Telescopically moveable and adjustable rack

A mechanical stand for vertically supporting objects is disclosed which includes an upper base section comprised of a tubular structure, having a telescopically movable upper support member, which in the preferred embodiment of the invention could be used as a rack member or a shelf structure. The upper support member is comprised of a tubular member cooperatively profile with the tubular structure of the upper base section to be slidably received therein. The upper support member includes a pushbutton actuator which is operatively connected to a linkage member, which in turn is connected to a locking jaw, whereby actuation of the pushbutton member disengages the locking jaw from the inner surface of the upper base member, allowing various incremental telescopic locations of the upper support member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The field of the invention is related to telescopically extendable,
 vertical weight bearing members, and more particularly to a vertical
 holding member such as for clothing or garments.
 2. Prior Art
 It is common in the clothing industry to have a plurality of racks arranged
 in various areas with clothes such as shirt, pants and coats arranged on
 opposite sides of the clothing rack. Generally these racks are comprised
 of tubular structural members which upstand from the floor and include
 adjustable means such as a spring-loaded pin which can be depressed to
 move an upper bracket upwardly or downwardly to another pre-drilled
 aperture in an outside tubular structure to main the rack in a
 predetermined position.
 While not specifically disclosed for such an application, U.S. Pat. Nos.
 2,892,647; 2,952,485 and 2,415,663 show various mechanisms for retaining a
 structural upper section relative to a support portion which is typically
 sitting on the floor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,846 also shows a device for a
 hospital table.
 What is desired in the marketplace, is a vertically adjustable support
 member, which can be telescopically movable to infinite incremental
 positions, yet is simple in construction, has the ability to maintain a
 great deal of vertical load, and is easily adjustable between the various
 vertical heights.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The objects of the invention have been accomplished by providing a
 mechanical stand assembly for supporting objects, where the stand
 comprises an upper base section and a support member. The support member
 includes a telescopic tube projecting therefrom and within the upper base
 section and further comprises a locking mechanism for maintaining the
 support member at various incremental heights. The locking mechanism
 includes a locking jaw which is pivotably mounted within the stand, and
 has a frictional surface for engagement with a locking surface within the
 upper base section. The locking jaw and the locking surface are vertically
 offset so as to form an over center locking arrangement when downward
 vertical force is applied to the support member, yet with free upward
 vertical movement to adjust the vertical height.
 In another aspect of the invention, the objects were accomplished by
 providing a mechanical stand assembly for supporting objects, where the
 stand comprises an upper base section, a support member, and an actuator
 assembly. The support member is cooperably attached to the upper base
 section allowing vertical movement there between. The actuator assembly
 comprises a locking member which is mounted to the stand assembly and
 which fixes the support member in various vertical positions, and an
 actuator member which moves the jaw into and out of locked engagement,
 thereby allowing for an infinite number of incremental vertical height
 positions for the support member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 With reference first to FIG. 1, the clothing rack assembly is shown
 generally by reference 10 as including a base section 12, which upstands
 from a lower base section or floor support member, shown generally at 16,
 which is used to stabilize the clothing rack assembly 10 in the vertically
 upright position. It should be appreciated that the floor support member
 16, could include any configuration of a base, but as depicted herein, is
 comprised of a plurality of individual floor feet sections, shown at 18,
 having floor pad sections 20. The clothing rack assembly 10 further
 includes independently movable upper support members such as 24 and 26,
 which include bracket support members 28 and 30.
 With respect now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper base section 12 and upper
 support member 24, 26 will be described in greater detail. The upper base
 member 12 is comprised of two side by side tubular members 40 and 42 which
 are identical in nature, and therefore only one such article will be
 described in detail. The tubular member 40 is preferably constructed from
 a metal extruded member such as a rectangular tube and includes a lower
 end section at 44 which can be attached to the floor base section 16 by
 known means such as through fasteners, brackets or by a welded structure.
 At the opposite end of the tubular member 40 is an opening 46 profiled to
 receive one of the upper support members such as 26, as will be described
 in further detail herein. Finally, the upper base section 40 includes an
 inner contour such as at 50 which is profiled to slidably receive either
 of the upper base members 24 or 26, as will be described in greater detail
 herein. The upper base member 12 further includes a strap or band section
 48 to rigidify the two tubular members 40 and 42 together.
 With respect now to FIG. 2, the upper support member such as 24 will be
 described in greater detail. It should be understood that as both members
 24 and 26 are identical, only one such devise will be described. As shown
 in FIG. 2, the upper support member 24 is comprised of a tubular section
 52, an upper pushbutton actuator 54, a linkage member 56, and a locking
 jaw 58. Extending from the upper support member 24 is the lateral support
 bar 28, as described above to hang garments.
 With respect now to the linkage mechanism, the pushbutton member 54, is
 comprised of a body member 62 having an outer peripheral surface 64
 profiled to be received within an inner contour 66 of the tubular column,
 with an upper lip 68 to prevent over-actuation of the pushbutton actuator
 54. The pushbutton actuator 54 further includes an opening at 70 extending
 upwardly through a lower face 72 of the pushbutton member, which is
 profiled to receive the linkage rod 56. It should be appreciated to one of
 ordinary skill in the art that the pushbutton actuator and the linkage
 member could be attached by known means, such as by threading or by
 press-fit or through an epoxy.
