Detachable support members

To support articles on a perforated vertical board, a first end of a wire hanger having a tapped hole in it is moved upwardly through a lower hole of the board until the tapped hole is aligned with an upper hole and it is fastened there by a screw threaded from the front of the panel, with a hook on the second end of the hanger extending from the front of the board to hold an article. Other embodiments that have ends fastened by a screw to the back of the board include: (1) a single wire having both ends bent parallel upwardly with holes in them and a center portion of the wire shaped to hold articles; (2) a plurality of wires, each of which has one end fastened to the board, the individual wires being joined by cross wires to form racks or horizontal shelves; and (3) a plurality of individual wires, each of which forms one support member of a plurality of support members for shelving, each wire having one end fastened to the board and the other end extending outwardly to form a top support surface terminating in a loop and then extending at an angle downwardly with a bottom shoulder abutting the perforated wall to form a bottom angular support.

This invention relates to support members for articles such as those that 
may be held by hooks or rest upon shelves or the like. 
In one class of such support member, hangers formed of wire are detachably 
mounted to perforated boards. The perforated boards are adapted to be 
mounted vertically and have a matrix of holes through them forming rows 
and columns to receive the wire hangers through two vertically aligned 
holes. The wire hangers have an outwardly extending portion which serves 
to hold or support the articles. 
In a prior art type of this class of support, the wire extends vertically 
across the front surface of the perforated board between two holes, which 
are engaged by either portions of the wire or by locking members. 
The prior art type of supports have several disadvantages such as: (1) they 
are complicated and expensive in construction; (2) many of them are unable 
to be securely fastened to the perforated board; and (3) others are 
especially difficult to securely fasten from the front end of the board. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel support 
member for articles. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel wire article 
support for mounting to perforated boards. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a simple, 
economical wire support. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a wire support 
having a positive fastening means at one location and stretching between 
at least two holes of a perforated board. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an article support 
which is easily and firmly mounted to perforated boards to support 
articles on shelves or through apertures in the articles or between 
parallel members. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a support having a 
section that extends through a first hole of a perforated board and up to 
a position where a tapped hole in its end is aligned with a second hole in 
the perforated board to receive a fastener for holding the support firmly 
in place and having another section which extends outwardly for supporting 
articles. 
In accordance with the above and further objects of the invention, an 
article support includes a perforated board and wire hangers adapted to 
engage the perforated board to support articles by apertures in the 
articles or on shelving or between members of the wire hanger or the like. 
One embodiment of article support includes a straight shank portion that 
extends upwardly through a first aperture in the perforated board with a 
flattened end portion having a tapped hole through it being aligned with a 
second aperture vertically above the first aperture in the board to 
receive a screw that holds the shank portion against the back surface of 
the board. An offset portion of the wire extends through the first 
aperture and forms a hook in front of the perforated board. The hook may 
be of various types such as a straight hook, swing hook, eyelet type hook 
or parallel eyelet hook -- all formed of the same wire. 
In another embodiment, each end of a single wire has an offset portion that 
extends through a different one of two side-by-side lower apertures in the 
perforated board to the back side of the board, with its shank portion 
extending upwardly along the back side. Each end has a flattened portion 
with a tapped hole in it to receive a screw for holding it to the board in 
a different one of two side-by-side upper apertures in the board. The wire 
between the two offset portions in front of the perforated board forms a 
serpentine section for shelving or forms a spring holder. 
In still another embodiment, a plurality of wires, each has an offset 
portion that passes through a different one of a corresponding plurality 
of side-by-side holes in the board and extends upwardly abutting the back 
side of the board parallel to the other wires and terminating in a 
flattened end with a tapped hole in it aligned with a different one of a 
plurality of side-by-side apertures in the board to receive a screw for 
holding it against the back side of the board. The other end of each wire 
extends outwardly and is connected to the corresponding end of the other 
wires by one or more cross wires welded to them to form parallel members 
for supporting articles, shelving or to make wire shelving. 
