Abstract:
A magnetic organizer is provided that includes cooperative magnetic members, one generally planar member and one support assembly having a magnetic member, and including one or more horizontally-extending protuberances on the generally planar member. The protuberances create a non-vertical surface that at least some portion of the support assemblies may catch upon, thereby preventing downward sliding.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to a vertical, panel-like organizer structured to have movable supports coupled thereto, and more specifically, to a magnetic organizer having a generally planar magnetic member with movable support assemblies coupled thereto, said generally planar magnetic member having at least one horizontally extending protuberance on an attachment surface. 
         [0003]    2. Background Information 
         [0004]    Vertical organizers are devices structured to support various items along a vertical surface. Of course, vertical organizers require an attaching means structured to support each item in its vertical position. Thus, in perhaps its most primitive form, a vertical organizer includes a series of pegs or nails extending from a vertical wall. The user could then hang tools of an appropriate shape, e.g., the curved side of a claw hammer, or tools with an appropriately-positioned hole or loop of material, from the peg. 
         [0005]    While simple and functional, a fixed-peg system had the disadvantage of not being adjustable. This could limit the number of tools, and their positions, stored on the organizer. There are at least two improvements that overcome this difficulty; pegboards and magnetic strips, both of which are typically coupled to a wall. A pegboard is a sheet of material having a series of holes therethrough. The holes are typically disposed in a grid or other regular pattern. A “peg” may be inserted into a hole and used to store a tool or other device. Typically, a peg included a portion that extended along the pegboard, along with two bent tips structured to be inserted into the holes, and another portion that extended generally perpendicular to the pegboard. If the user needed to make more room or just wanted to reposition the tool, the user simply removed the peg from its first hole(s) and inserted the peg in another. Further, the “pegs” could easily be adapted to store different types of tools. For example, a peg could be bent into a horizontal loop and used to store screwdrivers and other elongated tools, a peg could be split into a yoke and used to support hammers or similar tools, a peg could be a U-shaped hook, or otherwise adapted to a specific tool. While pegboards are adjustable, the process of moving the pegs can be time consuming. For example, a user may shift a series of pegs to one side to accommodate a new tool. However, after placing the new tool in its place, the user may discover the pegs are still too close, and the process has to be repeated. 
         [0006]    Magnetic organizers typically have an elongated, permanent magnet disposed between two steel, or other ferrous metal, plates. The thin edges of the plates are used as magnetic coupling surfaces. Often, two such devices were disposed in a spaced relationship. The devices typically extended generally horizontally. A user may attach any ferrous tool to the exposed edges of the plates. With such a magnetic device, a user may quickly shift the tools around in order to accommodate new tools. The disadvantage to this device is that it typically extends for a limited length, thereby limiting the number of tools that may be attached. Further, because the plates and/or different devices are held in a spaced relationship, the user cannot, for example, move the tools to a different vertical location on the wall. Further, while the device is, by its nature, limited to ferrous tools, even a small amount of plastic, such as a coating on a handle, could diminish the attraction between the magnet and the tool to a point where the magnetic force is insufficient to hold the tool to the magnet. While the magnetic attraction could be increased by using stronger magnets, such stronger magnets are expensive. 
         [0007]    One attempt to combine the best features of these two systems is to provide a ferromagnetic sheet and supports, e.g., “pegs” of various shapes, having a ferromagnetic base. That is, at least one of the two components, either a sheet or the base of the supports, was a magnet. The other was either another magnet or, more typically, a ferrous material. Such a device addressed the disadvantages of the prior two devices. Like a pegboard, the supports could be moved to any location on the sheet, including different vertical locations; but, like a magnetic organizer, the user could simply attach/detach a support and not have inserted pegs into holes. 
         [0008]    Unfortunately, this configuration was not optimal either. While the magnets were typically strong enough to resist being separated from the sheet, the magnets did not have enough attraction to prevent the support from sliding down the sheet. That is, the magnets could not prove a sufficient magnetic attraction to create a high starting friction between the sheet and the support base. Thus, the support would slide down the sheet. This was especially true when a mass, typically a tool, was coupled to the support. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention overcomes this problem by providing cooperative magnetic members, one generally planar member, and one support assembly having a magnetic member, and including one or more horizontally-extending protuberances on the generally planar member. The protuberances create a non-vertical surface that at least some portion of the support assemblies may catch upon, thereby preventing downward sliding. 
