair of mounting holes 134, 136 for receiving a corresponding pair of bolts 138, 140 for securing holder 110 to ceiling 112 as shown in FIG. 14. Upper rod assembly 126 further comprises an inner tubular rod 142 which terminates at its upper end in an outwardly extending rectangular flange 144 suitably sized so as to be slidably received in the bore of the outer rod 128. Outer rod 128 terminates at its lower end in an inwardly extending flange 146 which engages the underside of inner rod flange 144 to limit the downward movement of inner rod 142 with respect to outer rod 128.

Holder 110 further comprises a lower rod assembly 148, comprises an outer tubular rod 150 integrally molded with lower bowl 118 and an inner tubular rod 152 fixedly secured at its lower end to lower bowl 118 by means of a bolt and retaining ring assembly 154. Inner rod 152 extends upwardly through outer rod 150 and terminates at its upward end in a flange 156 which is slidably received in the bore of inner rod 142 in the same manner as flange 144 is received in outer rod 128. Again, in the same manner as the engagement of rod 142 with rod 128, rod 142 is provided with an inward flange 158 at a point intermediate its length to engage flange 156 in similar abutting engagement as that described with respect to flanges 144 and 146 to limit the relative movement of rod 152 with respect to rod 142.

Lower bowl 118 is provided with similar compartmentalized receptacles 160 as that shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-12 and may be additionally provided with a central integrally molded cup 162 for additional storage of articles. Upper bowl 120 is secured to rod 142 by a pair of retaining rings 164 and 166 while rod 150 is secured at its upper end to inner rod 152 by a retaining ring 168.

Electrical wires 170 and 172 extend respectively from lamp 122 and radio receiver 124 through rods 152, 142 and 128 through central aperture 174 of base plate 132 for connection to an ordinary electrical outlet (not shown).

In the foregoing description of the assembly of rods 152, 142 and 128 it is understood that these rods are made of suitable material such as aluminum or hard plastic and are suitably dimensioned such that when mounted as shown in FIG. 13, the frictional forces between their respective flanges and the mating interior surfaces of the rods are sufficient to maintain bowls 120 and 118 in the closed position as shown in FIG. 15, or in the fully extended open position of FIG. 13, or in any intermediate open position which may be manually positioned as desired. Thus the aforementioned frictional forces are such as to maintain bowls 118 and 120 in any selected fixed position with respect to each other or with respect to base plate 132 within the limits of movement of rods 152, 142 and 128 as described hereinabove.

Referring to FIG. 17, holder 110 of FIG. 13 may be modified so that the interior structures of the bowls 120 and 118 are reversed so as to allow for reverse mounting of holder 110 on an underlying support such as a floor 114 rather than from an overhead support, e.g., ceiling 112. Thus, in FIG. 17, bowl 176 would be provided with compartmentalized receptacles (not shown) similar to those in bowl 118 shown in FIG. 13 and bowl 178 would be provided with a lamp and radio receiver (not shown) similar to that provided in bowl 120 of FIGS. 13 and 15. In all respects the operation of holder 110 of FIG. 17 is similar to that described with respect to FIG. 13. It is understood that plate 132 in FIG. 17 may be freely seated on floor 114 or fixedly secured thereto as desired.

Ball joint 130 allows free rotational and pivotal movement of the holders 110 of FIGS. 13 and 17 to provide selective adjustment of the position of these holders as required.

It is understood that although the above-described rods in FIGS. 13-17 are shown to be rectangular in cross-section they can be made to be circular in cross-section as in the previously described embodiments without departing from the principles of operation just described.

While there has been shown particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that it is not wished to be limited thereto, since modification may be made in the construction of the bowl, rod assemblies and retraction unit and it is contemplated in the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for articles comprising a base adaptable for connection to an overhead support receptacle means for storing articles and mounting means for mounting said receptacle means to said base, said mounting means being operative to selectively extend and shorten the effective length thereof to thereby raise and lower said receptacle means with respect to said overhead support, said mounting means comprising telescoping rod means for suspending said receptacle means including upper and lower telescoping rod assemblies and retraction means interconnecting said upper and lower telescoping rod assemblies, said receptacle means being secured to said lower telescoping rod assembly, said retraction means comprising a pulley and a cord coiled in said retraction means and extending the length of said telescoping rod means coaxially therethrough.

2. A holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said retraction means includes a pulley about which said cord is coiled.

3. A holder as defined in claim 2 wherein said retraction means further includes a clock spring operatively connected to said pulley whereby said clock spring is operative to render the retraction means into a condition of increasing retraction force when said cord coil is unwound to extend the effective length of said suspension means.

4. A holder as defined in claim 3 wherein said retraction means further comprises latching means for releasably locking said suspension means into a selectively variable extended condition.

5. A holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said receptacle means is mounted for free rotation in the horizontal plane.

6. A holder for articles comprising a base adaptable for connection to a supporting surface with an overhead support, receptacle means for storing articles comprising upper and lower hemispheric bowls in separable opposing relationship; suspension means comprising telescoping rod means for mounting said receptacle means to said overhead support and to selectively extend and shorten the effective length thereof to thereby raise and lower said receptacle means with respect to said overhead support, said telescoping means comprising a first hollow rod adaptable to be secured to said supporting surface, a second hollow rod slidably received in said first hollow rod in telescoping relationship therewith, said upper bowl being fixedly secured to said second hollow rod, and a third hollow rod slidably received in said second hollow rod in telescoping relationship therewith with said lower bowl being fixedly secured to said third hollow rod.

7. A holder as defined in claim 6 wherein said upper bowl includes at least one electrical appliance mounted in the interior thereof.