A New or Improved Collapsable Apparatus for Drying and Airing Linen and the like.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Apr., 1894-Accepted, 25th May, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Collapsable Apparatus for Drying and Airing
Linen and the like.
1, CHARLES SEARS, of 4 Copper Mill Lane, Walthamstow, in the County of
Essex, Carver, 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:-
My invention relates to a new or improved apparatus for drying wet linen or
other clothing or the like after being washed, or for airing the same previous to
being worn or otherwise used, and consists of any number of wooden laths,
arranged in one, two or more rows, and pivotted or hinged upon or within a
suitable carrier, in such a manner, that when the said carrier is in its lowest position
upon the base board to which it is pivotally connected, the said laths may be spread
out to almost any extent in a horizontal direction, and divided from each other, and
upon these the linen, clothes or the like to be dried or aired would be suspended.
The said base board would invariably occupy a vertical position, and may be
screwed or otherwise fixed to a wall or other flat or plane surface, and may be
arranged to carry any number of said carriers and their laths, accordingly as the
apparatus may be designed for private or domestic use, or for the service of
laundries, or large hotels or boarding houses, but whatever number of carriers may
be upon one baseboard, each carrier would be so pivotted thereto, that when the
apparatus was not in use, the whole of the laths of each carrier or any one carrier
may be brought together, and these and their carrier folded back against the back
or baseboard, until again required for use.
My invention has for its object to economise space, and dispense with the use of
lines or cords suspended across the kitchen, nursery or other room, or the drying
room or washouse of laundries, and upon which hitherto the linen or clothes to be
dried or aired have been suspended, and I estimate that any one of said carriers
having, say thirteen laths, each three feet long, would collectively provide a
hanging surface equal to a line or lines thirtynine feet long, and yet only occupy
about four feet more or less of the room in any horizontal direction from the said
base or back board.
In order that my invention and the alternative methods employed by me in the
construction of the same may be clearly understood, I have hereunto appended two
sheets of drawings, of which,
Figs. 1 and 2 Sheet 1 are side elevations of my said apparatus, according to one
method of construction, in which only one carrier is shewn upon one base or back
board, the former view showing the position of the apparatus when in use, and the
latter when not in use.
Figs. 3 and 4 are front elevations of Figs. 1 and 2 respectively.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the apparatus when in use as at Figs. 1 and 3, while
Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same when not in use, as at Fig. 2 or may be Fig. 4.
Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the same taken upon the line A B of Fig. 3.
Figs. 8 and 9 Sheet 2 are perspective views of a like apparatus, but illustrating
an alternative method of construction.
Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are diagrams of parts to be hereinafter explained.
In so far as regards the apparatus shown by Sheet 1, I carry my invention into
effect by providing from any suitable and well seasoned wood, a back or base

page_text: board A, provided with any number of holes for the reception of screws or nails B
by which it may be fixed where required, and upon the sides of A I fix by any
suitable means a pair of preferably wooden brackets or their equivalents C and C
which together pivotally carry a semi roller D, also of wood, and to this is screwed
or otherwise fixed a preferably rectangular board E, and above E is placed two
other rectangular boards F and G, divided from each other by a spacing of wood H,
and G, from E by a like spacing piece H', and the said three boards and their
spacing pieces are all held firmly together by screws or the like a which may enter
some from E and some from F, the heads of which would all be well countersunk
and faced with wood or other material to prevent oxidation, or to protect the linen
therefrom. The front facing of said boards E F and G would be parallel
with each other, while their back facings and the spacing pieces H and H¹ would
be finished at a suitable angle to permit these to clear the backboard A when tilted
as at Fig. 2.
or flush
Within the space left between E and G, would be placed edgewise, a suitable
and preferably even number of wooden laths J, and between G and F a suitable
and preferably uneven number of similar laths K, the centre one of which K'
I prefer shall be a fixture, while the remainder of both series of laths are pivotted at
their back ends by the means of preferably wooden pins passing through holes in
the said laths and the centre board G, and partly entering both boards E and F,
which necessitates that the said laths be so pivotted before the boards are screwed
together with their spacing pieces as previously described. The parts composed
of E, F, G, H and H'I call the carrier, and in order that this may be retained in
a horizontal position when the laths are spread out. horizontally as at Fig. 1, 3, 5
and 7, and sustain the weight of the linen or the like suspended upon said laths,
I may provide upon the back end of E, a bracket L, which would abut against the
backboard A, as shewn in Fig. 7, and to retain it in this position I may form a
hole therein, and a corresponding hole c' in the bracket C and cause a pin d
suspended by a chain or cord to to engage with c and cl as at Fig. 1. Or in
lieu of L I may fix upon the back board A a bracket M, shown by dotted outline
in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, with which the back end of the board F would engage as
shewn in Figs. 1 and 7.
C
°
When in use the carrier and its laths would be in a horizontal position as at
Figs. 1, 3 and 7, and by reason of the pivotting pins & the latter may be spread
out to any extent, as shewn by Figs. 3 and 5, and if the laths J be so spread as to
alternate with the laths K as shewn in Fig. 5, the linen or the like suspended upon K
may hang down between and clear of that suspended upon J.
When not in use, the carrier and its laths may be tilted back so that the
laths K Kabut against the backboard A, as shewn at Fig. 2, and to retain them
in this position should gravity be insufficient for that purpose, I may form in the
board F, a hole e and in the bracket C a hole f to coincide therewith, and in these.
the pin d may be inserted.
The laths K and J being as stated pivotted at 1, might, when raised as at Fig. 2,
have a tendency to depart from their vertical position shewn by Fig. 4, some to the
right and some to the left as shewn by Fig. 6, and in order that these may not extend
beyond the width of the base board A, I fix thereon a pair of brackets or stays g
and y', against which the laths may lean as shewn in Fig. 6.
In the arrangement shewn by Figs. 8 and 9 Sheet 2, I cast or otherwise
provide the said lath carrier of metal, galvanized or otherwise coated to prevent
oxidation, and so constructed as to provide the equivalents of E, F and G in
the previous method, and provided with projecting pins h, by means of which the
said carrier is suspended pivotally upon brackets N and N' fixed upon the
back board A.
The laths K and J may be pivotted upon the carrier by means of pins & in
the same manner as in the previous method, but I prefer to suspend them upon
crescented pins or semi rings b' as at Fig. 12 or I may employ a cup and ball or
any suitably swivelled joint in lieu thereof, if desired.