         [0010]    It is noted that any two objects placed in contact with each other have a “starting friction” that must be overcome prior to the two objects sliding against each other. Once objects are in motion, a “sliding friction” exists therebetween. The force required to overcome the starting friction is always higher than the force required to overcome the sliding friction. Typically, both the starting friction and the sliding friction may be increased by increasing the coarseness of the two objects. For example, it is easier to slide two sheets of plain paper against each other than it is to slide two pieces of sandpaper against each other. Further, starting friction is increased and therefore the force required to overcome the starting friction is increased, when the objects are biased or pressed together. Again, using sheets of paper as an example, if one person was to hold three sheets of paper between their thumb and forefinger and apply minimal force, another person could remove the middle sheet of paper with ease. This is because there is a minimal starting friction between the sheets of paper; however, if the person holding the paper were to greatly increase the force applied by their thumb and forefinger, the person removing the middle sheet would have to pull harder as the starting friction is greatly increased. 
         [0011]    The strength of a magnetic attraction relates to both the strength of the magnet and the distance to the ferrous object. Further, even a slight increase in distance between the magnet and the object will greatly reduce the strength of the magnetic attraction. Thus, when coupling two objects by magnetic attraction, it is best to have as much of the surface of the two magnetically attracted objects as close together as possible, and more preferably in contact with each other. Accordingly, most magnets and the surface to which they are attached are smooth, thereby increasing the surface area in contact; but, as noted above, smooth surfaces tend to have a lower starting/sliding friction. Thus, while an increased magnetic force acts to increase the starting friction, that is, the magnetic force is similar to pressing the magnet against the surface, this increase in starting friction is not always so great as to prevent the magnet from sliding on a ferrous surface. This is especially true as the inclination of the surface becomes more vertical and/or the weight of the magnet, or any object the magnet supports, increases. 
         [0012]    The present invention overcomes the problem of sliding by providing one or more protuberances on the sheet. The protuberances have a sufficient perpendicular offset so that the support assembly must be lifted off the sheet in order to move past the protuberance. That is, as noted above, many magnetic devices have a sufficient strength to support the weight of a tool, i.e., the magnet device will not detach from a ferrous surface due to the weight of the tool, but not enough strength to prevent sliding on a vertical surface. Thus, when a protuberance has a sufficient perpendicular offset, the support assembly must be lifted off the sheet in order to move past the protuberance. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a magnetic organizer; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the magnetic organizer; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a partial, cross-sectional side view of one embodiment of the magnetic organizer; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a support assembly. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    As used herein, “generally planar” is used in a broad sense meaning an object having a thickness that is substantially smaller than the object&#39;s length and/or width and which generally defines a plane. It is specifically noted that “generally planar” does not mean substantially flat as one object of this invention is to provide a “generally planar” member having protuberances on an attachment surface. 
         [0019]    As used herein, a “magnetic member” is either a member that is attracted to iron or steel, e.g., a typical magnet, or an iron or steel member to which a magnet is attracted. Further, when two “magnetic members” are identified as “cooperative,” it means that at least one magnetic member is attracted to iron or steel. That is, for example, two steel members may each be “magnetic members,” but are not “cooperative magnetic members” as neither member would be attracted to the other. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a magnetic organizer  10  includes a generally planar magnetic member  12  and at least one support assembly  14 . The generally planar magnetic member  12  has an outer attachment surface  16  and is disposed in a generally vertical plane. The outer attachment surface  16  has at least one protuberance  18  thereon, which will be discussed in greater detail below. As noted above, a “magnetic member”  12  may be either a member that is attracted to iron or steel, e.g., a typical magnet, or an iron or steel member to which a magnet is attracted. In the preferred embodiment, the generally planar magnetic member  12  is a sheet  13  of ferrous metal and the at least one support assembly magnetic member  26  ( FIG. 3 ), discussed below, is a magnet. While the claims are not so limited, the remainder of this discussion will utilize this configuration of the magnetic members  12 ,  26 . The sheet  13 , except for any protuberances  18 , is preferably generally flat and defines a plane. 
