Foldable clothes warmer

A joint device for providing hinged movement between a first and second arm member and for providing independent delivery of electrical power to the arm members, wherein said device includes a central portion for receiving at least two sets of electrical conductors and for delivering said at least one set of electrical conductors to each of said arm members, characterised in that upon hinged movement of the arm members about the central portion, the central portion maintains the conductors in a spaced apart relationship in a manner such that the structural integrity of said conductors is maintained for a predetermined minimum number of hinged movement cycles of said arm members.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of clothes warmers for warming clothes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a collapsible clothes warmer for warming clothes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Stands or racks for the heating or warming of clothes, for example, towels or other bathroom apparel, are often used to preheat or warm such clothes prior to being worn or used by a user. Particularly, in countries having a relatively cold ambient temperatures during the winter months, particularly European in countries, the use of such racks is often used to also remove small amounts of moisture accumulated in clothes whilst providing a pre-heated clothing which mitigates the impact of temperature differential between the clothes and the user upon the user dressing in the clothes.

Such devices as those described above are typically powered by mains power and heating elements are placed at or adjacent rack-liked portions which hold the clothes, the heating elements applying heatable warmth to the clothes either via convection or conduction, thus imparting warmth to the clothes. Due to the relatively close exposure of the heating elements to a user, such devices should comply with CE marking and GS mark, in particular when used in European countries. With the exception of some higher risk products, most products can be self-declared to meet the essential requirements by a manufacturer. While the use of a CE marking permits a product's access to the European Union, it is not an approval certification, and a CE marking is only a declaration of the supplier's own responsibility. Thus, while allowing products to be placed on the European market, such marking allows for the free movement of goods and permits the withdrawal of non-conforming or offending products.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes warmer which overcomes or substantially alleviates at least some of the deficiencies exhibited by those of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a broad general aspect, the present invention provides a joint device for providing hinged movement between a first and second arm member for providing independent delivery of electrical power to the arm members, wherein said device includes a central portion for receiving at least two sets of electrical conductors and delivering at least one set of electrical conductors to each of said arm members characterised in that upon hinged movement of the arm members about the central portion, the central portion maintains the conductors in a spaced apart relationship in a manner such that the structural integrity of said conductors is maintained for a predetermined minimum number of hinged movement cycles of said arm members.

The predetermined number of hinged movement cycles is preferably that of which to satisfy regulatory approval standards for electrical components. Preferably, the central portion is adapted to provide a pivot axis and said electrical conductors are received axially by the central portion and are distributed radially outwardly to each of said arm members. The electrical conductors are preferably received in an axial bore within said central portion and said central portion includes a web portion for maintaining the electrical conductors spaced apart from each other.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a joint device for providing hinged movement between a first and second arm member for providing independent delivery of electrical power to the arm members, said device comprising a first boss member having a passage extending there through, said first boss member being fixed relative to a first arm member; a second boss member having a passage extending there through, the passage of the first boss member being coaxially aligned with that of the second boss member, said second boss member being fixed relative to the second arm member; a central pivot member including a spigot portion adapted to extend at least partly through the central passages of the boss members to allow relative hinged movement between the first arm member and the second arm member; a central passage for receiving a first electrical conductor for delivery of electrical power to the first arm member a second electrical conductor for delivery of electrical power to the second arm member; and a separation portion for maintaining the first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor in a spaced apart relationship upon relative hinged movement between the first arm member and the second arm member.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a foldable frame for warming of clothes, said frame comprising a first arm assembly including a pair generally elongate first arm members being maintained in a parallel spaced apart relationship by a plurality of elongate clothes hanging members extending there between; a second arm assembly including a pair generally elongate second arm members being maintained in a parallel spaced apart relationship by a plurality of elongate clothes hanging members extending there between; a first joint device and a second joint device disposed between adjacent ends of the first and second arm members respectively in a manner so as to provide relative hinged movement between the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly; wherein at least one joint device comprises a first boss member having a passage extending there through, said first boss member being fixed relative to an adjacent first arm member; a second boss member having a passage extending there through, the passage of the first boss member being coaxially aligned with that of the second boss member, said second boss member being fixed relative to an adjacent second arm member; a central pivot member including a spigot portion adapted to extend at least partly through the central passages of the boss members to allow relative hinged movement between the first arm member and the second arm member; a central passage for receiving a first electrical conductor for delivery of electrical power to the first arm assembly via the adjacent first arm member for supplying power to a heating element associated with the elongate clothes hanging members, and for receiving a second electrical conductor for delivery of electrical power to the second arm assembly via the adjacent second arm member for supplying power to a heating element associated with the second arm member; and a separation portion for maintaining the first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor in a spaced apart relationship upon relative hinged movement between the first arm member and the second arm member.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly are preferably independently moveable relative to each other from a non-erect configuration whereby the arm assemblies extend from the joint devices in a downward direct to an erect configuration whereby the arm assemblies extend in generally horizontal plane.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a foldable frame assembly for warming of clothes, said assembly comprising at least one foldable frame according to any of the above aspects and a support stand for supporting said at least one foldable frame at the first joint member and the second joint member to allow independent movement of the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly.