In still another embodiment, individual wires each form one of a plurality 
of separate support hangers for shelving, each having for this purpose one 
end with an offset member that passes through the board and extends 
vertically upward against the back of the board, terminating in a 
flattened section with a tapped hole to receive a screw. The other end of 
each wire extends in front of the board horizontally to support shelving 
and terminates in an upwardly extending loop with a downwardly and 
inwardly slanted arm extending back to the board in the same vertical 
plane and having at its end a shoulder abutting the front of the board and 
an inwardly extending ear passing through still another hole in the board 
to form still another support for the wire. A plurality of these members 
are positioned side-by-side horizontally to support shelving. 
As can be understood from the above description, the hanger systems of this 
invention have the advantages of: (1) being economical because they are 
formed from a minimum number of inexpensive wires and standard screws; (2) 
being usable to hold types of different articles; (3) being mounted 
securely by a positive connection; and (4) being easily fastened together 
from the front of a perforated board.

In FIG. 1, there is shown an article support 10 including a perforated 
board 12 and hangers, two of which are shown at 14A and 14B mounted to the 
perforated board 12. A small brush 16 is shown mounted on the hanger 14A 
to illustrate the use of the hanging system 10. 
The perforated board 12 generally has the shape of a right-regular 
parallelepiped having: (1) front and back relatively-flat opposed parallel 
surfaces 18A and 18B, the front surface being shown at 18A; and (2) four 
narrow edges, two of which are shown at 20 and 22 in FIG. 1. For example, 
while the two large parallel surfaces such as 18A-B may be of any selected 
size, they are commonly three feet by three feet or the like in size 
whereas the edges such as 20 and 22 are commonly 1/8 of an inch or 1/4 of 
an inch in thickness. 
The perforated board 12 shown in FIG. 1 is supported in a vertical position 
by a cord 24 which passes through an aperture 26 in the board orthogonal 
to the surface 18A. It is spaced from a wall (not shown) by four feet, 
three of which are shown at 28A-28C extending from its corners in a 
direction orthogonal to the surface 18A. However, many other modes and 
equipment of and for mounting perforated boards are known and any of these 
may be used instead of the mode shown in FIG. 1. 
To support the hangers 14 at different locations on the board, rows and 
columns of cylindrical holes 30 pass through the perforated board 12 in a 
direction perpendicular to the surface 18A. They may be of shapes other 
than cylindrical, organized into different patterns and have different 
sizes but commonly, the holes are 1/8 of an inch in diameter or 1/4 of an 
inch in diameter and spaced from each other approximately one inch, center 
to center in two directions, forming a matrix of cylindrical holes. Boards 
of this general type are commercially available. 
Only portions of the hangers 14A and 14B are shown in FIG. 1, which 
portions are the heads of screws shown at 32A and 32B and hook portions 
shown at 34A and 34B for two of the hangers 14A and 14B shown in FIG. 1 
are mounted to the perforated board 12. As will be described more fully 
hereinafter, other portions of the hangers are mounted behind the 
perforated board 12 and other embodiments are possible which do not have 
the identical hook portions shown at 34A and 34B in FIG. 1. Moreover, the 
brush 16 shown hanging from one hanger at 14A is only illustrative and 
many other types of implements or articles may be mounted to the hanger 
system 10. 
In FIG. 2, there is shown an exploded view of a disassembled hanger 14 of 
the type shown assembled in FIG. 1 at 14A and 14B. As best shown in this 
figure, the hanger 14 includes a screw 36 and a wire portion 38, with the 
screw 36 including a slotted head 32 and a threaded cylindrical shank 40 
in a conventional manner. The wire portion 38 comprises an elongated wire 
having a hook portion 34, an offset portion 42, and a shank portion 44. At 
the distal end of the shank portion 44 is a flattened portion 46 having 
within it a tapped hole 48 of such a size that the internal threads mate 
with the external threads of the shank 40 of the screw 36. The flattened 
portion 46 has flat faces facing in the general direction of the offset 
portion 42 and hook portion 34. 