         [0021]    The at least one support assembly  14  includes a support arm  20  and a base  22 . The support arm  20  extends from the base  22 . Preferably, the at least one support assembly  14  includes a moldable shell, such as, but not limited to, a plastic shell  24 . The plastic shell  24  defines the support arm  20  and a base  22 . The support arm  20  is structured to support a mass and may be of any shape, such as, but not limited to, a peg (shown), a hook, a loop, or a yoke. The portion of the plastic shell  24  that acts as a base  22  has cavities structured to accommodate one or more support assembly magnetic member(s)  26  therein. While the base  22  and the support assembly magnetic member  26  may have any shape, the support assembly magnetic member  26  preferably has a height (from the back surface of the base  22  to the outer side of the base  22 ) of between about 0.10 inch and 0.25 inch, and more preferably, about 0.19 inch, and a width of between about 0.38 inch and 0.75 inch, and more preferably, about 0.50 inch. The plastic shell  24  may encapsulate the support assembly magnetic member  26 , but in the preferred embodiment, the support assembly magnetic member  26  has an exposed face which, preferably, defines the back surface of the at least one support assembly  14 . The exposed face of the support assembly magnetic member  26 , or the back side of the base  22 , acts as an attachment surface  28 . The generally planar magnetic member  12  and the support assembly magnetic member  26  are cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26 , and the support assembly magnetic member attachment surface  28  is structured to be magnetically coupled to the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16 . Thus, when the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16  and the support assembly magnetic member attachment surface  28  engage each other, the cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26  are coupled by magnetic attraction. 
         [0022]    Further, the support assembly base  22  includes at least one protuberance interface  27  structured to engage the at least one protuberance  18 . That is, the support assembly base  22 , preferably, includes a protuberance interface  27  extending generally horizontally across the support assembly base  22  and which engages the at least one protuberance  18  over substantially the entire length of the protuberance interface  27 . When the at least one protuberance  18  engages substantially the length of the protuberance interface  27 , the at least one support assembly  14  is less likely to pivot or rotate when the at least one support assembly  14  engages the at least one protuberance  18 . The protuberance interface  27  may be the bottom surface of the support assembly base  22  or a support assembly base attachment surface notch  64  (discussed below). When the protuberance interface  27  is the bottom surface of the support assembly base  22 , the protuberance interface  27  is, preferably, angled to correspond to the shape of the upper face  17  (discussed below) of the at least one protuberance  18 . As noted below, the at least one protuberance upper face  17  may be angled downwardly, that is, more than ninety degrees from vertical, generally perpendicular to vertical, or upwardly, that is, less than ninety degrees from vertical. Thus, the protuberance interface  27  may have a corresponding downwardly angled bottom surface, a generally perpendicular lower surface, or an upwardly angled bottom surface. 
         [0023]    The at least one protuberance  18  is structured to resist motion, more specifically, a descending sliding motion, between the at least one support assembly  14  and the generally planar magnetic member  12  when the at least one support assembly  14  is coupled to the generally planar magnetic member  12  with the cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26  engaging each other, and when the support assembly  14  is supporting a mass, the mass being sufficient to overcome the starting friction between the at least one support assembly  14  and the generally planar magnetic member  12 . As stated, the at least one protuberance  18  is structured to resist a descending sliding motion of the at least one support assembly  14 . Thus, the at least one support assembly  14  must be magnetically coupled to the generally planar magnetic member  12  at a location above the at least one protuberance  18 . The at least one protuberance  18  has a perpendicular offset  30 , indicated by the arrow in the Figures, extending a distance normal to the plane of the sheet  13 . The offset  30 , preferably, extends between about 0.10 and 0.5 inch and more preferably, about 0.30 inch, off the plane of the metal sheet  13 . Preferably, the at least one protuberance  18  is elongated and extends in a substantially horizontal direction over the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16  and includes an upper face  17 . 
         [0024]    The at least one protuberance  18  may be a deformation  40  in the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16  and/or an elongated magnetic member  43  having an attachment surface  44 . Where the at least one protuberance  18  is a deformation  40 , the metal sheet  13  is crimped, bent, or otherwise deformed, so that the deformation  40  defines the at least one protuberance  18 . That is, the at least one protuberance  18  may be a deformation forming a ridge  46  extending generally horizontally across the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16  and projecting generally perpendicular from the plane of said generally planar magnetic member  12 . The ridge  46  may have a substantially horizontal upper face  48 , or an angled upper face  50 , relative to the plane of the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16 . The shape of the ridge  46  may be based on aesthetics and/or the nature of the sheet  13 . For example, a sheet  13  of a magnetic rubber material may not easily bend to a ninety degree angle. As such, a ridge  46  having an angled upper face  50  would be easier to form. The support assembly base  22 , preferably, has a shape that corresponds to the shape of the ridge upper face  48 ,  50 . 