In an embodiment of the third aspect, the frame assembly preferably comprises a first pair of vertical support members each being disposed in a vertical orientation and engaged with the first and second joint members; an upper bracing member and a lower bracing member each extending generally horizontally above and below the at least one foldable frame respectively and between the first pair of vertical support members; a second pair of vertical support members each being disposed in a vertical orientation between the first pair of vertical support members and spaced apart so as to allow free relative hinged movement between the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly from a lowered position to an erect horizontal position; and upper and lower tie members extending from the upper and lower ends of the second pair of vertical support members and hingedly engaged with the upper and lower bracing members respectively so as to allow the second pair of vertical support members to be moved adjacent the first pair of vertical support members when the at least one foldable frame is a the lowered position.

Preferably the foldable frame assembly further comprising a detachably engageable engagement mechanism for engaging the first and second arm assemblies with the second pair of vertical support members.

In embodiments of the first, second and third aspects, the first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor preferably extend through at least one of the support members first pair of vertical support members.

The central pivot member preferably further includes a mounting portion for engagement with a support stand. The central passage of the central pivot member preferably extends through the mounting portion.

The first boss member and the second boss member preferably have generally circular passages, and the spigot portion of central spigot member is generally circular in shape.

Preferably the first boss member and the second boss member each have radially disposed apertures therein for passage of the first and second electrical conductors to the first and second arm members respectively. The separating portion of the central pivot member is preferably provided as a web formation extending at least partly axially in the central passage.

The first boss member, the second boss member and the central pivot member are preferably formed from a material having electrical insulating properties. More preferably the first boss member, the second boss member and the central pivot member are formed from a polymeric material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description refers to preferred embodiments of an analogue timepiece according to the present invention. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made in the description to the accompanying drawings whereby the adapter is illustrated in preferred embodiments. Similar components between the embodiments are identified by the same reference numerals.

Referring toFIGS. 1a,1b,1cand1d, there is shown a joint device10for providing hinged movement between a first and a second arm member40,40aand providing independent delivery of electrical power to the arm members40,40avia electrical cables20,20a. The joint device10includes a first boss member30, which is formed integrally with the first am member40in the present embodiment, and a second boss member30a, again which is formed integrally in the present embodiment with the second arm member40a. A central pivot member12is provided which includes a spigot portion16which is adapted to extend through passages of the bosses30,30aso as to provide a pin joint and allow hinged motion between arm member40and arm member40a.

ReferringFIGS. 2a,2band2c, there is shown an embodiment of a foldable frame for warming clothes according to the present invention. The foldable frame40includes a first arm assembly which includes a pair of generally elongate first arm members being maintained in a parallel spaced part relationship by a plurality of elongate clothes hanging members42extending there between. A second arm assembly is also provided which also includes a pair of generally elongate second arm members30aalso being maintained in a parallel spaced part relationship by a plurality of clothes hanging members42extending there between. Between the first arm assembly and second arm assembly, a first joint device and a second joint device are disposed between adjacent ends of the first and second arm members30,30arespectively in a manner so as to provide a relatively hinged movement between the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly. In the present embodiment, one joint device is that as described with reference toFIGS. 1a-1daccording to the present invention for providing electrical power to the plurality of elongate clothes hanging members42on which clothes are placed so as to affect heating or warming of the clothes.

