Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-08
2001-12-04
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C248S362000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325344
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hangers useful for supporting objects such as wreaths or other decorative or functional items from a smooth surface, and more particularly, to a low-profile molded plastic hanger that is attachable by suction cups to a smooth surface such as glass.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of hooks attached to suction cups for hanging lightweight articles from smooth, upright surfaces such as glass windows, doors and mirrors is well known. Hangers with suction cups are known to be advantageous for use on glass surfaces because they are easily attachable and do not scratch the glass or leave a residue when subsequently removed. Suction cups are usually attached to hooks or other hanger structures by frictional engagement between a flexible, cylindrical boss molded onto the convex side of the suction cup and a stud projecting from the rear of the hook or hanger.
One disadvantage of conventional hangers using suction cups as the attachment apparatus is that the weight of the supported object can cause the suction cup to detach from the smooth underlying surface. In the past, the makers of such hangers have sought to overcome this disadvantage by providing hangers having larger suction cups or more than one suction cup to support heavier objects. Another disadvantage that has been experienced is that heavier objects can cause the hook or other support member to which the hook is attached to pull out of the suction cup even though the suction cup itself has not become detached from the support surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention disclosed herein is an injection molded plastic hanger that, in the preferred embodiment, has a generally triangular body with a unitarily molded hook member at one corner and suction cup attachment devices at the other two corners. The hanger is constructed to have a low profile relative to a smooth support surface, meaning that the body and suction cup attachment devices are specially adapted to permit attachment of suction cups to the body in such manner that the body remains close to the support surface when the suction cups are subsequently attached to the support surface.
As used throughout this disclosure, the terms “front,” “forward” or “forwardly” mean facing away from the smooth support surface to which the suction cups are applied during use, and the terms “back,” “rear” or “rearwardly” mean facing the support surface.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the suction cup attachment device further comprises a circumferentially extending retainer ring lying substantially in the plane of the body, an arched, forwardly projecting stud support member connected to the retainer ring at diametrically opposed positions and bridging the retainer ring, and a tapered, substantially cylindrical solid stud projecting rearwardly from the midpoint of the stud support member. When a suction cup is attached to one of the suction cup attachment devices on the hanger of the invention, the cylindrical boss on the suction cup is pressed onto the stud, and projects outward through the principal plane of the hanger body into the “cage” formed by the retainer ring in combination with the stud support member.
The suction cup hanger of the invention is believed to function better than those disclosed in the prior art for at least three reasons: First, the shape of the reinforced triangular body provides structural stability and improves load distribution when the hanger is attached to a surface and supporting a load. Second, because the stud support members of the suction cup attachment devices project forwardly above the major plane of the body, the body plane and the center of gravity of the hanger and the supported load are moved closer to the plane of the support surface. This in turn reduces the tendency of the suction cups to pull away from the support surface to which they are applied when the hanger is under load. Third, because the outside surface of the cylindrical boss on the suction cup is closely contained inside the “cage” formed by the stud support member and the retainer ring, the boss of the suction cup is less likely to release from the stud when a shear force is applied to the hanger as, for example, when the hanger is under load. As the body of the hanger is pulled in a direction perpendicular to the axis through the cylindrical boss of the suction cup, instead of pulling away from one side of the stud, the boss of the suction cup will be “pinched” between the stud and the retainer ring.
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Adams Product Brochure, 1993.
Fillipp Stephen L.
Gary Lonnie F.
Jones Chad H.
Gary Products Group, Inc.
Le Tan
Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
Ramirez Ramon O.
Ross Monty L.
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