An Improved Clothes-horse.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 18th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Clothes-horse.
We THOMAS BIRTWISTLE of 42, Belvedere Road, Burnley, in the County of
Lancaster, Ironmonger, and SQUIRE BARDSLEY of Master Street Burnley, Mill-
wright and Pattern Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the construction of a clothes horse or dryer, and consists
in the employment of 4, or other number of upright bars adjustably connected or
linked together by a suitable number of wooden staves on which the clothes to be dried
are spread.
When the horse is open and in use the staves are firmly and rigidly secured by
cramps to the uprights between which they stretch horizontally.
When the horse is not in use, the cramps are then removed and the wooden staves
are made to fold up against each other and against the uprights vertically, so as to
occupy the least possible space when closed; or, the wooden staves stretching
horizontally between the uprights may be suitably hinged in two or more parts that
when the cramps are removed may fall back upon each other or bend vertically whilst
the horse is being closed.
Danmhan 1000
THOS. RICHMOND,
A cent
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Clothes-horse.
We, THOMAS BIRTWISTLE of 42, Belvedere Road, Burnley, in the County of
Lancaster, Ironmonger, and SQUIRE BARDSLEY of Master Street, Burnley, Mill-
wright and Pattern Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the construction of a clothes horse or dryer, in which
four or other number of uprights, connected together by a suitable number of
wooden staves, are used, on which the clothes to be dried are spread. When the
horse is opened out for use, the staves are firmly and rigidly secured by cramps to the
uprights, between which they stretch horizontally. When, however, the horse is not
in use the cramps may then be removed and the wooden staves made to fold up
vertically against the uprights, so as to occupy the least possible space; or the
wooden staves horizontally stretching between the uprights may be suitably hinged in
two or more parts, that when the cramps are removed may fold back upon each other
vertically, whilst the horse is being closed.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figs. 1 and 2 represent our invention as applied to a two leafed clothes-horse, and
Figs. 3 and 4 to one having 4 leaves. The horse may be formed of two or any
number of leaves, and each leaf may be composed of two square nprights of
wood A, connected together by stretchers B, jointed or hinged to the uprights as
at C, instead of being permanently and rigidly fixed as usually constructed.
The leaves are held and joined together in the ordinary manner by reversible
hinges made of webbing C¹, which will allow of the leaves being turned laterally in
any direction desired.
In use the stretchers B lie horizontally or at right angles to the uprights A as in
Fig. 1; and in order to add rigidity to the structure, the cramps E are placed upon

page_text: the stretchers B, and drawn over wedge bracket F, fixed to the uprights A. When
the horse is to be closed the cramps are removed and the uprights and stretchers are
brought together, almost parallel with each other; the stretchers moving at the joints
to bring them vertical with the uprights as in Fig. 2. The horse is thus rendered
when closed more compact in form and so as to occupy the least possible space.
Fig. 3 is an arrangement. of a 4 leafed. clothes horse, in which the method of
securing the structure is slightly modified. A swell. piece F is fixed to the uprights,
and holes are formed in the stretcher and the swell for the insertion of the pin G,
so that when the pin is passed through both, the respective parts are held in place.
Fig. 5 represents another mode of securing the stretchers firmly to the uprights,
when the clothes horse is opened out for use. A small hook H on the stretcher is
made to pass through the eye of the staple H on the lever I, which abuts against
shoulder N on stretcher B, and pivotted at J on the upright A. The pin G is then
passed through the hole N in the lever I and through a hole in the upright. When,
however, the hook H is withdrawn from the staple H₁, and the pin G from the
holes in the lever and the upright, the horse is then capable of being closed, as seen
in Figs. 2 and 4.
This arrangement of clothes horse when not in use for drying clothes may be made
to serve as a fire-screen or the like, and for this purpose may be provided with a
.covering suitably ornamented.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said. inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
The combination and arrangement of parts of a clothes horse, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Dated this 6th day of September 1890
THOS. RICHMOND,
Agent.