Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a free-standing rack for hanging and supporting scuba diving or other wet equipment when not in use and particularly during cleaning, drying and storage thereof. The rack includes at least three support legs extending from a top point and a plurality of dive equipment holders attached to at least one of the supporting legs at points along its length. The rack of the present invention provides a free-standing and inherently stabile structure which can be easily collapsed for storage when not in use and quickly and easily expanded for use in a variety of locations. The rack is highly storable and portable in its collapsed state but is also movable in its expanded state, even with equipment supported thereon.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The subject invention is generally directed to a device for storing scuba dive equipment such as fins, wetsuits, masks and the like when not in use. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable, free-standing rack for storing dive equipment which facilitates cleaning and drying of the equipment when wet as well as storing the equipment when not in use.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Scuba diving continues to grow in popularity as a recreational sport, particularly in geographic areas in close proximity to bodies of water which support numerous species of color fish, coral and the like. Frequent divers invest significant amounts of money in purchasing the quality equipment which is necessary to participate in this activity. Less frequent or first-time divers will often rent dive equipment from dive shops or other retailers as they learn more about the sport.  
           [0003]    Both the retailers and the frequent divers recognize that cleaning (or at least rinsing) the equipment between uses can be an essential step in extending the useful life of the equipment as well as for personal safety and hygiene purposes. This is particularly true when diving in salt water as salt crystals left by evaporating sea water can cause significant damage to the equipment and, in the worst case, cause the devices which support underwater breathing to stop functioning. Whether or not the equipment is cleaned, it is also important for personal comfort and hygiene purposes that the equipment be allowed to dry (completely if possible) between uses or before extended storage.  
           [0004]    There exists in the prior art a number of devices for storing and holding dive equipment. For example, wall mountable structures constructed of PVC pipe and hangers such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,056,693 and 4,978,043 are well known in the art. These devices, while useful, are not self-supporting but require attachment to a permanent wall, support rod or similar structure for use. They are therefore usefull only in areas where such supplemental supporting structures can be found and could damage the supplemental support structure if excessive loads are applied Further, should these devices be used to hold dive equipment during cleaning, the cleaning solution, water spray or waste effluent could damage the surrounding support structure. Other devices, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,394 or that sold under the trade name “Scubamate” are self-supporting or stand-alone structures but are not easily collapsible for storage and transportation and then quickly expandable for use. Further, devices such as that described in the &#39;394 patent or the product sold under the trade name “Rinse Master Pro” require direct connection to a water source during use, thereby limiting the device&#39;s mobility during use. In addition, many of the existing devices are supported by multiple wheels, making them difficult to operate on sandy, uneven, or sloped surfaces.  
           [0005]    A need therefore exists for a free-standing, portable rack for storing and cleaning dive equipment which is sufficiently strong and stable to support standard dive equipment while being easily collapsible for storage, expandable as needed, movable during use, and adaptable to various outdoor surfaces.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention meets this need and achieves additional benefits and advantages as set forth in more detail below by providing a rack for hanging and supporting dive equipment when not in use and particularly during cleaning, drying and storage thereof. The support rack includes at least three support legs extending from a top point and a plurality of dive equipment holders attached to at least one of the supporting legs at points along its length. The support rack of the present invention provides a self-supporting and inherently stabile structure which can be easily collapsed for storage when not in use and quickly and easily expanded for use in a variety of locations. The rack is highly storable and portable in its collapsed state but is also movable in its expanded state, even with equipment supported thereon. In addition, the individually adjustable support legs promote safe operation even on rough or uneven outdoor surfaces. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of the rack of the present invention in an expanded position.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of the rack of the present invention in an expanded position and resting on a sloped surface.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of the rack of the present invention in an expanded position and supporting selected pieces of common SCUBA diving equipment.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the rack of FIG. 1 in a collapsed position with hangers removed.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a hanger of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6( a ) is a perspective view of the top of the rack of a first embodiment of the present invention with the rack in a collapsed position and with hangers removed.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6( b ) is a perspective view of the top of the rack of a first embodiment of the present invention with the rack in an expanded position.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7( a ) is a perspective view of the top of the rack of a second embodiment of the present invention with the rack in a collapsed position.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7( b ) is a perspective view of the top of the rack of a second embodiment of the present invention with the rack in an expanded position.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8( a ) is an exploded crossectional view of another embodiment of leg portions of the rack of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8( b ) is a crossectional view of another embodiment of leg portions of the rack of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8( c ) is a crossectional view of yet another embodiment of leg portions of the rack of the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 9 is a crossectional view of a preferred embodiment of leg portions of the rack of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the rack shown in FIG. 1. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]    As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the rack  10  of the present invention includes at least three support legs  15  which extend from top  20  and are movably interconnected at their upper ends  22 . Preferably, the legs  15  are hinge mounted at top  20  such that rack  10  is movable between a collapsed position as shown in FIGS.  4  and a fully expanded position as shown in FIG. 1. While it is preferred that the rack is utilized for supporting dive equipment in its fully expanded state, it should be understood that the rack  10  will function in a partially expanded state if necessary, for example due to location space limitations.  