As best shown in FIG. 3, the hanger 14B is shown mounted to the perforated 
board 12 with the shank portion 44B behind the perforated board 12 against 
its surface 18B, the offset portion 42B extending at an angle through a 
cylindrical hole 30 between the shank portion 44B and a downward portion 
47B of the hook 34B through an aperture in the board 12 and connecting at 
its opposite end to the hook portion 34B on the front surface 18A of the 
perforated board 12. The screw 36B has its head 32B extending on the 
outside of the board 12 against the front surface 18A and threaded 
cylindrical shank 40B engages the flattened end of the shank 44B through 
the tapped hole 48B on the back surface 18B of the board 12 to firmly 
fasten the hanger 14B in place. 
While a screw 36B is shown as the fastener in FIGS. 1-3, it is obvious that 
other types of fasteners may be used. It is only necessary that the 
fastener be able to fasten the wire portion 38 of the hanger 14 to the 
back side 18B of the board 12. It is desirable that this fastening be 
possible from the front 18A of the board 12 as is the case with a screw. 
Screws also have the advantage of being economical since standard screws 
may be bought at a relatively low price. 
To fasten a hanger such as the hanger 14B in place, the shank 44B of the 
hanger 14 is inserted through one of the cylindrical holes 30 in the 
perforated board 12 and moved upwardly until the angular offset portion 
42B is within the hole 30. By looking through the hole above the one 
having the offset portion 42B in it while manipulating the hook portion 
34B, the tapped hole 48B is aligned with the aperture 30 above the one 
having the offset portion 42B in it. 
While the apertures 30 and 48B are aligned, the threaded shank 40B of the 
screw 36B is inserted through the hole in the perforated board 12 and 
threaded through the tapped hole 48B in the shank portion 44B of the 
hanger 14B, until the shank portion 44B is held against the back 18B of 
the board 12, with the head of the screw 32B being against the front 18A 
of the board 12. 
As can be understood from the above description, the hanger system 10 of 
this invention has the advantages of being economical in price, easy to 
use and firmly fastening hangers in place. The hangers are economical 
because they use standard parts such as wires and screws and only require 
two such parts. They are easy to use because they permit fastening from 
only the front of the perforated board 12. The hangers are mounted firmly 
because of the positive connection by fasteners such as screws and because 
they are held at two points, one being a hole which receives the offset 
portion of the hanger and the other being the screw fastener. 
In FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, there are shown three other embodiments of hangers 
50A, 50B and 50C respectively, each of which may be mounted at two points 
to a perforated board such as 12 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) in a manner 
similar to the hanger 14. Each of the hangers 50A-50C has a corresponding 
one of the straight shank portions 52A, 52B and 52C, a corresponding 
flattened end 54A-54C, a corresponding one of the tapped holes 56A-56C 
through corresponding ones of the flattened ends 54A-54C, a corresponding 
offset portion 58A-58C and a corresponding one of the hook portions 
60A-60C. 
The hangers 50A-50C are mounted in the same manner as the hanger 14 and 
differ from it only in the shapes of their respective hooks 60A-60C; the 
hook 60A being a sling hook rather than a straight hook 34 like that of 
hanger 14; the hook 60B is a single eye hook; and the hook 60C is a double 
eye hook having two eyelets 62 and 64 one under the other formed from the 
same piece of wire. 
As can be understood from the above description, many different types of 
hooks such as hooks 60A-60C for mounting to a perforated board 12 may be 
formed from a single wire that is adapted to be fastened to the back side 
18B of a perforated board 12. Each of these embodiments of hangers have 
similar advantages to the hanger 14. 
In FIGS. 7 and 8 there is shown two further embodiments of hangers 66A and 
66B each of which is formed of a single integral wire formed to be 
fastened on the back side of a perforated board such as 12 (FIGS. 1 and 3) 
at a different pair of points by a different pair of fasteners that extend 
through apertures in the board. 