page_text: By reason of the carrier F being pivotted upon N and N¹ a sufficient distance.
from A to permit a clearance when F is tilted, as at Fig. 9, it follows that the
carrier when in the position shewn by Fig. 8 would be out of horizontal truth by
reason of its lower back surface abutting against A, and the angle thus given to
would also be given to the laths K and J. To overcome this difficulty I pivot
upon the lower portion of the back of the carrier a strut or leg O, the combined.
thickness of which and the screw for pivotting same equals the distance between
the pivotted upper surface of F and the backboard A, and by folding back as at
Fig. 10 the horizontal position of the carrier and laths would be maintained, and the
same strut O when extended as at Fig. 11 would serve to maintain the stability of F
when in the position shewn by Fig. 9.
g
In this method of construction I provide an equivalent for the fixed brackets
and employed in the method shown by Sheet 1, by pivoting upon each end of the
carrier, a plate P, which may be lowered to accommodate the spreading of the
laths K and J as shewn at Fig. 8 or raised to maintain the vertical position of these
as shewn at Fig. 9.
I wish it understood, that although in the accompanying drawings I have shown
only one carrier mounted upon the backboard A, I may mount two or more thereon
in like manner, one above the other each carrying any desired number of laths K
and J the only condition necessary being, that a sufficient distance must exist
between each carrier to allow all the laths to fold back against A when not in use,
and as a further modification, I may arrange that the backboard A may be mounted
upon a foot or stand, so as to be stood anywhere upon the floor, in which case
may fix or mount upon both faces of A any number of said carriers, each carrying
any number of laths K and J. This arrangement provides that the apparatus may
be stood in the centre of a room.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1st. The herein described apparatus for drying and airing linen, clothes and the
like, and the alternative method of arranging the same, or any desired combination
of both, and the duplication or triplication thereof, connected and operating sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and shewn by the accompanying
drawings.
2nd. In an improved collapsable apparatus for drying and airing linen, clothes
and the like, the construction and use of a back or base board A, carrying a pair
or several pairs of brackets C and C', each pair carrying a semi roller D, to which
is fixed a board E, and to this, by the means of screws or the like a, other
boards G and F and spacing pieces H and H', and having pivottally connected
thereto and there between any number of lathes K and J, with steadying bracket L
fixed upon E, or M upon A, with chain and pin d or any suitable equivalent
therefor for steadying the carrier when in a vertical and horizontal position, with
brackets g and g' fixed upon A for preventing the spreading of K and J as at Fig. 6
when raised as at Fig. 2, the whole connected combined and operating substantially
as and for the purposes herein described and shewn by Sheet 1 of the accompanying
drawings.
3rd. In an improved collapsable apparatus for drying and airing linen clothes
and the like, the construction and use of a back or baseboard A, carrying a pair
or several pairs of brackets N and N', each pair carrying by means of pins h, a
metallic carrier having partitions E, F and G, forming spaces for the reception
and holding of any number of laths K and J, pivotted therein in any desired
manner, preferably as shewn at Fig. 12, and having a pair of pivotted plates P for
preventing the spreading of K and J when raised as at Fig. 9, and provided with
a pivotted strut or leg O, operating when closed for maintaining the horizontal
position of the laths when the carrier is in the position shewn by Figs. 9 and 10,
and when open, for maintaining the position of same as shewn by Fig. 8 and 11,

page_text: the whole connected, combined and operating substantially as and for the purposes.
herein described and shewn by Sheet 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Deted this 21st day of April 1894
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
1, Broad Street Buildings, Liverpool Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.