         [0022]    In a particularly preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 through 7, top  20  includes end cap  25  with at least one equipment hanger  30  extending therefrom and, most preferably, removably connected thereto via an end cap insertion pin  32  which resides in hanger aperture  34  of end cap  25 . In a preferred embodiment, hanger  30  is prevented from rotating about a vertical axis through pin  32  once pin  32  is inserted into aperture  34 . Desired alignment of hanger  30  may be accomplished by numerous means known to those of ordinary skill in the art, including a pin  32  and aperture  34  of other than circular cross section and various arrangements of slots or pins. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS.  7 ( a ) and  7 ( b ), upper ends  22  of support legs  15  are movably secured to end cap  25  by clevises  31 , each of which are secured to a side surface  47  of end cap  25 . In a second embodiment of top  20  shown in FIG. 6( a ) and  6 ( b ), upper ends  22  of support legs  15  are secured to each other and to end cap  25  by top plates  35 , each of which are secured to sides  36  and  37  of adjacent support legs  15  and a side surface  47  of end cap  25  which is bordered by the adjacent sides. In either arrangement, end cap  25  abuts the upper end  22  of each support leg  15  when the rack  10  is in a fully expanded position as shown in FIGS. 1, 2,  3 ,  6 ( b ), and  7 ( b ). With this feature, the rack  10  of the present invention can easily support significant equipment loads without the need for reinforcing cross braces extending between the support legs. Such cross braces, often present in prior art structures, are preferably absent from the rack  10  of the present invention.  
         [0023]    Support legs  15  as well as the other parts of the rack  10  of the present invention are preferably manufactured in crossectional configurations and according to specification recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as suitable for supporting weights which are typical for wet dive equipment (excluding air tank, attachment of which to the rack of the present invention is not recommended). For example, support legs  15  may be formed as cast, molded or extruded rods, cylinders, bars of the like of hollow or solid crossection from materials such as metals, certain polymers, resin/fiber composites, wood or other materials exhibiting sufficient strength and stiffness. The choice of configuration for the support legs  15  will depend in part on the specific leg structure as discussed in more detail below.  
         [0024]    Preferably, support legs  15  include first and second leg portions  38  and  39  which are collapsibly and expandably connected to each other at adjacent ends  40  and  41 . In an embodiment shown in FIG. 8( a ), adjacent portions  38  and  39  are removably connected by connector  42 , for example a threaded member  44  at one end  41  of portion  39  mounted in a threaded aperture  46  at the end  40  of adjacent connected portion  38 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8( b ), adjacent portions  38  and  39  are removably connected by inserting swaged end  45  of portion  38  into an appropriately sized inner bore  43  of portion  39 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8( c ), first and second leg portions  38  and  39  are connected by a hinge  52  secured to adjacent ends  40  and  41  of portions  38  and  39 . Although the leg portions  38  and  39  preferably have a round cross section in the embodiment of FIGS.  8 ( a ) and  8 ( b ) and a square or rectangular crossection for the embodiment of FIG. 8( c ), it should be understood that any cross section could be utilized for any embodiment and that other embodiments for collapsably connecting leg portion  38  to leg portion  39  of legs  15  could be contemplated by one of ordinary sill. In a particularly preferred embodiment, leg portion  38  is telescopically extendible from leg portion  39  as shown in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, portions  38  and  39  are connected by a spring-loaded pin  63  retractably extendible from plug  65  of portion  38  through pin aperture  67  formed in portion  39 . The arrangement of said pin  63 , said plug  65 , said aperture  67 , and said leg portions  38  and  39  may be duplicated to include a third or more leg portion telescopically extendible from the second leg portion. In an even more preferred embodiment, portion  39  includes a number of pin apertures  67  spaced along its length such that the overall length of support leg  15  is selectively adjustable by changing the selected pin aperture  67  through which pin  63  extends. This arrangement is particularly preferred because it permits the extension of each support leg  15  to be individually adjusted to accommodate uneven terrain.  
