Abstract:
A rod member holder is disclosed to include a holder base, which has a plurality of accommodating openings, a plurality of retaining members respectively pivotally mounted in the accommodating openings and respectively rotatable by the inserted rod member for enabling the inserted rod member to pass through the respective accommodating opening, and a plurality of torsional springs respectively connected between the holder base and the retaining members for reversing the respective retaining members to hold down the inserted rod member in each accommodating opening by friction force.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a rod member holder for holding rod members and more particularly, to such a rod member holder, which is easy to operate and holds the inserted rod members positively in position.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     People may directly put a broom, sponge mop, umbrella, or rod-like tool in the corner of a wall after each use. The broom, sponge mop, umbrella, or rod-like tool may fall from the corner of the wall to the floor accidentally. If directly rest a broom or sponge mop on the floor, the broom comb or sponge will be forced to deform by the gravity weight of the broom or sponge mop. When keeping the broom or sponge mop in this position for a certain length of time, the broom comb or sponge will be unable to return to its former shape. Further, keeping the broom comb of a wet broom or the sponge of a wet sponge mop rested on the floor for a certain length of time facilitate growth and multiplication of bacteria in the area around the wet broom comb or sponge. In order to eliminate these problems, people may directly hang a broom, sponge mop, umbrella or rod-like tool on a wall nail. However, the protruding nail destructs the sense of beauty of the wall and may cause an injury when a person touches the nail accidentally. Therefore, rod member holders are developed for use to hold rod-like devices in a good order. These rod member holders commonly comprise a holder base defining a plurality of receiving holes for receiving rod-like devices, and a plurality of retaining members respectively meshed with a respective rack in each receiving hole for holding a rod-like device in each receiving hole. When the user inserts a rod-like device into one receiving hole, the respective retaining member will be moved along the respective rack. After the user released the hand from the inserted rod-like device, the respective retaining member will hold down the inserted rod-like device by a friction force. These conventional rod member holders are still not satisfactory in function. If the inserted rod-like device is too heavy or too light, a sufficient friction force may be not produced between the respective retaining member and the inserted rod-like device, and the inserted rod-like device may fall from the rod member holder. Further, the rubber ring which is fastened to each retaining member in order to increase the friction resistance may be forced out of place or jammed in between the teeth of the retaining member and the respective rack during operation of the rod member holder.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a rod member holder, which has a simple structure and is easy to operate. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the rod member holder comprises a holder base, and at least one locking mechanism. The holder base has at least one accommodating opening cut through top and bottom sides thereof for accommodating the rod member of a device respectively, and at least one vertical bearing wall respectively disposed in the at least one accommodating opening at one lateral side. The at least one locking mechanism is respectively installed in the holder base corresponding to the at least one accommodating opening and adapted to lock the rod member of the inserted device to the respective accommodating opening. Each locking mechanism comprises a retaining member pivotally mounted in the holder base at one lateral side of one accommodating opening opposing the respective vertical bearing wall of the holder base and rotatable between a first position, namely, the locking position to narrow the gap in the respective accommodating opening between the periphery of the respective retaining member and the respective vertical bearing wall of the holder base and a second position, namely, the unlocking position to widen the gap in the respective accommodating opening between the periphery of the respective retaining member and the respective vertical bearing wall of the holder base, and a spring member connected between the retaining member and the holder base and adapted to hold the retaining member in the first position. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a rod member holder according to the present invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the rod member holder according to the present invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the rod member holder according to the present invention.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing an application example of the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  corresponds to  FIG. 4  showing the respective retaining member returned to the locking position and the handle of the broom locked to the holder base.  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing show an alternate form of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0012]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a rod member holder in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a holder base  1 , and a plurality of retaining members  2 .  
         [0013]     The holder base  1  comprises a plurality of accommodating openings  11  arranged in parallel and cut through the top and bottom walls, a plurality of chambers  12  respectively disposed in air communication with the accommodating openings  11  at one side, and a plurality of vertical bearing walls  13  respectively disposed at one side of each of the accommodating openings  11  opposing the chambers  12 .  
