Fastener for holding an object to the side of a dryer

A fastener for holding or attaching an object to the side of an appliance, such as a dryer. The fastener is a barbed plate permanently affixed to the object to be held. The barbed plate is adapted to slide in between the top and side walls of the appliance in an elongated opening or crack in the appliance. The barbed plate is semi-rigid, and the barbs are resilient, flexing to permit the plate to pass through the crack in the appliance and resilient, flexing back and preventing the plate from being pulled out from the appliance. The object being held is preferably a holder for a roll of sheets of fabric softener or a roll of paper towels. Other objects could be held such as a shelf or the like as desired.

BACKGROUND 
Many major appliances, such as clothes dryers, have a side wall and a top 
with a slight opening or crack between the side wall and the top. There 
are many other objects in the home, such as metal kitchen cabinets, which 
also have a thin elongated opening. 
On many occasions, it is desirable to attach something to the side wall of 
an appliance, such as a washer, dryer or metal cabinet. Since they are 
metal, and generally porcelain-coated metal, it is undesirable to drill 
holes through the metal walls. The crack between the top and the side wall 
is very small and does not provide a sufficient opening for a screw or 
other types of fastener. Accordingly, up until now, no one has appreciated 
that this crack or any thin elongated opening could be used to attach an 
object. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is premised upon the realization that a fastener can 
be made adapted particularly to attach an object to the side of an 
appliance, the fastener sliding in the seam between the top and side wall 
of the appliance. Further, the particular fastener can be easily and 
inexpensively manufactured and can be made to facilitate attaching various 
objects to the side of various appliances. 
The invention and its advantages will be appreciated from the following 
detailed description and drawings in which:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a holder 10 for attaching a roll of 
material to the side of an appliance. The holder 10 includes a towel 
holder 11 and a securing plate 12. The towel holder 11 is of typical 
design including a back wall 14, two side walls 16 and 18 and a 
telescoping rod 20 which extends from side wall 16 to side wall 18. The 
telescoping rod 20 is adapted to support a roll of material, for example, 
a roll of paper towels or a roll of fabric softener sheets (not shown). 
A first edge 22 of the securing plate 12 is permanently fixed to the back 
wall 14 of the towel holder 11. The plate 12 can be attached to back wall 
14 by various known means, for example, gluing, nailing or molding the 
securing plate 12 as part of the back wall 14. 
The securing plate 12 is a thin web of a strong, but resilient, material, 
such as, for example, one eighth inch polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene. 
The plate 12 further includes a plurality of columns 24 of barbs 26. 
Each barb 26 includes a leading portion 32 which secures it to the securing 
plate 12. The individual barbs extend away from the securing plates at 
approximately a 45 degree angle relative to the plate 12 with a rearward 
edge 34 of each barb extending about one quarter of an inch away from the 
plate. Each column 24 of barbs includes a plurality of barbs, each spaced 
slightly forward from the next barb with a slight space or area 36 between 
each barb 26. 
As shown in the figures, there are four columns 24a-24d of barbs 26. All of 
the barbs in a column extend in one direction from the plate. For example, 
the barbs 26 in column 24a all extend downwardly. The barbs in columns 24b 
and 24c all extend upwardly, and the barbs in column 24d extend 
downwardly. Each barb in a column is preferably aligned with a barb in 
each of the other three columns. 
The present invention is particularly adapted to attach the towel holder or 
similar object to the side of an appliance, such as a dryer. As shown more 
particularly in FIG. 2, a dryer 38 includes a side wall 40 and a top 42. 
The top and side join together at inwardly extending lips 44 and 46, 
respectively. Between the respective lips is a slight elongated opening or 
crack 48. The securing plate 12 is thin enough to slide in between the 
lips 44 and 46 through crack 48. The individual barbs being resilient flex 
towards the plate, permitting the plate to pass through the crack. Once 
the individual barbs extend beyond interior edges 50 and 52 of lips 44 and 
46, they flex outwardly again, preventing the plate from being pulled out 
from the crack 48. Accordingly, once inserted, the plate permanently 
attaches the towel holder to the side of the dryer. 
The securing plate primarily must be thin enough to fit through the desired 
or provided crack. Further, it should be wide enough to provide area for 
multiple columns of barbs and long enough so that a barb in each column 
extends through the crack and flexes outwardly again. 
Further, the object held to the side of the appliance can vary. For 
example, in FIG. 3, there is shown an alternate embodiment of the present 
invention wherein the securing plate 12 secures a shelf 54 to the side of 
a dryer 56. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited merely to 
holding a roll of material to the side of a dryer although this is the 
preferred embodiment. Accordingly, in light of the foregoing, applicant 
intends to be bound only by the claims in which,