For this purpose, the hangers 66A and 66B each have corresponding one of 
the first shanks 70A and 70B respectively at one end and second shanks 72A 
and 72B at the other ends. The shanks 70A and 70B each have a 
corresponding one of the flattenened portions 74A and 74B with 
corresponding tapped holes 76A and 76B therein and the shanks 72A and 72B 
each have at their distal ends corresponding ones of the flattened 
portions 78A and 78B respectively with tapped holes 80A and 80B 
respectively. 
The shanks 70A, 70B, 72A and 72B, their flattened ends 74A, 74B 78A, 78B 
and tapped holes 76A, 76B, 80A, and 80B cooperate with the apertures in 
the perforated board 12 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) in the same manner as the 
corresponding shanks and apertured holes in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-6. 
However, in each of the embodiments 66A and 66B the respective tapped 
holes are aligned with apertures in the board along a horizontal line, 
with two screws fastening the holes in that position to form a double bond 
to the board 12 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 3). 
To enable the article supporting portions of the hanger 66A to protrude 
from the front 18A of the board 12, offset portions 82A and 84A each 
extend from a respective one of the shanks 70A and 72A and are connected 
at their forward end to opposite sides of a rack portion 86 formed of a 
serpentine section of wire by corresponding ones of the vertical stems 88A 
and 90A respectively. 
The serpentine section 86 includes curved or sign shaped sections 
horizontally formed to permit articles to be supported on top of them. 
Moreover, obviously a shelf may be positioned above the serpentine section 
86 to horizontally support other items if desired. 
To enable the article supporting portion of the hanger 66B to protrude from 
the front surface 18B of the board 12, offset portions 82B and 84B each 
extend through holes 30 from respective ones of the stems 70B and 72B and 
are connected at their other ends to opposite sides of a spring holder 92 
by vertical stems 88B and 90B. 
The spring holder 92 includes a horizontal integrally formed wire section 
extending horizontally outward from the vertical portions 88B and 90B and 
being looped inwardly to form a spring loop sized to receive implements 
such as the cylindrical barrels of flashlights or the like which may be 
snapped into the inner loop. 
As can be understood, the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8 each include a 
single integrally formed wire member having: (1) two portions which may be 
attached by fasteners parallel to each other behind a perforated board; 
(2) two parallel offset portions extending through the board; and (3) an 
implement holder in front of the board to hold implements. They thus can 
be firmly mounted and provide article supports of types different from the 
embodiments of FIGS. 1-6. 
In FIGS. 9 and 10, there are shown two further embodiments of hangers 94 
and 96 illustrating the use of a plurality of individual wires welded 
together to form a hanger. The embodiment 94 includes wires 98A and 98B 
and the embodiment 96 includes wires 98C, 98D and 98E. 
Each of the wires 98A-98E have a corresponding one of the shank portions 
100A-100E with a corresponding one of the flattened sections 102A-102E on 
one end and a respective one of the offset portions 104A-104E at the other 
end. Each of the flattened portions 102A-102E has a corresponding one of 
the tapped holes 106A-106E in it to receive a screw. These portions of the 
wires are adapted to fit behind a perforated board 12 (FIG. 1) in the 
manner of the other embodiments with the tapped holes 106A-106E being 
aligned with holes along a horizontal line in the perforated board 12 to 
receive screws with the offset portions 104A-104E extending through holes 
in the perforated board in the manner of the embodiments of FIGS. 1-8. 
In front of the perforated board 12 (FIG. 1), the wires 98A-98E each 
include a corresponding one of five vertical downwardly extending sections 
108A-108E which lie over the front surface 18A (shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) of 
the perforated board 12 and corresponding ones of the outwardly extending 
horizontal sections 110A-110E formed integrally at the bottom of the 
vertical downwardly-extending portions 108A-108E. 
In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the horizontal outwardly-extending portions 
110A and 110B may extend six or eight inches outwardly parallel to each 
other in a horizontal plane and be spaced apart from each other by three 
or four inches. The outwardly extending portions 110A and 110B are held 
together by a horizontal strut 112 welded at one end above the portion 
110A and in front of the portion 108A and at its other end above the 
portion 110B and in front of the portion 108B near a bend in the wires 
from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, thus joining the 
two wires 98A and 98B together at a location in front of the surface 18 of 
the perforated board 12. 
