Collapsible hanging shoe rack

Abstract

A collapsible hanging shoe rack may include a plurality of shoe retaining members with two parallel side arms integratedly connected with a horizontal arm, and a plurality of connecting units having a first end and a second end. In one embodiment, the shoe retaining members are arranged in a reverse U-shaped manner in the hanging shoe rack, and each of the shoe retaining members is connected with the connecting unit. More specifically, the shoe retaining member is disposed tiltedly and spacedly with other shoe retaining members in a parallel manner. When the shoe rack is hung on the door, it can be pulled down and fully extended by gravity without applying any external forces. When it is taken off from the door and put it on the ground, the shoe rack can be quickly collapsed due to the gravity as well.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 247,649, filed on Oct. 28, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is directed to a hanging shoe rack, and in particular to a collapsible hanging shoe rack, the size of which can be easily and significantly minimized when not in use.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]It is generally known to attach various article holding devices, such as shoe racks, over a top edge of a household door to gain additional storage spaces. Door-mounted shoe racks are popular items since they represent a relatively simple way to create additional space in a closet or a room. Numerous shoe rack designs have been presented, however, many conventional racks have arms that project outwards but cannot be folded up, requiring the rack to take up a lot of space even when not in us...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]It is noted that a vertical connecting member is disposed between two shoe retaining members to further strengthen the structure of the hanging shoe rack when it is fully extended. The vertical connecting member may include a first portion and a second portion, which are pivotally connected together at nearly a center portion of the vertical connecting member. When the shoe rack is collapsed, the vertical connecting member would be deformed to bend inwardly.

[0015]It is important to note that the entire shoe rack structure is resilient, more or less like a spring. When the shoe rack is hung on the door, it can be pulled down and fully extended by gravity without applying any external forces. And if the user would like to further secure the shoe rack on the door, the user can use the bottom retaining unit to further strengthen the structure of the shoe rack. On the other hand, when it is taken off from the door and put on the ground, the entire shoe rack is very much like a spring, and can be quickly collapsed due to the gravity as well.

Problems solved by technology

Numerous shoe rack designs have been presented, however, many conventional racks have arms that project outwards but cannot be folded up, requiring the rack to take up a lot of space even when not in use or when in transport.

In addition, the crossbars of non-folding racks can interfere with the storage of taller items such as boots.

Even though the shoe rack in the '406 patent is foldable, the folded shoe rack is still bulky and takes a substantial size of the space because the side rails 12 forming the structure of the shoe rack cannot be folded or changed to significantly reduce the size of the shoe rack, so the shoe rack is not easy to store or transport, even after it is folded.

However, like the foldable shoe rack in the '406 patent to Qiang, the reconfigurable rack in the '156 patent still takes a lot of spaces to store or transport because the straight portion 25 forming the structure of the shoe rack cannot be folded or changed to significantly reduce the size of the shoe rack, even though the size of which is reconfigurable.

Images