         [0014]     The retaining members  2  are respectively provided inside the accommodating openings  11  and rotatable between a locking position and an unlocking position, each having an eccentric shaft  21  pivotally fastened to the rear sidewall of the holder base  1  and a friction pad  23  covered around the periphery. The friction pad  23  can be made from rubber. It can be separately made and then fastened to the periphery of the retaining member  2 . Alternatively, the friction pad  23  can be directly molded on the periphery of the retaining member  2 . Further, a spring member, for example, a torsional spring  22  is sleeved onto the eccentric shaft  21  of each retaining member  2  and connected between the holder base  1  and the respective retaining member  2  to support the respective retaining member  2  in the locking position.  
         [0015]     Referring to FIGS.  3 ˜ 5  and  FIGS. 1 and 2  again, when inserting a device, for example, the handle  31  of a broom  3  into the gap in one accommodating opening  11  of the holder base  1  between the respective retaining member  2  and the respective vertical bearing wall  13  vertically from the bottom side toward the top side, the top end of the handle  31  of the broom  3  will firstly touch the bottom side of the respective retaining member  2  and then bias the respective retaining member  2 , thereby causing the respective retaining member  2  to rotate (turn about the axis of the eccentric shaft  21 ) in counter-clockwise direction from the locking position to the unlocking position and to further widen the gap between the periphery of the respective retaining member  2  and the respective vertical bearing wall  13  and to simultaneously turn tight the respective torsional spring  22  (see  FIG. 4 ) for enabling the handle  31  of the broom  3  to pass through the respective accommodating opening  111  of the holder base  1 . After the handle  31  of the broom  3  passed through the respective accommodating opening  111  of the holder base  1  and released from the user&#39;s hand, the respective torsional spring  22  immediately return to its former shape to return the respective retaining member  2  from the unlocking position to the locking position to narrow the gap between the periphery of the respective retaining member  2  and the respective vertical bearing wall  13 , keeping the handle  31  of the broom  3  firmly stopped between the friction pad  23  of the respective retaining member  2  and the respective vertical bearing wall  13  (see  FIG. 5 ), and therefore the broom  3  is locked to the holder base  1 . When wishing to remove the broom  3  from the holder base  1 , lift the handle  31  of the broom  3  slightly upwards to rotate the respective retaining member  2  counter-clockwise from the locking position toward the unlocking position, and the user can then remove the handle  31  of the broom  3  from the respective accommodating opening  11  easily.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  shows an alternate form of the present invention. This embodiment is substantially similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS.  1 ˜ 5  with the exception the shape and mounting position of the retaining members  2 . According to this embodiment, each retaining member  2  is pivotally mounted in the holder base  1 , and rotatable between the locking position where the retaining member  2  has the periphery projecting into the respective accommodating opening  11  and the unlocking position where the retaining member  2  is received in the respective chamber  12 . When inserting the handle  31  of the broom  3  into one accommodating opening  11  of the holder base  1 , the respective retaining member  2  will be biased from the locking position to the unlocking position for enabling the handle  31  of the broom  3  to pass through the respective accommodating opening  11 . When released the hand from the broom  3  after the handle  31  of the broom  3  has passed the respective accommodating opening  11 , the respective torsional spring  22  immediately returns the respective retaining member  2  from the unlocking position to the locking position to lock the handle  31  of the broom  3  to the holder base  1 , keeping the handle  31  of the broom  3  firmly stopped between the friction pad  23  of the respective retaining member  2  and the respective vertical bearing wall  13  of the holder base  1 .  
         [0017]     As indicated above, the invention provides a rod member holder for holding rod-like devices such as brooms, sponge mops, umbrellas, and etc. The rod member holder is easy to use. In case the torsional springs  22  start to wear, the rod member holder can still be used after replacement of the failed torsional springs  22 .  
         [0018]     A prototype of rod member holder has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  1 ˜ 6 . The rod member holder functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
         [0019]     Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the vertical bearing wall  13  in each accommodating opening  11  may be covered with a friction pad; two retaining members  2  may be pivotally provided at two sides in each accommodating opening  11  and rotatable in reversed directions between the locking position and the unlocking position. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.