The spacing of the portions 110A and 110B from each other and their lengths 
are selected to form a holder. Generally, an article having an enlarged 
portion at one end will be mounted to the hanger 94. For example, a broom 
may be mounted with the bristle portion above the horizontal members 110A 
and 110B with the handle extending between them. 
In the embodiment 96, the wires 98C-98E each have a different one of three 
downwardly extending portions 108C-108E, horizontal outwardly-extending 
portions 110C-110E and upwardly extending ears 114A-114C. Each of the 
downwardly extending portions 108C-108E is integrally formed at one end to 
an end of a corresponding offset portion 104C-104E and at the other end to 
one end of a corresponding one of the horizontal members 110C-110E, the 
other end of the horizontal members 110C-110E being integrally formed with 
a corresponding one of the upstanding ears 114A-114C. 
The vertical downwardly extending portions 108C-108E are intended to be 
mounted in front of the surface 18 of a perforated board 12 (shown in FIG. 
1) with the horizontal portions 110C-110E each being parallel in a 
horizontal plane and terminating in a corresponding one of the upstanding 
ears 114A-114C to form a basic support portion of a shelf. Extending in a 
horizontal plane above the members 110C-110E and welded parallel to each 
other and orthogonal to the members 110C-110E to form three connecting 
members spaced apart from each other across the length of the members 
110C-110E are three wires 120, 122 and 124. These members hold the wires 
98C-98E spaced apart from each other at distances corresponding to the 
holes 106C-106E. With this arrangement, a convenient inexpensive shelf is 
formed. 
In FIGS. 11 and 12, there is shown another embodiment of hanger 126, 
several of which are combined to form the embodiment 128 (shown only in 
FIG. 12). 
As best shown in FIG. 11, the hanger 126 includes a downwardly extending 
shank portion 130 having a flattened end 132 with a tapped hole 134 in it 
and, at its opposite end, an offset portion 136 in a manner similar to the 
other embodiments. The tapped hole 134 and the offset portion 136 are 
adapted to coincide with holes in a perforated board 12 (FIG. 1). 
At the front end of the offset portion 136 overlying the front surface 18A 
of the perforated board 12 is a downwardly extending portion of the wire 
integrally formed at one end with the offset portion 136 and at its other 
end with a horizontal outwardly-extending portion 140. The other end of 
the horizontal section 140 is looped upwardly at 142 and extends 
downwardly beneath the portion 140 at an angle in a vertical plane with 
the horizontal portion 140 and the loop 142 as shown at 144. 
At the distal end of the section 144 is a downwardly extending portion 146 
terminating in a horizontal section 140 positioned a distance beneath the 
offset portion 136 to extend through a perforation in the perforated board 
12 (FIG. 1). 
With this arrangement, the hanger 126 is supported at three points, one 
point being by means of a threaded fastener as shown in FIGS. 1-3 in the 
tapped hole 134, another at the perforation through which the offset 
portion 136 passes and a third at the perforation which receives the 
horizontal distal end 148. The distal end 148, while preferably being 
adapted to fit within a perforation so that the front surface 18 abuts the 
surface of the downwardly extending portion 146, may also be designed to 
rest against an unperforated surface, in which case, the distal end 148 
must be flush with the back edge of the downwardly extending shank portion 
130. 
As shown in FIG. 12, three of the hangers 126A-126C of the type 126 are 
aligned on a perforated board and a shelf member 150 laid across them 
orthogonal to the horizontal members 140A-140C to form a shelf. With this 
arrangement, the number of members 126 necessary to form sufficient 
support may be used and the distance between them varied to accommodate 
different sized shelf boards 150. 
Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described 
with some particularity, many modifications and variations in the 
preferred embodiments are possible within the light of the above 
teachings. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the 
appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically 
described.