         [0025]    Alternatively, the deformation  40  may be a lip  60  having an associated cutout  62 . That is, a generally horizontal cut may be made in the sheet  13 . The tips of the horizontal cut include relatively-small, vertical cuts of at least the thickness of the sheet  13  and preferably slightly longer. In this configuration, the material of the sheet  13  adjacent to the cut may be lifted out of the plane of the sheet  13 , thereby forming the lip  60 . In one embodiment, the lip  60  is disposed below the cutout  62  and is a lower lip  63 . Preferably, the lower lip  63  extends outwardly at an angle between about perpendicular to the generally planar magnetic member  12  to about ten degrees from vertical. Such a lower lip  63  acts as a protuberance  18  against which a support assembly  14  may rest. However, in a preferred embodiment, the at least one support assembly base attachment surface  28  includes a generally horizontal notch  64  extending thereacross. The notch  64  is sized and shaped to correspond to the shape of the lower lip  63 . In this configuration, the support assembly base attachment surface notch  64  is structured to engage the lower lip  63  in a tongue-and-groove manner. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the lip  60  may be an upper lip  65  having an associated cutout  62 . Again, a generally horizontal cut may be made in the sheet  13 . The tips of the horizontal cut include relatively-small, vertical cuts about the thickness of the sheet  13 . In this configuration, the material of the sheet  13  adjacent to the cut may be lifted out of the plane of the sheet  13 , thereby forming the upper lip  65 . In this embodiment, the upper lip  65 , as the name implies, is disposed above the associated cutout  62 . Further, the upper lip  65  preferably includes an outwardly extending portion  66 , which extends either horizontally or is downwardly angled, and a downwardly extending vertical portion  68 . In this configuration, the upper lip  65  acts as a protuberance  18  for a support assembly  14  disposed thereabove. Further, the upper lip  65  forms a pocket  70  into which the upper edge of a support assembly  14 , or an additional tab  72  extending upwardly from the support assembly base  22 , may be inserted. This configuration is useful for a support assembly  14  having an extended support arm  20 . When a tool, or other mass, is hung from an extended support arm  20 , a substantial torque may be created at the interface between the cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26 . This torque may be strong enough to overcome the magnetic attraction between the cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26  and cause the cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26  to separate. To prevent this, the upper edge of a support assembly  14 , or an additional tab  72  extending upwardly from the support assembly base  22 , is inserted into the pocket  70  as described above. Once a portion of the support assembly  14  is in the pocket  70 , the pocket  70  captures the support assembly  14  and prevents the separation of the cooperative magnetic members  12 ,  26 . Preferably, a second protuberance  18  is disposed an appropriate distance below the upper lip  65  to support the support assembly  14  from below. 
         [0027]    As an alternative to a deformation  40  in the generally planar magnetic member attachment surface  16 , the at least one protuberance  18  may be a separate elongated member  42  that is coupled to the generally planar magnetic member  12 . Preferably, the separate elongated member  42  is an elongated magnetic member  43  having an attachment surface  44 . The elongated magnetic member attachment surface  44  is structured to be magnetically coupled to the generally planar magnetic member  12 . The elongated magnetic member  43  is simply a magnetic member  12  having a cooperative relationship with the generally planar magnetic member  12 . The elongated magnetic member  43 , preferably, has a thickness corresponding to a minimal offset  30 . Thus, the weight of the elongated magnetic member  43  is minimal. The elongated magnetic member  43  is magnetically coupled to the generally planar magnetic member  12  and oriented to extend generally horizontally. This type of protuberance  18  has the advantage of being movable. That is, if the protuberance  18  is not in a desired location, the user may simply detach, or slide, the elongated magnetic member  43  to a different location on the generally planar magnetic member  12 . Alternatively, the separate elongated member  42  may be attached by another means, such as, but not limited to, an adhesive, fasteners, welding, or other known means. If such an alternate attachment means is used, a non-magnetic elongated member (not shown) may be used. 