As shown inFIG. 2a, the foldable frame is in a collapsed configuration whereby the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly are generally parallel to each other. The foldable frame40may be extended as shown inFIG. 2asuch that the first arm assembly is hinged relative to the second arm assembly to a horizontal state, whilst the spigot portion of the first joint device10is maintained in the same rotational relationship. Further, as shown inFIG. 2c, the second arm assembly may also be hinged relative to the first arm assembly whilst the spigot portion12of the joint device10is again maintained in the same rotational relationship.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is necessary that the power cables20and20ado not interfere with each other and are not exposed to fatigue which may ultimately rupture the cables and for safety concerns and potentially electrician to a user. The present invention provides a joint device10which allows the hinged movement between the two arm assemblies whilst maintaining electrical installation and integrity of the electrical cables20,20awhich provide power to heating elements which are disposed at or adjacent the elongate clothes hanging members42. The joint device10of the present invention is adapted to allow for multiple independent movements by the arm assemblies without the integrity of the electric cables being compromised. Thus, an expandable foldable frame for warming clothes may be provided which allows the advantage of rapid disassembly and storage when not in use.

Referring toFIGS. 3a,3band3c, a detailed view of the central pivot member12of the joint device10according to the present invention is shown. The central pivot member10includes a spigot portion16which acts as a pin joint when disposed within the passages32,32aof the first and second boss members30,30a. As such, the first arm member40and the second arm member40aare provided with hinged relative motion, relative to each other. The central pivot member12has a central passage14,14afor receiving electrical power conductors20,20a, and a separation portion13which maintains the first electric conductor20and the second electric conductor20ain a spaced part relationship upon relative hinged movement between the first arm member40and the second arm member40a.

Referring toFIGS. 3fand3g, the first boss member30and the second boss member30aeach have radially disposed apertures for passage of the first and second electrical conductors20,20afrom the central passage of the central pivot member12to the first and second arm members40,40arespectively. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, electrical communication can be provided by the present invention to both the first arm member40and the second arm member40athroughout hinged movement of the arm members without interference of the electrical conductors20,20awith each other and without excessive movement or twisting of the electrical conductors20,20aso as to provide good endurance and fatigue life of the conductors thus providing a safe manner in which to transfer electrical power ultimately from the conductors to the heating elements disposed in or adjacent the elongate hanging members42.

Referring toFIGS. 4a,4band4c, there is an exemplary embodiment of a foldable frame assembly50for warming clothes according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the frame assembly50includes a foldable frame40similar or same as depicted in reference toFIGS. 2a,2band2c, and a support stand for supporting the foldable frame40. Similarly as described with the erecting and folding process with reference toFIGS. 2a,2band2c, the foldable frame assembly50also provides for foldable and storable configuration of the frame when the foldable frame40is in a non-erect state. As will be appreciated, this allows for ease of storage of the foldable frame assembly50when not in use.

As shown inFIGS. 5a,5band5c, similarly as depicted with reference toFIGS. 4a,4band4c, a foldable frame assembly60is shown, however in the present embodiment, three foldable frames40are used for providing increased area of warming or heating of clothes. Again, as will be appreciated, the foldable frame assembly60is readily disassembled and foldable so as to allow for planet configuration and ease of storage.

Now referring toFIGS. 6a,6band6c, exemplary embodiments of foldable frame assemblies70,80and90as shown, whereby a one-tier, two-tier and three-tier assembly is implemented respectively. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, electrical connection and wiring may be effected within the frame so as to provide power for heating to each of the foldable frames depending on the number provided and the particular configuration. Further, as will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art, by providing a device as depicted and shown in the present invention, heating of clothes may be effected safely and efficiently by a foldable frame assembly which allows ease of storage whilst still maintaining safety to a user due to the joint device as provided by the present invention. Thus, an effective heating or warming frame may be provided without compromising the safety of a user of such a device.

It will be appreciated that the above described embodiments may take alternate forms and include additional features which, when used with the present invention, remain within the scope and spirit of the invention as described and claimed.