         [0025]    The rack  10  of the present invention further includes a plurality of equipment holders  70  extending from support legs  15  at spaced locations along their lengths. The location and formation of the holders are an important feature of the present invention. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, holders  70  are pegs  72  from which equipment may be hung or on which equipment may be mounted. In addition to pegs, embodiments of holder  70  may include hooks, pins, loops, and spring loaded clamps. In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, holders  70  are straps  75  mounted on support legs  15  which secure the equipment to the rack  10 . By way of non-limiting example, straps  75  may be a band of any elastic material such as any natural or synthetic rubber, neoprene, norprene, silicone, etc. which expands to receive and surround the equipment and hold in it place upon retraction. Alternatively, the straps  75  may include adjustable lengths of material which are wrapped around or inserted through the equipment as appropriate and connected by buckles, snap fittings or the like. In a preferred embodiment, holder  70  includes a fastener portion  76  which matches and mates with a corresponding compatible fastener member  77  located on dive equipment  80  (shown in FIG. 3 as a dive light for purposes of illustration only). By way of example, strap  75  may include a “hook” portion of a conventional “hook and loop” fastener system which, when mated with the matching “loop” portion secured to a piece of dive equipment, will provide for secure mounting of the equipment to the rack  10 .  
         [0026]    An important feature of the present invention is the stability it exhibits when supporting a load of equipment. While not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that this stability at least in part is a result of the arrangement and construction of the holders  70  and hangers  30  More specifically, the holders  70  and hangers  30  are constructed and arranged such that the downward force vectors (shown as F in FIG. 2), created by the weight of equipment supported on the holders  30  and hangers  70 , intersect the plane formed by the points at the bottom ends  72  of support legs  15  (shown in FIG. 10 as points A, B and C) within the area bounded by the lines joining those points (shown as triangle ABC in FIG. 10 ). In such an arrangement, forces F act to rotate leg  15  about its lower tip  16  and toward the geometric center of triangle ABC. As long as said forces F act vertically downward within an area bounded by triangle ABC, the rotation of leg  15  about lower tip  16  is prohibited by the other legs  15  attached at top  20 . This inherent stability is further enhanced in the preferred embodiment show in FIG. 2 by varying the extension of the individually adjustable support legs  15  to insure that the top  20  remains positioned directly above the geometric center of triangle ABC even if the surface  11  upon which rack  10  is supported is uneven or sloped.  
         [0027]    As the rack  10  of the present invention may receive repeated and/or prolonged exposure to environments which include high salt concentrations, detergents, heat, and solar radiation, its various parts, including support legs  15 , portions  38  and  39 , hangers  30 , holders  70 , etc. are preferably manufactured from materials which resist deterioration and degradation in such conditions. Suitable materials for parts where stiffness and strength are paramount include certain metals, certain polymers, resin/fiber composites, or wood, with aluminum being particularly preferred. Suitable materials for parts where flexibility and strength are required, for example straps  75 , include a wide variety of natural or synthetic elastomers such as latex or silicone rubber, and a wide variety of natural, synthetic, or metal fibers such as cotton or nylon, with woven polypropylene being particularly preferred only because of its wide availability.  
         [0028]    While the number and location of the holders  70  along the length of support legs  15  may vary with each support leg  15  of the rack  10 , it is preferred that the number and location of holders  70  be the same for each support leg  15 . Similarly, when using the rack of the present invention, it is preferred (although not necessary) that similar loads be placed on holders at similar locations on the support legs so as to more evenly distribute the overall load on the rack  10 .  
         [0029]    Although the present invention has been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various modifications that do not depart from its spirit and scope may be made. For example, the construction of the holder and hangers may be varied to more exactly match with particular pieces of dive equipment. As a further example, the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is equipped with spring clips  23  to retain the hangers  30  when the rack  10  is in its collapsed position. Also, the bottom ends of the support legs may be covered with a tip  21  of soft material or treated to protect them as well as protect the surface on which the rack stands. Further, the legs  15  may include more than two leg portions or use a locking mechanism other than the pin  63  and aperture  67  depicted in FIG. 9 to secure them in the extended position. Examples of such devices include other spring loaded pin arrangements and a variety of twist and lever lock designs already familiar to those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the legs may be formed in other crossectional configurations, such as from T-shaped or U-shaped members, depending on the embodiment of the leg portion utilized (if any). Lastly, it should be noted that the top  20  shown in FIGS.  5 ( a ),  5 ( b ),  6 ( a ), and  6 ( b ) may be fabricated in numerous configurations which are aesthetically different but functionally the same.