         [0028]    The elongated magnetic member  43  may also be formed with an upper lip  63 A. That is, a longitudinal edge of the elongated magnetic member  43  may be bent so as to extend outwardly/upwardly from the plane of the generally planar magnetic member  12 . As with the embodiment described above, the upper lip  63 A may engage a notch  64  in the at least one support assembly base  22 . The elongated magnetic member  43  may also be formed with a lower lip (not shown) that forms a pocket  70  relative to the portion of the generally planar magnetic member  12  disposed below the elongated magnetic member  43  in a manner similar to the pocket  70  described above. Such an elongated magnetic member  43  with a lower lip is structured to support high torque/heavy loads. 
         [0029]    In another embodiment, the generally planar magnetic member  12  may be shaped as channel magnetic member  80 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . As described below, the channel magnetic member  80  has a generally “C-shaped” cross-section. As it is generally difficult to incorporate this shape into a sheet metal panel, this embodiment is disclosed as having a single channel magnetic member  80 . However, it is understood that, while difficult to form this shape in sheet metal, it is not impossible and the generally planar magnetic member  12  may incorporate more than the disclosed, single channel magnetic member  80 . For example, multiple channel magnetic member  80  may be attached (not shown) to a sheet  13  whereby each channel magnetic member  80  acts as a protuberance  18 . The channel magnetic member  80  is, preferably, coupled directly to a wall and is structured to support high torque/heavy loads. 
         [0030]    In this embodiment, the channel magnetic member  80  includes a body  82  having an elongated generally planar base portion  84 , a first, upper depending sidewall  86  extending generally perpendicularly to the base portion, a second, lower depending sidewall  88  extending generally perpendicularly to the base portion  84 , and one overhanging lip  90 . The overhanging lip  90  extends downwardly from the first, upper depending sidewall  86  and is, preferably, generally parallel to the base portion  84 . In this configuration, the channel magnetic member  80  forms a channel with an overhanging lip  90 . It is further noted that the channel magnetic member  80  does not have a lip extending upwardly from the lower depending sidewall  88 . Thus, the lower depending sidewall  88  acts as the at least one protuberance  18  and may engage any support assembly  14  disposed thereabove and prevent the support assembly  14  from sliding down, or off, the planar magnetic member  12 . 
         [0031]    A support assembly  14 , as described above, is structured to be disposed, and captured, within the magnetic channel member  80 . That is, the support assembly base  22  is sized to be disposed between the first, upper depending sidewall  86  and the second, lower depending sidewall  88  with the support assembly base  22  extending substantially between the first, upper depending sidewall  86  and the second, lower depending sidewall  88 . In this configuration, the upper, outer edge of the support assembly base  22  will contact, or be disposed immediately adjacent to, the overhanging lip  90 . Thus, the support assembly  14  is captured by the elongated magnetic channel member body  82 . When a heavy tool, or other heavy item, is supported by the support assembly  14 , the torque created thereby will tend to cause the upper edge of the support assembly base  22  to rotate away from the magnetic channel member  80 ; however, the upper edge of the support assembly base  22  is held in place by the overhanging lip  90 . That is, the upper edge of the support assembly base  22  is biased against the overhanging lip  90 . 
         [0032]    It is noted that the magnetic channel member  80  substantially traps the support assembly  14  within the defined channel. As such, an alternate, non-magnetic support (not shown) may be utilized. However, as the magnetic channel member  80  does not have a lip extending upwardly from the lower depending sidewall  88 , an unused or unencumbered support assembly  14  would not have the upper edge of the support assembly base  22  biased against the overhanging lip  90  and may be too loose to stay within the magnetic channel member  80 . When the support assembly  14  includes the magnetic member  26 , the magnetic member  26  aids in keeping an unencumbered support assembly  14  within the magnetic channel member  80 . 
         [0033]    It is noted that a single, generally planar magnetic member  12  may include two or more different types of protuberances  18 . In a preferred embodiment, at least one protuberance  18  is selected from the group including: a deformation  40  in the sheet  13  of ferrous material and/or an elongated magnetic member  43  having an attachment surface. 
         [0034]    While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.