 Meanwhile, the linkage rod 56 includes a press or sweat fit collar at 74
 which is opposed from a fixed inner wall 76 having a compression spring 78
 positioned between the collar 74 and the inner wall 76. It should also be
 appreciated that an aperture is positioned at 80 through the inner wall 76
 allowing the uninhibited extension and movement of the linkage rod through
 the upper plate 76. As should be appreciated, the compression spring 78
 spring-loads the collar 74 upwardly, and therefore the linkage rod 56 and
 resultantly, the push-button actuator 54, are in a normally spring-loaded
 position upwardly.
 With reference now to FIGS. 3-6, the locking jaw 58 is shown as a metallic
 cylindrical shaped member, having side surfaces 82 and 84, where a reduced
 thickness section 86 is provided to received the linkage rod 56 as will be
 described herein. The locking jaw 58 further includes a pin-receiving
 aperture at 90 and a further pin-receiving aperture at 92. Preferably, the
 outer circumferential surface 94 of the locking jaw is proved with a
 frictional surface and in the preferred embodiment of the invention, has
 been knurled as at 96 and has been hardened through a subsequent
 heat-treating process. For ease of process, in the preferred embodiment of
 the invention, the entire circumferential surface is knurled. As shown in
 FIG. 3, assembly of the locking jaw 58 to the tube member is as follows.
 The locking jaw 58 is attached to an inner section of the tube member 52 by
 way of a spring point 98, which is interferingly positioned through
 apertures 100 in the tube member 52. It should be appreciated that
 opposite ends of the sporing pin 98 will be interferingly fit in apertures
 100 in opposite sides of the tube member 52, yet will be profiled relative
 to the aperture 90 on the locking jaw, to allow the locking jaw to freely
 rotate about the pin member 98. The linkage rod 56 extends through the
 entire length of the tube member 52 and includes a lower end section at
 104 having a pin member 102 which is interference fit within aperture 92
 of the locking jaw 58. Once again, it should be understood that the pin
 102 be profiled to allow rotation of the linkage rod relative to the pin
 yet be interference fit within the aperture 92 of the locking jaw 58. This
 could be accomplished by a number of means known within the art, that is
 by including an interference fit pin member having an outer head which is
 larger than the aperture at the end of the linkage rod, or could include a
 threaded member including a headed section to retain the linkage rod 56 to
 the locking jaw 58. As shown, a peripheral section 94 of the locking jaw
 58 is positioned adjacent to an opening 106 in the tubular member 52 so it
 can be moved from a position extending outside the periphery of the
 tubular member 52, (FIG. 3) to a position extending inside the tubular
 member 52 by way of actuation of the pushbutton actuator 54 (FIG. 6).
 With reference now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of the telescopic device
 will be described in greater detail. With respect first to the open
 position shown in FIG. 6, it should be appreciated that with the
 push-button actuator 54 in the activated state, that is when the
 push-button is engaged such that the linkage rod 56 is fully extended, the
 locking jaw 58 rotates in a clockwise sense about the pivot pin 98 as
 viewed in the position of FIG. 4. It should be appreciated that the
 locking jaw 58, in this position, is not in engagement with the inside
 wall 50 of the outer tube member 40 and therefore due to the sliding fit
 between the inner and outer tubular members, 40 and 52, of the upper
 support member and the vertical base portion 40, the upper support member
 26 can be moved to virtually any incremental vertical position
 telescopically, only being limited by the overlapping length of the
 tubular members 40 and 52. However, with reference to FIG. 5, when the
 pushbutton 54 is disengaged, that is when the spring is allowed to move
 the pushbutton upwardly, thereby retracting the linkage rod 56 also
 upwardly, the locking jaw 58 rotates in a counter-clockwise sense, thereby
 bringing the outer peripheral surface 96 into engagement with the inner
 surface 50 of the outer tubular member 40. It should be appreciated that
 due to the over-centered nature of the pin 98 and frictional engagement
 contact surface, that is the offset Y1, (FIG. 5) a downward vertical load
 on the bracket 28, will cause the locking jaw 58 to tend to bite in
 further into the inner surface 50 thereby tightening the inner 52 and
 outer 40 tubular members together. It should be appreciated that the
 device as shown herein, shows an easy mechanism for adjusting the height
 of such support structures which can be moved through any virtual
 incremental number of vertical locations.
 Also advantageously, shown in FIG. 7, the rack of the present invention can
 be positioned at different vertical heights for different articles of
 clothing, for example one side could be at one vertical height for such
 clothing articles as topcoats or raincoats while the opposite side could
 be used for short jackets, or shirts. So is the case even when fully
 loaded, as the actuator 54 is easily accessible to the user. The user can
 simply grasp the support member 24 with one hand, and depress the button
 54, and move the support member 54 upwardly or downwardly as is required
 for the display. To ensure that the hangers, and the clothing which they
 hold, does not slip off the brackets 28, end caps 110 prevent such
 slippage.